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TikTok is challenging the federal government’s order to shut down its operations in Canada. The company filed in documents in Federal Court in Vancouver on Thursday. The government ordered the dissolution of TikTok’s Canadian business in November after a national security review of the Chinese company behind the social media platform. That means TikTok must "wind down" its operations in Canada, though the app will continue to be available to Canadians. TikTok wants the court to overturn the government’s order and to place a pause on the order while the court hears the case. It is claiming the minister's decision was "unreasonable" and "driven by improper purposes." The review was carried out through the Investment Canada Act, which allows the government to investigate any foreign investment with potential to harm national security. Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne said in a statement at the time the government was taking action to address "specific national security risks," though it didn’t specify what those risks were. TikTok’s filing says Champagne "failed to engage with TikTok Canada on the purported substance of the concerns that led to the (order.)" The company argues the government ordered "measures that bear no rational connection to the national security risks it identifies." It says the reasons for the order "are unintelligible, fail to reveal a rational chain of analysis and are rife with logical fallacies." The company's law firm, Osler Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, declined to comment, while Champagne’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A TikTok spokesperson said in a statement that the order would "eliminate the jobs and livelihoods of our hundreds of dedicated local employees — who support the community of more than 14 million monthly Canadian users on TikTok, including businesses, advertisers, creators and initiatives developed especially for Canada." This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 10, 2024. Darryl Greer and Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press
Bennington and Omaha Skutt are a combined 46-4 over the last two seasons, with three of the losses to each other. So it's safe to say we'll get a deserving champion one way or the other on Tuesday night. While those two have a stranglehold on the rest of Class B, the battles between them are almost always worth the price of admission. (Note: Journal Star rankings are used instead of playoff seeds.) Time and day: 7:15 p.m. Tuesday Place: Memorial Stadium TV: Nebraska Public Media Omaha Skutt's Dylan Van Dyke (12) passes the ball while pressured by Seward's Cardin Goracke (11) last Friday in Seward. No. 1 Omaha Skutt Record: 11-1 Coach: Matt Turman Road to the finals: First round — def. York 49-7. Quarterfinals — def. Waverly 38-21. Semifinals — def. Seward 42-21. People are also reading... State playoff appearances: 24 Finals appearances: 10th Impact players QB Dylan VanDyke, 6-1, 185, sr., 3,077 passing yards, 39 TDs, 374 rushing yards, 13 TDs; WR/DB/K Joe Kolega, 6-0, 180, sr., 68 catches, 1,449 yards, 19 TDs, 57-61 PATs, 3-6 field goals, long of 43, 57 tackles, 6 INTs, 2 fumble recoveries; RB/LB George Hassenstab, 5-10, 180, sr., 692 rushing yards, 4 TDs, 66 tackles; FB/LB Gage Guenther, 5-10, 185, sr., 392 rushing yards, 5 TDs, 7 catches, 194 yards, 3 TDs, 89 tackles, 2 sacks; TE/LB Luke VanDyke, 6-1, 205, sr., 26 catches, 262 yards, 3 TDs, 126 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 INTs, 1 blocked kick, 1 fumble recovery. Bread and butter The SkyHawks can sling it all over the place. Quarterback Dylan VanDyke (3,077 yards, 39 TDs) is 345 yards shy of the Class B record for passing yards in a season and five touchdowns short of the single-season record. Receiver Joe Kolega already owns the Class B records for receiving yards (1,449) and touchdowns (19) in a season, is 10 catches away from the Class B record for receptions in a season and is 76 yards shy of Nebraska's single-season 11-man record for receiving yards in a season. Two other players have 20 or more catches and three more after that have double-digit receptions. No. 2 Bennington Record: 11-1 Coach: Kameron Lenhart Road to the finals: First round — def. Grand Island Northwest 41-7. Quarterfinals — def. McCook 39-0. Semifinals — def. Elkhorn North 16-7. State playoff appearances: 30 Finals appearances: Fifth Impact players LB Kyler Lauridsen, 6-0, 180, sr., 100 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 INTs, 2 blocked kicks, 33.6 yards per punt; DE Tysen Fleischman, 6-3, 195, sr., 56 tackles, 8.5 sacks, 1 fumble recovery; RB William Gutz, 5-10, 175, so., 1,205 rushing yards, 11 TDs; QB Houston Hill, 6-2, 215, sr., 1,560 passing yards, 16 TDs, 306 rushing yards, 4 TDs; WR Cooper Johnson, 