US prosecutors seek to dismiss federal Trump cases
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Google, already facing a possible breakup of the company over its ubiquitous search engine, is fighting to beat back another attack by the U.S. Department of Justice alleging monopolistic conduct, this time over technology that puts online advertising in front of consumers. The Justice Department and Google made closing arguments Monday in a trial alleging Google's advertising technology constitutes an illegal monopoly. U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema in Alexandria, Virginia, will decide the case and is expected to issue a written ruling by the end of the year. If Brinkema finds Google has engaged in illegal, monopolistic conduct, she will then hold further hearings to explore what remedies should be imposed. The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App The Justice Department, along with a coalition of states, has already said it believes Google should be forced to sell off parts of its ad tech business, which generates tens of billions of dollars annually for the Mountain View, California-based company. After roughly a month of trial testimony earlier this year, the arguments in the case remain the same. During three hours of arguments Monday, Brinkema, who sometimes tips her hand during legal arguments, did little to indicate how she might rule. She did, though, question the applicability of a key antitrust case Google cites in its defense. The Justice Department contends Google built and maintained a monopoly in “open-web display advertising,” essentially the rectangular ads that appear on the top and right-hand side of the page when one browses websites. Google dominates all facets of the market. A technology called DoubleClick is used pervasively by news sites and other online publishers, while Google Ads maintains a cache of advertisers large and small looking to place their ads on the right webpage in front of the right consumer. In between is another Google product, AdExchange, that conducts nearly instantaneous auctions matching advertisers to publishers. In court papers, Justice Department lawyers say Google “is more concerned with acquiring and preserving its trifecta of monopolies than serving its own publisher and advertiser customers or winning on the merits.” As a result, content providers and news organizations have never been able to generate the online revenue they should due to Google’s excessive fees for brokering transactions between advertisers and publishers, the government says. Google argues the government's case improperly focuses on a narrow niche of online advertising. If one looks more broadly at online advertising to include social media, streaming TV services, and app-based advertising, Google says it controls as little as 10 per cent of the market, a share that is dwindling as it faces increased and evolving competition. Sign up for breaking news alerts from CTV News, right at your fingertips Google alleges in court papers that the government’s lawsuit “boil(s) down to the persistent complaints of a handful of Google’s rivals and several mammoth publishers.” Google also says it has invested billions in technology that facilitates the efficient match of advertisers to interested consumers and it should not be forced to share its technology and success with competitors. “Requiring a company to do further engineering work to make its technology and customers accessible by all of its competitors on their preferred terms has never been compelled by U.S. antitrust law,” the company wrote. Brinkema, during Monday's arguments, also sought clarity on Google’s market share, a number the two sides dispute, depending on how broadly the market is defined. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough, File) Historically, courts have been unwilling to declare an illegal monopoly in markets in which a company holds less than a 70 per cent market share. Google says that when online display advertising is viewed as a whole, it holds only a 10 per cent market share, and dwindling. The Justice Department contends, though, that when focusing on open-web display advertising, Google controls 91 per cent of the market for publisher ad servers and 87 per cent of the market for advertiser ad networks. Google says that the “open web display advertising” market is gerrymandered by the Justice Department to make Google look bad, and that nobody in the industry looks at that category of ads without considering the ability of advertisers to switch to other forms of advertising, like in mobile apps. The Justice Department also contends that the public is harmed by the excessive rates Google charges to facilitate ad purchases, saying the company takes 36 cents on the dollar when it facilitates the transaction end to end. Google says its “take rate” has dropped to 31 per cent and continues to decrease, and it says that rate is lower than that of its competitors. “When you have an integrated system, one of the benefits is lower prices," Google lawyer Karen Dunn said Monday. Top business headlines, all in one place The Virginia case is separate from an ongoing lawsuit brought against Google in the District of Columbia over its namesake search engine. In that case, the judge determined it constitutes an illegal monopoly but has not decided what remedy to impose. The Justice Department said last week it will seek to force Google to sell its Chrome web browser , among a host of other penalties. Google has said the department's request is overkill and unhinged from legitimate regulation. In Monday's arguments, Justice Department lawyer Aaron Teitelbaum cited the search engine case when he highlighted an email from a Google executive, David Rosenblatt, who said in a 2009 email that Google’s goal was to “do to display what Google did to search," which Teitelbaum said showed the company's intent to achieve market dominance. “Google did not achieve its trifecta of monopolies by accident,” Teitelbaum said.
