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Privacy laws work. Just ask the Europeans

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:56:20 GMT

Facebook parent Meta Platforms will allow users to opt out of highly personalized online ads that violate people's privacy.To which you say: Wow, cool, it's about time!To which I respond: Yeah, no. This is only in Europe.It's the latest example of how American tech companies are bending over backward to comply with tough European privacy laws, which give internet users the right to safeguard their personal information and opt out of invasive practices.We have no such laws here on a national basis.The Wall Street Journal, citing "people familiar with the planning," reported Thursday that Meta will allow Europeans to dodge marketing that relies on insights gleaned from the content you view online and the websites you visit.Instead, people who opt out of such practices will see ads based on broader categories, such as age and location.Obviously Meta, and its marketing partners, would prefer to keep data mining all users everywhere and targeting them with ads that closely reflect their ...

Knott's Berry Farm extends Boysenberry festival

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:56:20 GMT

For Knott’s fans who haven’t gotten a chance to experience this year’s Boysenberry festival, the theme park announced Thursday that the festival duration has been extended.“Guests can enjoy the unique boysenberry-inspired food and wine festival daily, now through April 16, and every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, April 21-23, April 28-April 30 and May 5-7,” a news release said. Knott’s Berry Farm releases park events for 2023 The food-centric event began on March 10 and was originally going to conclude on April 16.At the event, guests can celebrate “the little berry to start it all” and enjoy other boysenberry food items and specialty drinks.This year’s festival includes over 75 unique boysenberry-inspired creations. Knott’s Boysenberry Festival introduces new berry-infused food, drinks Visitors can also enjoy various entertainment, live music, and fun daily activities during the festival.In honor of the famous boysenberry, Knott’s will also celebrate National Boysenberry Day on ...

Gondola exhibit reopens at Dodger Stadium

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:56:20 GMT

Just in time for Opening Day, an exhibit showing a prototype gondola that could transport fans to Dodger Stadium is back on display at the ballpark’s parking lot.A cabin of the proposed gondola is displayed at Parking Lot H at Chavez Ravine. The proposal from the Los Angeles Aerial Rapid Transit has been met with controversy since it was first introduced. Residents say proposed gondola to Dodger Stadium will change landscape of neighborhood The company says it can transport up to 10,000 per hour, will reduce pollution and traffic and will take fans from Union Station to Dodger Stadium in just minutes.A KTLA map shows the proposed gondola line over Chinatown. The gondola would be built above Chinatown, something community members say would lead to even more gentrification and congestion.Protestors are planning to gather at the stadium to rally against the proposal Thursday afternoon.David Grannis, the executive director of Zero Emissions Transit also behind the project, said they c...

4 treated over smell emitted from sewer at Menifee school; building evacuated

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:56:20 GMT

Four people were being treated after a foul odor emitted from a sewer at a high school in Menifee Thursday afternoon and a building was evacuated as a precaution, officials said.The incident was reported around 12:30 p.m. at Paloma Valley High School, located at 31375 Bradley Rd., Cal Fire Riverside County officials told KTLA.One building was evacuated as a precaution, but a hazardous material team determined there was no hazard. Paramedics evaluated and transported three adults and a minor with minor symptoms, officials said.

This is how much people need to earn to 'live comfortably' in California

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:56:20 GMT

Do you think you make enough to afford a life in California?With high inflation and cost of living expenses, it can be hard to feel financially secure, especially for Golden State residents.  Using data from the latest MIT Living Wage Calculator and the 50/30/20 budgeting method, Smart Asset calculated the after-tax salary a single person without kids would need to earn to “live comfortably” in 25 of the largest cities in the U.S., including those in California. This is how much a six figure income is worth in California The 50/30/20 budgeting method separates one’s budget into three categories: basic living expenses, discretionary spending and saving or paying off debt.The budgeting method calls for 50% of the salary to be used to pay for basic living expenses, for example, rent and bills; 30% would be used for personal spending and 20% would be put into a savings account or used to pay down debt.For California cities like Los Angeles, Berkeley and San Diego, a single person...