6-1, 170, sr., 49 catches, 665 yards, 8 TDs; WR Elliott Andersen, 6-0, 180, sr., 26 catches, 343 yards, 5 TDs. Bread and butter Defense, defense, defense. In 10 of 12 games so far this season, the Badgers have given up seven or fewer points. Those other two games? Gretna scored 21 fourth-quarter points in a 56-35 loss, and Omaha Skutt had 38 in its wild 38-30 win over the Badgers. Linebacker Kyler Lauridsen is one of the best defensive players in the state, and the Badgers have 20 sacks, 15 interceptions and seven fumble recoveries. Basnett's pick It had to be these two. With apologies to Elkhorn North, which gave Skutt its only regular-season loss, the SkyHawks and Bennington are the cream of the Class B crop. The schools have combined to win five of the last six Class B titles — Bennington with the last three, Skutt with two in a row in 2018 and 2019. One program or the other has played in seven of the last eight Class B championship games and nine of the last 11. Skutt earlier this year ended Bennington's Class B-record 46-game winning streak in one of the season's best games. On Tuesday, though, Bennington finds a way to avenge its only loss of the last four seasons and win its fourth straight title in a thriller. Photos: Omaha Skutt, Seward meet in Class B semifinal — Nov. 15 A Seward player can be seen walking into the locker room during halftime of the game against Omaha Skutt on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, at Bulldog Stadium, in Seward. Seward runs out onto the field before the game against Omaha Skutt on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, at Bulldog Stadium, in Seward. Omaha Skutt's Dylan Van Dyke (12) dives into the end zone for a touchdown against Seward during a Class B state semifinal game on Friday in Seward. Seward's Jack Vyhnalek (6) runs with the ball during the first quarter of the game against Omaha Skutt on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, at Bulldog Stadium, in Seward. Vyhnalek scored a touchdown on the play. Omaha Skutt's Dylan Van Dyke (12) passes the ball while pressured by Seward's Cardin Goracke (11) last Friday in Seward. Omaha Skutt's Wyatt Liebentritt (9) breaks up a pass intended for Seward's Edison Knott (14) during the first quarter of the game on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, at Bulldog Stadium, in Seward. Seward's Kayson Salyer (left) breaks up a pass intended for Omaha Skutt's Lucas Heller (81) during the second quarter of the game on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, at Bulldog Stadium, in Seward. Seward's Jack Vyhnalek (6) catches a touchdown pass during the second quarter of the game against Omaha Skutt on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, at Bulldog Stadium, in Seward. Seward's Jack Vyhnalek (center) runs through a tackle by Omaha Skutt's Luke Van Dyke (5) during the first quarter of the game on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, at Bulldog Stadium, in Seward. Seward's Jack Vyhnalek (6) runs the ball while Omaha Skutt's Luke Van Dyke pursues during a Class B state semifinal game on Friday in Seward. Seward's Tresten Hass (5) celebrates a touchdown during the first quarter of the game against Omaha Skutt on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, at Bulldog Stadium, in Seward. Seward's Jack Vyhnalek (6) stiff-arms Omaha Skutt's Brenden Ruth during the first quarter of the game on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, at Bulldog Stadium, in Seward. Seward's Jack Vyhnalek (6) stiff-arms Omaha Skutt's Brenden Ruth during the first quarter of the game on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, at Bulldog Stadium, in Seward. Omaha Skutt's Nate Christensen (left) brings down Seward's Daylon Salyer (1) during the first quarter of the game on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, at Bulldog Stadium, in Seward. Omaha Skutt's Joe Kolega (2) catches a pass during the first quarter of the game against Seward on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, at Bulldog Stadium, in Seward. Seward's Cardin Goracke (11) tackles Omaha Skutt's Dylan Van Dyke (12) during the first quarter of the game on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, at Bulldog Stadium, in Seward. Omaha Skutt's Brenden Ruth (22) celebrates a defensive stop after breaking up a pass intended for Seward's Lathan Janousek (on the ground) during the fourth quarter of the game on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, at Bulldog Stadium, in Seward. Seward's Lathan Janousek (3), Daylon Salyer (1) and Tresten Hass (5) celebrate a touchdown during the second quarter of the game against Omaha Skutt on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, at Bulldog Stadium, in Seward. Seward and Omaha Skutt play a game on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, at