Trudeau, Carney push back over Trump’s ongoing 51st state comments
Selinsgrove anticipating crowd for Susquehanna playoff quarterfinalMission to SyriaAs 2025 approaches, uncertainty looms over two wars raging in Gaza and Ukraine, with West Asia destabilised by the sudden fall of Syria’s Assad regime on December 8. The passing away of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, a day after Christmas, symbolises the end of India’s post-Independence era. The unseemly debates in Parliament and beyond, commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Indian Constitution, became a Congress-BJP brawl over B.R. Ambedkar’s role. The saga involved the Congress embracing a fictional past, where it more abused than used the Constitution, and the BJP feigning respect for constitutionalism while desiring to shape it as per its majoritarian instincts. Political churn is not specific to India alone. In 2024, 76 nations held polls, constituting half the world’s population. In some, like Russia and Venezuela, it was a rigged exercise to claim legitimacy for authoritarian rulers. In others, like the UK, where Conservatives lost power after 14 years, or France, where the adverse parliamentary elections’ verdict challenged the sitting President Emmanuel Macron, electoral results signalled change. In India too, people left the BJP in parliamentary elections dependent on allies’ support, which the BJP, by its self-centred agenda and arrogant governance, is defying. The most challenging development is Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election. Although his term begins only on January 20, he is already in the limelight, continuously nominating individuals that reflect loyalty to him and commitment to the Make America Great Again (MAGA) agenda. Some have been forced to withdraw due to past sexual indiscretions, while some others may yet face the Senate’s disapproval due to lopsided views. For instance, Robert Kennedy Jr., named to lead the health departments, advocates the rejection of vaccines. The Economist magazine anticipates, in the coming year, an “interplay between Donald Trump, technology, and radical uncertainty.” The global worry is over his threat of imposing retaliatory tariffs of 20% on all nations trading with the US, with China attracting an even higher percentage. Some aides of Trump argue that his bark may be worse than his bite, as he often uses threats simply as a negotiating tactic. However, Indian analysts missed the implications of Trump’s remark that the US and China could effectively address most contentious global issues if they collaborated. This has, for decades, been precisely the Indian strategic concern: that bipolar Sino-US convergence would automatically relegate India to a secondary position. Although unstated publicly, the External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s hurried US trip post-Christmas, when official business languishes due to the holiday season, indicates this concern. The fact that Trump invited, albeit unsuccessfully, Chinese President Xi Jinping for his inauguration without extending a similar offer to Prime Minister Narendra Modi reflects Trump’s priorities. Reportedly, Hungarian President Viktor Orban, a Trump acolyte who rejects European military support for Ukraine, may also be on the invitees list. No previous US president has invited foreign leaders for the inauguration. Trump has claimed that he would end the Ukraine war almost instantaneously after assuming office. Russian President Vladimir Putin, who deliberately delayed congratulating Trump after his win, may accept a ceasefire only if Ukraine is arm-twisted into accepting the status quo over land held by either side currently. Perhaps that explains reports of Russians employing North Korean soldiers to eject Ukrainians from their Kursk region. Ukraine wants to use that occupation to bargain for the return of Ukrainian territory under Russian control. Although Trump is likely to give Israel a carte blanche to conduct its military operations, Israel, having already decapitated Hamas, may be ready for a ceasefire. Trump fathered the Abraham Accords to normalise Israel-Arab relations. These are now stymied by Israel rejecting both a ceasefire and a two-nation solution to the Israel-Palestine dispute. Thus, globally, Trump 2.0 can either be an agent of disruptive but positive change or an initiator of global economic and geostrategic bedlam. The US deterrence has mostly stabilised the world, especially since the end of the Cold War in 1991. Chinese ascendancy and alliance with Russia, Iran, and North Korea is resurrecting a new bipolar order. But China faces economic headwinds, and its GDP, having become three-quarters that of the US, fell to two-thirds by 2021. The European Union faces economic challenges due to its energy dependence on Russia being disrupted by the Ukraine war and its slow transition to industries of the future. The feared new standoff between the US and China catches Europe on the backfoot, already hobbled by its centrist ruling alliances breaking down, causing the rise of far-right parties. India is adopting a wait-and-watch strategy, like most of the world. At the United Nations, the Chinese contribution to the UN budget, at 20% of the total, now rivals that of the US. Trump is likely to withdraw the US from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNESCO. Ideally, after some turbulence, the Trumpian storm would pass. But diminished US deterrence and an isolationist America bode ill for global peace and friendship. KC Singh is former secretary, Ministry of External Affairs