Has Hollywood embraced diversity? Not yet, says a new report

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:56:20 GMT

It's no secret that the film industry took a hit during the pandemic. While the movie business was somewhat back to normal in 2022, it seems like it lost its footing regarding representation on screen. That's according to UCLA's Hollywood Diversity Report.Diversity in leading roles for theatrical releases has lowered to 2018 and 2019 numbers, said the report. During a time of uncertainty, studios leaned on "surefire" hits, which tapped into nostalgia or previous intellectual property. They also limited the number of theatrical releases, which capped opportunities for some filmmakers. "The idea that diversity on the big screen is somehow an inherently 'riskier' business proposition — which this report series debunked years ago — seemed to rear its ugly head again in 2022," the report said.This led to studios choosing white male directors for bigger projects. They made up 73% of film directors in theatrical release, in films that had a budget above $30 million.For theatrical releases,...

Pittsburg: Second suspect in homicide arrested

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:56:20 GMT

PITTSBURG — A woman was in county jail after a search warrant at an Antioch home led to her arrest Wednesday in connection with a fatal shooting earlier this month, authorities said.Shortly after 9 p.m. March 22, police responded to a home after a possible gunshot report in the 100 block of Bruno Avenue. About 40 minutes after officers arrived, they heard gunshots about a half-mile away in the 1000 block of Power Avenue, and learned of a dispatcher’s call about a clerk shot at a store.Other officers responded to the store, and found a clerk suffering from at least one gunshot wound. Despite officers’ life-saving efforts, the man was pronounced dead at the scene.Police identified him as Abdul Raouf, 44, and said the shooting was the city’s first homicide of the year.Police learned that two Pittsburg residents, a 37-year-old man and 34-year-old woman, had been involved in a fracas on Bruno shortly before someone fired a handgun several times into the air. There...

CDC: Gun injuries soared in the US during the pandemic

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:56:20 GMT

By Mike Stobbe | Associated PressNEW YORK — For every American killed by gunfire, an estimated two or more more survive, often with terrible injuries — a fact that public health experts say is crucial to understanding the full impact of guns on society.A new government study highlights just how violent America’s recent past has been by showing a surge in gunfire injuries during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the number of people fatally shooting each other — and themselves — also increased.The number of people injured by gunfire was nearly 40% higher in 2020 and 2021, compared with 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a study published Thursday. In 2022, gun injuries tapered off, but were still 20% higher than before the pandemic.Gun injuries rose similarly for men and women over the past three years, while the largest proportional increase occurred among children younger than 15, a subset that remains a small fraction of the overall problem.Experts ...

Kurtenbach: The SF Giants were big-timed in their Opening Day loss to the Yankees

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:56:20 GMT

The Giants fancy themselves a big-market team. Their tidy $75 million in estimated annual profit backs up that claim.But on the diamond, they saw what a real big-market team looks like in Thursday’s season opener in New York.The Yankees beat the Giants 5-0 behind Aaron Judge’s first-inning home run and a sterling start from ace Gerrit Cole, who struck out 11.Even with Giants ace Logan Webb striking out one more batter, it was impossible to watch Thursday’s game and not think: “Man, it would be nice to have those guys.”The kicker, of course, is that the Giants had their opportunities to sign both.Gerrit Cole is DEALINGSIX STRIKEOUTS through two innings pic.twitter.com/IA2AkLUeCf— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) March 30, 2023Cole — the brother-in-law of shortstop Brandon Crawford — was a free agent after the 2019 season. The Giants were reportedly “positioned and motivated” to sign the now-five-time All-Star. And then the Yankees ca...

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, under house arrest at his parents’ home in Palo Alto, pleads not guilty to new federal charges

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:56:20 GMT

By Kara Scannell, CNN(CNN) — Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of failed cryptocurrency trading platform FTX, pleaded not guilty to five new federal charges of fraud and conspiracy, including one count of conspiring to bribe Chinese government officials.An attorney for Bankman-Fried entered the plea on his behalf of his client, who was seated beside him in the New York courtroom Thursday. He previously pleaded not guilty to eight other charges stemming from what prosecutors have described as one of the biggest financial frauds in US history.Earlier this week, federal prosecutors tacked on a 13th criminal charge against Bankman-Fried, accusing him of bribing “one or more” Chinese government officials with $40 million worth of cryptocurrency.In the latest indictment, prosecutors alleged that Bankman-Fried sought to pay off Chinese officials to unfreeze accounts belonging to his hedge fund, Alameda Research. The accounts, which the Chinese government had frozen, held mor...