Bulldog Stadium, in Seward. Seward Head Coach Jamie Opfer speaks to an official during the second quarter of the game against Omaha Skutt on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, at Bulldog Stadium, in Seward. A Seward player can be seen walking into the locker room during the halftime of the game against Omaha Skutt on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, at Bulldog Stadium, in Seward. Seward's Cardin Goracke (11) raises his arms to signal a defensive stop during the first quarter of the game against Omaha Skutt on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, at Bulldog Stadium, in Seward. Omaha Skutt scored a touchdown on the play. Omaha Skutt's Dylan Van Dyke (12) smiles as he runs off the field after winning the game against Seward on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, at Bulldog Stadium, in Seward. Reach the writer at (402) 473-7436 or cbasnett@journalstar.com . On Twitter @ChrisBasnettLJS. . Get in the game with our Prep Sports Newsletter Sent weekly directly to your inbox! 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Manhattan police have obtained a warrant for the arrest of 26-year-old Luigi Nicholas Mangione , suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson . Mangione was arrested at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, while carrying a gun, mask and writings linking him to the ambush. Mangione is being held without bail in Pennsylvania on charges of possession of an unlicensed firearm, forgery and providing false identification to police. Late Monday, Manhattan prosecutors charged him with five counts, including murder, criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession of a forged instrument. Here's the latest: White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre says “violence to combat any sort of corporate greed is unacceptable” and the White House will “continue to condemn any form of violence.” She declined to comment on the investigation into the Dec. 4 shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson or reports that writings belonging to the suspect, Luigi Mangione, said insurance companies care more about profits than their customers. “This is horrific,” Jean-Pierre said of the fatal shooting of Thompson as he walked in Manhattan. He didn’t appear to say anything as deputies led him to a waiting car outside. “I’m deeply grateful to the men and women of law enforcement whose efforts to solve the horrific murder of Brian Thompson led to the arrest of a suspect in Pennsylvania,” Gov. Hochul said in the statement. “I am coordinating with the District Attorney’s Office and will sign a request for a governor’s warrant to ensure this individual is tried and held accountable. Public safety is my top priority and I’ll do everything in my power to keep the streets of New York safe.” That’s according to a spokesperson for the governor who said Gov. Hochul will do it as soon as possible. Luigi Nicholas Mangione, the suspect in the fatal shooting of a healthcare executive in New York City, apparently was living a charmed life: the grandson of a wealthy real estate developer, valedictorian of his elite Baltimore prep school and with degrees from one of the nation’s top private universities. Friends at an exclusive co-living space at the edge of touristy Waikiki in Hawaii where the 26-year-old Mangione once lived widely considered him a “great guy,” and pictures on his social media accounts show a fit, smiling, handsome young man on beaches and at parties. Now, investigators in New York and Pennsylvania are working to piece together why Mangione may have diverged from this path to make the violent and radical decision to gun down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in a brazen attack on a Manhattan street. The killing sparked widespread discussions about corporate greed, unfairness in the medical insurance industry and even inspired folk-hero sentiment toward his killer. ▶ Read more about Luigi Mangione Peter Weeks, the Blair County district attorney, says he’ll work with New York officials to try to return suspect Luigi Mangione there to face charges. Weeks said the New York charges are “more serious” than in Blair County. “We believe their charges take precedent,” Weeks said, promising to do what’s needed to accommodate New York’s prosecution first. Weeks spoke to reporters after a brief hearing at which a defense lawyer said Mangione will fight extradition. The defense asked for a hearing on the issue. In the meantime, Mangione will be detained at a state prison in western Pennsylvania. