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‘It’s an especially bad time’: Tech layoffs are hitting ethics and safety teams

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:51 GMT

(CNN) — In the wake of the 2016 presidential election, as online platforms began facing greater scrutiny for their impacts on users, elections and society, many tech firms started investing in safeguards.Big Tech companies brought on employees focused on election safety, misinformation and online extremism. Some also formed ethical AI teams and invested in oversight groups. These teams helped guide new safety features and policies. But over the past few months, large tech companies have slashed tens of thousands of jobs, and some of those same teams are seeing staff reductions.Twitter eliminated teams focused on security, public policy and human rights issues when Elon Musk took over last year. More recently, Twitch, a livestreaming platform owned by Amazon, laid off some employees focused on responsible AI and other trust and safety work, according to former employees and public social media posts. Microsoft cut a key team focused on ethical AI product development. And Facebo...

Over $69 million in illegal narcotics offloaded by Coast Guard at Port Everglades

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:51 GMT

The U.S. Coast Guard offloaded a big bust at Port Everglades.The crew of USS Farragut (DDG 99) offloaded approximately 2,314 kilograms of cocaine and 1,986 pounds of marijuana worth a combined $69 million, Tuesday. Courtesy USCGCourtesy USCGThe drugs were seized from four go-fast smuggling vessel interdictions by the Farragut crew with an embarked Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET) 406 and Navy Combat Element (CEL), the Coast Guard said in a news release. “We were proud to work with the U.S. Coast Guard on the frontline of the threat that transnational drug trafficking presents to national security,” said Cmdr. Nicholas Gurley, commanding officer of USS Farragut. “Our experienced crew, HSM-60 CEL One and the members of our LEDET were essential to the success of this operation.”

3 men convicted in murder of South Florida rapper XXXTentacion face sentencing

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:51 GMT

It is sentencing day for three men who were convicted in the murder of South Florida rapper XXXTentacion. Michael Boatwright, 28, Dedrick Williams, 26, and Trayvon Newsome, 24, were convicted of first-degree murder back in March. They are expected to be sentenced, Thursday afternoon. XXXTentacion, whose real name was Jahseh Onfroy, was murdered in 2018 at Riva Motorsports in Deerfield when the three men robbed and stole $53,000 from him. Onfroy was 23 years old.During their trial, prosecutors showed jurors photos and video of the three posing with wads of cash. The jury deliberated for more than a week before they handed out the guilty verdicts. The three will be sentenced to life in prison without parole.

‘Something is going to go boom’: IMF chief warns of a more fragile global economy

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:51 GMT

The head of the International Monetary Fund warned of increasing vulnerabilities to the global economy as the world’s largest central banks continue to tamp down on stubbornly high inflation.“There is simply no way that interest rates would go up so much after being low for so long and there would be no vulnerabilities. Something is going to go boom,” IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva told POLITICO’s Ryan Heath at an event hosted by the Meridian International Center ahead of the annual IMF-World Bank spring meetings next week in Washington.Georgieva cautioned that a more fragile global economy will bring slower growth and greater financial fragility. The IMF, which provides financial lifelines to countries in distress and monitors the health of the global economy, projects global growth to remain around 3 percent over the next five years, the lowest medium-term growth forecast since 1990.But she said she did not think the world economy was headed toward a replay o...

Qatargate: Lead suspect Panzeri to be released from jail with electronic tag

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:51 GMT

BRUSSELS — Pier Antonio Panzeri, the lead suspect in the so-called Qatargate corruption probe, is moving from jail to house arrest with an electronic monitor pending trial, his lawyer confirmed to POLITICO.The move comes after Panzeri struck a plea deal with Belgian investigators in January, admitting guilt and agreeing to share information about whom he bribed, in exchange for a reduced sentence. He was among the first to be arrested in the sprawling probe and is suspected of being the ringleader in a scheme where foreign countries, including Qatar, allegedly worked to influence the European Parliament through cash payments and perks.Panzeri’s lawyer, Laurent Kennes, told POLITICO that the former Italian MEP will be now detained at home, confirming a prior report by Belgian newspaper Le Soir. It’s not clear when exactly Panzeri will leave jail, but it would probably take place in the next couple of days, Kennes added. “It is normal for a person who ...