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office said Tuesday it will seek a Governor’s warrant to secure Mangione’s extradition to Manhattan. Under state law, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul can issue a warrant of arrest demanding Mangione’s return to the state. Such a warrant must recite the facts necessary to the validity of its issuance and be sealed with the state seal. It would then be presented to law enforcement in Pennsylvania to expedite Mangione’s return to New York. But Blair County District Attorney Peter Weeks says it won’t be a substantial barrier to returning Mangione to New York. He noted that defendants contest extradition “all the time,” including in simple retail theft cases. Dickey, his defense lawyer, questioned whether the second-degree murder charge filed in New York might be eligible for bail under Pennsylvania law, but prosecutors raised concerns about both public safety and Mangione being a potential flight risk, and the judge denied it. Mangione will continue to be housed at a state prison in Huntingdon. He has 14 days to challenge the detention. Prosecutors, meanwhile, have a month to seek a governor’s warrant out of New York. Mangione, wearing an orange jumpsuit, mostly stared straight ahead at the hearing, occasionally consulting papers, rocking in his chair, or looking back at the gallery. At one point, he began to speak to respond to the court discussion, but was quieted by his lawyer. Luigi Mangione, 26, has also been denied bail at a brief court hearing in western Pennsylvania. He has 14 days to challenge the bail decision. That’s with some intervention from owner Elon Musk. The account, which hasn’t posted since June, was briefly suspended by X. But after a user inquired about it in a post Monday, Musk responded “This happened without my knowledge. Looking into it.” The account was later reinstated. Other social media companies such as Meta have removed his accounts. According to X rules, the platform removes “any accounts maintained by individual perpetrators of terrorist, violent extremist, or mass violent attacks, as well as any accounts glorifying the perpetrator(s), or dedicated to sharing manifestos and/or third party links where related content is hosted.” Mangione is not accused of perpetrating a terrorist or mass attack — he has been charged with murder — and his account doesn’t appear to share any writings about the case. He shouted something that was partly unintelligible, but referred to an “insult to the intelligence of the American people.” He’s there for an arraignment on local charges stemming from his arrest Monday. He was dressed in an orange jumpsuit as officers led him from a vehicle into the courthouse. Local defense lawyer Thomas Dickey is expected to represent the 26-year-old at a Tuesday afternoon hearing at the Blair County Courthouse. Dickey declined comment before the hearing. Mangione could have the Pennsylvania charges read aloud to him and may be asked to enter a plea. They include possession of an unlicensed firearm, forgery and providing false identification to police. In New York, he was charged late Monday with murder in the death of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO Brian Thompson. Mangione likely was motivated by his anger with what he called “parasitic” health insurance companies and a disdain with corporate greed, said a a law enforcement bulletin obtained by The Associated Press. He wrote that the U.S. has the most expensive healthcare system in the world and that the profits of major corporations continue to rise while “our life expectancy” does not, according to the bulletin, based on a review of the suspect’s hand-written notes and social media postings. He appeared to view the targeted killing of the UnitedHealthcare CEO as a symbolic takedown, asserting in his note that he is the “first to face it with such brutal honesty,” the bulletin said. Mangione called “Unabomber” Ted Kaczynski a “political revolutionary” and may have found inspiration from the man who carried out a series of bombings while railing against modern society and technology, the document said. A felony warrant filed in New York cites Altoona Officer Christy Wasser as saying she found the writings along with a semi-automatic pistol and an apparent silencer. The filing echoes earlier statements from NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny who said Mangione had a three-page, handwritten document that shows “some ill will toward corporate America.” Mangione is now charged in Pennsylvania with being a fugitive of justice. A customer at the McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, where Mangione was arrested said one of his friends had commented beforehand that the man looked like the suspect wanted for the shooting in New York City. “It started out almost a little bit like a joke, my one friend thought he looked like the shooter,” said the customer, who declined to give his full name, on Tuesday. “It wasn’t really a joke, but we laughed about it,” he added. The warrant on murder and other charges is a step that could help expedite his extradition from Pennsylvania. In court papers made public Tuesday, a New York City police detective reiterated key findings in the investigation he said tied Mangione to the killing, including surveillance footage and a fake ID he used to check into a Manhattan hostel on Nov. 24. Police officers in Altoona, Pennsylvania, found that ID when they arrested Mangione on Monday. Mangione is being held without bail in Pennsylvania on charges of possession of an unlicensed firearm, forgery and providing false identification to police. Late Monday, Manhattan prosecutors charged him with five counts, including murder, criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession of a forged instrument. Mangione doesn’t yet have a lawyer who can speak on his behalf, court officials said. Images of Mangione released Tuesday by Pennsylvania State Police showed him pulling down his mask in the corner of the McDonald’s while holding what appeared to be hash browns and wearing a winter jacket and ski cap. In another photo from a holding cell, he stood unsmiling with rumpled hair. Mangione’s cousin, Maryland lawmaker Nino Mangione, announced Tuesday morning that he’s postponing a fundraiser planned later this week at the Hayfields Country Club north of Baltimore, which was purchased by the Mangione family in 1986. “Because of the nature of this terrible situation involving my Cousin I do not believe it is appropriate to hold my fundraising event scheduled for this Thursday at Hayfields,” Nino Mangione said in a social media post. “I want to thank you for your thoughts, prayers, and support. My family and I are heartbroken and ask that you remember the family of Mr. Thompson in your prayers. Thank you.” Officers used New York City’s muscular surveillance system . Investigators analyzed DNA samples, fingerprints and internet addresses. Police went door to door looking for witnesses. When an arrest came five days later , those sprawling investigative efforts shared credit with an alert civilian’s instincts. A customer at a McDonald’s restaurant in Pennsylvania noticed another patron who resembled the man in the oblique security-camera photos New York police had publicized. He remains jailed in Pennsylvania, where he was initially charged with possession of an unlicensed firearm, forgery and providing false identification to police. By late Monday evening, prosecutors in Manhattan had added a charge of murder, according to an online court docket. It’s unclear whether Luigi Nicholas Mangione has an attorney who can comment on the allegations. Asked at Monday’s arraignment whether he needed a public defender, Mangione asked whether he could “answer that at a future date.”Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani unleashed a long-winded rant against a New York judge on Tuesday, telling reporters that the jurist, appointed by then-President Donald Trump , is an "activist Democrat." "Have you figured out what side he's on?" Giuliani told reporters Tuesday, referring to U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman. "Are you too dumb to see what side he's on?" "I've been a lawyer for 55 years," Giuliani added, according to Politico. "I can figure out what side he's on." Trump nominated Liman to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in May 2018. He was confirmed by the Senate in December 2019 by a vote of 64-29. Giuliani, also a former Trump attorney, added that Liman "doesn't give a damn about the truth. He just gives a damn about being popular." His rant against Liman arrived after the two men were embroiled in a heated back and forth at a pretrial hearing in New York related to a $148 million defamation lawsuit that two former Georgia election workers filed against Giuliani. Liman asked Giuliani in court why he hadn't handed over the title to his Mercedes-Benz convertible to the two election workers, Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, as ordered by the court. Giuliani said he had requested a duplicate title for the car but that it hadn't been issued yet. "The implication I have not been diligent about it is totally incorrect," he said. "The implication you make is against me and every implication against me is wrong." "I don't have a car," Giuliani said, according to Politico. "I don't have a credit card. They have put a stop order on, for example, my Social Security account," he added, referring to Freeman and Moss. But Liman cut Giuliani off, telling him, "I permitted Mr. Giuliani to speak. Next time, I will not permit him to speak and the court will have to take action." Giuliani has been consumed by legal troubles since the 2020 election. In July, he was disbarred in New York over efforts to overthrow the election results that year and deliver Trump the White House. The former mayor made "demonstrably false and misleading statements to courts, lawmakers, and the public at large in his capacity as lawyer for former President Donald J. Trump and the Trump campaign in connection with Trump's failed effort at reelection in 2020," the New York appeals court wrote in its ruling. Two months later, Giuliani was disbarred in Washington, D.C. Giuliani also faces criminal cases in Georgia and Arizona over election subversion efforts, and he was also hit with defamation lawsuits from voting technology companies Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic. Newsweek reached out to a Giuliani spokesperson for comment on Tuesday.