Dutch far-right MP fined for posting image with Nazi flag on Twitter

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:51 GMT

A Dutch far-right lawmaker has been fined for publishing an edited photo of two government ministers next to a Nazi flag, the Netherlands’ Public Prosecution Service said in a statement Thursday.Pepijn van Houwelingen, of the populist Forum for Democracy Party (FVD), will have to pay a €450 fine.“After studying the file, the Public Prosecution Service concludes that this constitutes an insult from a legal point of view,” the statement read, adding that the picture was “unnecessarily offensive.”Last September, van Houwelingen posted a picture showing the Dutch health minister, Ernst Kuipers, lifting a flag showcasing UN Sustainable Development Goals, as well as an edited version of the same image in which a Nazi flag had been added. The social affairs and employment minister, Karien van Gennip, can be seen looking up and smiling at the flag in the background.Van Houwelingen later deleted the tweet, but the two ministers filed a lawsuit, with the health m...

Worker in stable condition after being extricated from trench in Newton

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:51 GMT

A DPW worker is in stable condition after being extricated from a trench on Bonita Street in Newton Thursday morning. Crews responding to the scene just after 9 a.m. found the worker buried up to his hip in a muddy ditch. “All of a sudden I saw one of the guys from the City of Newton screaming on the phone, ‘Hurry up, get here, get here, he’s fallen in the hole!'” neighbor Susan Delicata told 7NEWS. “I just came out and the two guys were trying to help to get him out of the hole,” she added. “I just saw the top of his head and it was all mud.”Newton Fire Chief Greg Gentile said the worker’s legs were buried and crews wasted no time rescuing him. “We found the victim conscious and breathing,” Gentile said. “There are probably minor injuries at this time.”Neighbors say the worker was in the trench fixing a leaking sewer line when the walls came caving in. “There will be an investigation and we’ll...

Maryland sheriff and firearms dealer indicted in illegal machine gun acquisition scheme, DOJ says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:51 GMT

(CNN) — A sheriff and a local firearms dealer in Frederick County, Maryland, have been indicted on federal charges for their roles in a scheme to illegally acquire machine guns so they could be rented out for profit, federal prosecutors announced.A federal grand jury indicted Frederick County Sheriff Charles Austin Jenkins, 66, and Robert Justin Krop, 36, on charges of conspiracy and false statements to acquire machine guns, the US Department of Justice said in a Wednesday news release.Krop, who owns firearms-related businesses in the county, is also charged with illegal possession of seven machine guns, the agency said.Krop and his businesses are licensed to possess and deal machine guns under special circumstances, which include using the guns as demonstration samples for potential law enforcement buyers, according to the indictment.The indictment alleges that from August 2015 to May 2022 Jenkins and Krop conspired to unlawfully purchase machine guns by falsifying ...

Pope washes feet in Holy Thursday rite at Rome youth prison

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:51 GMT

VATICAN CITY (AP) — In a Holy Thursday ritual symbolizing humility, Pope Francis washed and dried the feet of a dozen residents of a Rome juvenile prison, assuring them of their dignity and telling them “any of us” can fall into sin.The Casal del Marmo facility on the outskirts of Rome is the same juvenile prison where Francis performed the first feet-washing ritual of his papacy, demonstrating his belief that the Catholic Church should give attention to people living on society’s margins.On Thursday, Francis repeated the ritual on 10 male and two female residents who are serving time at the facility. He leaned over and poured water on one foot of each, then used a white towel to gently pat the foot dry before kissing it.When Francis looked up at them in turn to smile, they shook his hand and kissed it. Many of the young people whispered into the pope’s ear, and he chatted with them briefly in return.The ritual recalls the foot-washing Jesus performed on his 12 apostles ...

Small-business tax changes and tips to know in 2023

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:51 GMT

Tax season brings rule changes for business owners, and this year is no different. For instance, you can deduct 100% of what your business spent at restaurants in 2022 on your taxes this year. But in 2023, that figure will return to 50%.What never changes, experts say, is the need to keep accurate records and work with a tax professional you trust.“Business owners are oftentimes viewing their financial record-keeping as the last thing to do on the list. And they do it themselves, and they do it at night over a cup of coffee while they’re watching TV,” says David Levi, a certified public accountant and managing director at CBIZ, a tax, accounting, insurance and HR firm with offices across the United States.“[But] you don’t know what you don’t know. And the one thing that’s certain in the tax world is change,” Levi says.Here are some key rule changes and deadlines to note as you file your 2022 taxes and plan for 2023.Find out whether you can still claim the Employee Retention Tax Cred...