UnitedHealthcare CEO kept a low public profile. Then he was shot to death in New York
Holders of Series A Preferred Stock will receive a cash dividend equal to $560.00 per whole share. Holders of depositary shares, each representing a 1/1000 fractional interest in a share of Series A Preferred Stock (Nasdaq: CDZIP), will receive a cash dividend equal to $0.56 per depositary share. The dividend will be paid on January 15, 2025 , to applicable holders of record as of the close of business on January 3, 2025 . About Cadiz, Inc. Founded in 1983, Cadiz, Inc. (NASDAQ: CDZI) is a California water solutions company dedicated to providing access to clean, reliable and affordable water for people through a unique combination of water supply, storage, pipeline and treatment solutions. With 45,000 acres of land in California , 2.5 million acre-feet of water supply, 220 miles of pipeline assets and the most cost-effective water treatment filtration technology in the industry, Cadiz offers a full suite of solutions to address the impacts of climate change on clean water access. For more information, please visit https://www.cadizinc.com . Safe Harbor Statement This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. "Forward-looking statements" describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words such as "anticipates", "expect", "may", "plan", or "will". Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, projections, predictions, expectations, or beliefs about future events or results and are not statements of historical fact, including statements regarding the Company's expectations regarding payments of dividends in the future. You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. These and other risks are identified in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "Commission"), including without limitation our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 and our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other filings subsequently made by the Company with the Commission. All forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date on which they were made and are based on management's assumptions and estimates as of such date. We do not undertake any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of the receipt of new information, the occurrence of future events or otherwise. View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cadiz-inc-declares-quarterly-dividend-for-q4-2024-on-series-a-cumulative-perpetual-preferred-stock-302339009.html SOURCE Cadiz, Inc.NFL Thanksgiving: Picks for Dolphins-Packers, Bears-Lions, Giants-Cowboys. Will Miami be the big upset?
The Bahamas' legislature was forced to suspend its session on Wednesday after a heated debate about a police corruption scandal escalated, with one opposition lawmaker grabbing the symbolic parliamentary mace and throwing it out the window. Parliament member Shanendon Cartwright, frustrated after Speaker Patricia Deveaux did not let him speak, was seen rushing up where she was seated, grabbing the parliamentary mace, a heavy ceremonial staff, off the bench, and then tossing it out a nearby window. "Get him!" Deveaux then yelled, with the incident recorded on a government broadcast. He, alongside several ally lawmakers, were forced out of the building by police. The move harks back to 1965, when the leader of the opposition threw the mace out of a window in a push for political change, an event that became known as "Black Tuesday." It comes after U.S. federal prosecutors charged several high-ranking Bahamian police officials with facilitating the flow of cocaine into the U.S. in exchange for bribes. Prime Minister Philip Davis said during the session on Wednesday that the police commissioner had resigned, and promised a complete overhaul of the force to weed out corruption. Outside parliament, dozens of protesters gathered, shouting "Police are criminals!" REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you. Read 3 articles and stand to win rewards Spin the wheel nowMANILA (AFP) – Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte was hit with a second impeachment complaint yesterday, as she faces probes over an alleged death threat against President Ferdinand Marcos and use of government funds. The daughter of former president Rodrigo Duterte has been engulfed in political turmoil after her alliance with Marcos spectacularly collapsed ahead of next year’s mid-term elections. Duterte quit her Cabinet post of education secretary in June after relations between the two powerful families reached breaking point and have since shattered. Yesterday’s complaint filed by activists, teachers, former congressional members and others accused Duterte of betraying public trust for the alleged misuse of millions of dollars in public funds while she was education minister, left-wing coalition Makabayan said. “The Vice President’s brazen misuse of more than PHP500 billion (USD8.5 million) in confidential funds, particularly the suspicious liquidation of PHP125 million in just 11 days at the end of 2022, represents a grave betrayal of public trust,” former congressman Teddy Casino, and one of the complainants, said in a statement. “The Filipino people, especially our taxpayers who bear the burden of funding government operations, deserve accountability from their second highest official.” A different coalition of activists lodged an impeachment complaint against Duterte on Monday, accusing her of corruption and misconduct. Duterte has denied misusing public funds. It is unclear if either of the two impeachment cases filed against Duterte this week will get the backing of the one-third of lawmakers needed to move to a Senate trial. While Marcos’ allies hold a majority in the House of Representatives, he has publicly called such efforts a waste of time. Under the country’s constitution, impeachment proceedings cannot be started against the same person more than once within a year, meaning the House of Representatives, where the two complaints were filed, will have to choose one or consolidate them. The latest complaint adds to Duterte’s legal woes as she faces a probe into her alleged death threat against Marcos and another inquiry into her use of government funds. Duterte was subpoenaed following a press conference where she claimed to have told someone to kill the president should an alleged threat against her own life be carried out. She later said the comments were misinterpreted. She is also facing an investigation in the House, led by Marcos’ cousin Martin Romualdez, over her alleged misuse of millions of dollars in government funds.Quebec condemns Nazi reference at pro-Palestinian protest in Montreal
Bluesky has seen its user base soar since the U.S. presidential election, boosted by people seeking refuge from Elon Musk's X, which they view as increasingly leaning too far to the right given its owner's support of President-elect Donald Trump, or wanting an alternative to Meta's Threads and its algorithms. The platform grew out of the company then known as Twitter, championed by its former CEO Jack Dorsey. Its decentralized approach to social networking was eventually intended to replace Twitter's core mechanic. That's unlikely now that the two companies have parted ways. But Bluesky's growth trajectory — with a user base that has more than doubled since October — could make it a serious competitor to other social platforms. But with growth comes growing pains. It's not just human users who've been flocking to Bluesky but also bots, including those designed to create partisan division or direct users to junk websites. The skyrocketing user base — now surpassing 25 million — is the biggest test yet for a relatively young platform that has branded itself as a social media alternative free of the problems plaguing its competitors. According to research firm Similarweb, Bluesky added 7.6 million monthly active app users on iOS and Android in November, an increase of 295.4% since October. It also saw 56.2 million desktop and mobile web visits, in the same period, up 189% from October. Besides the U.S. elections, Bluesky also got a boost when X was briefly banned in Brazil. “They got this spike in attention, they’ve crossed the threshold where it is now worth it for people to flood the platform with spam,” said Laura Edelson, an assistant professor of computer science at Northeastern University and a member of Issue One’s Council for Responsible Social Media. “But they don’t have the cash flow, they don’t have the established team that a larger platform would, so they have to do it all very, very quickly.” To manage growth for its tiny staff, Bluesky started as an invitation-only space until it opened to the public in February. That period gave the site time to build out moderation tools and other distinctive features to attract new users, such as “starter packs” that provide lists of topically curated feeds. Meta recently announced that it is testing a similar feature. Compared to the bigger players like Meta's platforms or X, Bluesky has a “quite different” value system, said Claire Wardle, a professor at Cornell University and an expert in misinformation. This includes giving users more control over their experience. “The first generation of social media platforms connected the world, but ended up consolidating power in the hands of a few corporations and their leaders,” Bluesky said on its blog in March. “Our online experience doesn’t have to depend on billionaires unilaterally making decisions over what we see. On an open social network like Bluesky, you can shape your experience for yourself.” Because of this mindset, Bluesky has achieved a scrappy underdog status that has attracted users who've grown tired of the big players. “People had this idea that it was going to be a different type of social network,” Wardle said. “But the truth is, when you get lots of people in a place and there are eyeballs, it means that it’s in other people’s interests to use bots to create, you know, information that aligns with their perspective.” Little data has emerged to help quantify the rise in impersonator accounts, artificial intelligence-fueled networks and other potentially harmful content on Bluesky. But in recent weeks, users have begun reporting large numbers of apparent AI bots following them, posting plagiarized articles or making seemingly automated divisive comments in replies. Lion Cassens, a Bluesky user and doctoral candidate in the Netherlands, found one such network by accident — a group of German-language accounts with similar bios and AI-generated profile pictures posting in replies to three German newspapers. “I noticed some weird replies under a news post by the German newspaper ‘Die Ziet,’” he said in an email to The Associated Press. “I have a lot of trust in the moderation mechanism on Bluesky, especially compared to Twitter since the layoffs and due to Musk’s more radical stance on freedom of speech. But AI bots are a big challenge, as they will only improve. I hope social media can keep up with that.” Cassens said the bots' messages have been relatively innocuous so far, but he was concerned about how they could be repurposed in the future to mislead. There are also signs that foreign disinformation narratives have made their way to Bluesky. The disinformation research group Alethea pointed to one low-traction post sharing a false claim about ABC News that had circulated on Russian Telegram channels. Copycat accounts are another challenge. In late November, Alexios Mantzarlis, director of the Security, Trust and Safety Initiative at Cornell Tech, found that of the top 100 most followed named individuals on Bluesky, 44% had at least one duplicate account posing as them. Two weeks later, Mantzarlis said Bluesky had removed around two-thirds of the duplicate accounts he’d initially detected — a sign the site was aware of the issue and attempting to address it. Bluesky posted earlier this month that it had quadrupled its moderation team to keep up with its growing user base. The company also announced it had introduced a new system to detect impersonation and was working to improve its Community Guidelines to provide more detail on what’s allowed. Because of the way the site is built, users also have the option to subscribe to third-party “Labelers” that outsource content moderation by tagging accounts with warnings and context. The company didn't respond to multiple requests for comment for this story. Even as its challenges aren’t yet at the scale other platforms face, Bluesky is at a “crossroads,” said Edward Perez, a board member at the nonpartisan nonprofit OSET Institute, who previously led Twitter’s civic integrity team. “Whether BlueSky likes it or not, it is being pulled into the real world,” Perez said, noting that it needs to quickly prioritize threats and work to mitigate them if it hopes to continue to grow. That said, disinformation and bots won't be Bluesky's only challenges in the months and years to come. As a text-based social network, its entire premise is falling out of favor with younger generations. A recent Pew Research Center poll found that only 17% of American teenagers used X, for instance, down from 23% in 2022. For teens and young adults, TikTok, Instagram and other visual-focused platforms are the places to be. Political polarization is also going against Bluesky ever reaching the size of TikTok, Instagram or even X. “Bluesky is not trying to be all things to all people,” Wardle said, adding that, likely, the days of a Facebook or Instagram emerging where they're “trying to keep everybody happy” are over. Social platforms are increasingly splintered along political lines and when they aren't — see Meta's platforms — the companies behind them are actively working to de-emphasize political content and news.Biden to rule on United States steel deal after panel deadlock
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