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METAIRIE, La. (AP) — If Saints interim coach Darren Rizzi has any definite ideas about who’ll play quarterback for New Orleans against Washington on Sunday, he’s not ready to share that information. Rizzi maintained on Wednesday that there’s still a chance that Derek Carr could clear the concussion protocol and function well enough with his injured, non-throwing left hand to return against the Commanders. Meanwhile, reserve QBs Jake Haener and Spencer Rattler split first-team snaps during Wednesday’s practice, which Carr missed, Rizzi said. “We’re not going to name a starter right now,” said Rizzi, who also made a point of noting that Carr would not be placed on the club’s injured reserve list and would not need surgery. “We’re going to see how that progression plays out, first with Derek and then obviously with Jake and Spencer.” Carr, whose latest injury occurred when he tried to dive for a first down during Sunday’s 14-11 victory over the New York Giants , has already missed three starts this season because of a separate, oblique injury. New Orleans lost all three of those games, with Rattler, a rookie, starting and Haener, a second-year pro, serving as the backup. RELATED COVERAGE Chargers QB Justin Herbert does not practice because of left ankle injury Bills defense out to prove against high-scoring Lions that it’s better than its dud vs. Rams Aaron Rodgers suggests a ‘curse’ might be the reason for the Jets’ losing ways In his three starts, Rattler completed 59 of 99 passes (59.6%) for 571 yards, one TD and two interceptions. Haener has gotten sporadic work this season in relief of both Carr and Rattler, completing 14 of 29 passes (48.3%) for 177 yards and one TD without an interception. Rizzi said he finds the 6-foot-1 Haener and 6-foot Rattler “very similar in a lot of ways,” adding that whichever of those two might play “doesn’t change a whole bunch” in terms of game-planning. The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! Get the poll delivered straight to your inbox with AP Top 25 Poll Alerts. Sign up here . “They’re both similar-size guys. Their athletic ability is very similar,” Rizzi said. “They’re similar-style quarterbacks. We’re not dealing with opposites on the spectrum.” The Saints also signed another QB this week — Ben DiNucci — to help take scout team snaps at practice, now that Rattler and Haener are not as available to do that while competing to possibly start if Carr is indeed unable to play. The Saints (5-8) have won three of four games since Rizzi took over following the firing of coach Dennis Allen. That allowed New Orleans to remain alive in the NFC South Division, currently led by Tampa Bay (7-6). Rizzi said Carr has not had any setbacks this week in terms of progressing through the NFL’s concussion protocol. “By the end of the week, if’s he’s not able to get any reps in any form or fashion, then obviously we’ll go with one of the other guys,” Rizzi said. NOTES: RB Alvin Kamara did not practice on Wednesday because of an illness. ... WR Chris Olave, who is out indefinitely because of concussions this season, has returned to meetings at Saints headquarters. He as not, however, made plans to return to practice yet because he still plans to meet first with neurological specialists to try to assess the risks of returning to action during what’s left of this season. Rizzi said the possibility of Olave playing again this season remains “on the table” for now. ___ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
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Lions receiver Jameson Williams won't be charged for having a gun in a carDonald Trump has yet to move back into the White House and already fissures are opening in his coalition, amid squabbling between Elon Musk and his Silicon Valley "tech bros" and his hardcore Republican backers. At the heart of the internecine sniping is Trump's central election issue -- immigration -- and the H1-B visas that allow companies to bring foreigners with specific qualifications to the United States. The permits are widely used in Silicon Valley, and Musk -- who himself came to the United States from South Africa on an H1-B -- is a fervent advocate. The world's richest man, who bankrolled Trump's election campaign and has become a close advisor, posted on X Thursday that welcoming elite engineering talent from abroad was "essential for America to keep winning." Vivek Ramaswamy, appointed by Trump as Musk's co-chair on a new advisory board on government efficiency, suggested that companies prefer foreign workers because they lack an "American culture," which he said venerates mediocrity. "A culture that celebrates the prom queen over the math olympiad champ, or the jock over the valedictorian, will not produce the best engineers," he posted, warning that, without a change in attitude, "we'll have our asses handed to us by China." Skepticism over the benefits of immigration is a hallmark of Trump's "Make America Great Again" (MAGA) movement and the billionaires' remarks angered immigration hawks who accused them of ignoring US achievements in technological innovation. Incoming White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller posted a 2020 speech in which Trump marveled at the American "culture" that had "harnessed electricity, split the atom, and gave the world the telephone and the Internet." The post appeared calculated to remind critics that Trump won November's election on a platform of getting tough on immigration and boosting American manufacturing. But it was Michael Faraday, an English scientist, who discovered that an electric current could be produced by passing a magnet through a copper wire and Ernest Rutherford, a New Zealander, who first split the atom. And Alexander Graham Bell may have died a US citizen but he was a British subject in Canada when he invented the telephone. Trump voiced opposition to H1-B visas during his successful first run for the White House in 2016, calling them "unfair for our workers" while acknowledging that he used foreign labor in his own businesses. The Republican placed restrictions on the system when he took office, but the curbs were lifted by President Joe Biden. More from this section Trump is known for enjoying the gladiatorial spectacle when conflict breaks out in his inner circle. He has been conspicuously silent during the hostilities that Politico characterized as "Musk vs MAGA." Many MAGA figures have been agitating for a complete closure of America's borders while the problem of illegal entries is tackled, and hoping for a steer from Trump that would reassure them that he remains firm in his "America First" stance. For some long-time loyalists, Silicon Valley has already inserted itself too deeply into MAGA politics. "We welcomed the tech bros when they came running our way to avoid the 3rd grade teacher picking their kid's gender -- and the obvious Biden/Harris economic decline," said Matt Gaetz, the scandal-hit congressman forced to withdraw after being nominated by Trump to run the Justice Department. "We did not ask them to engineer an immigration policy." When Musk almost single-handedly blew up a deal painstakingly hammered out between Democrats and Republicans to set the 2025 federal budget, Democrats used "President Musk" to mock Trump, who is famously sensitive about being upstaged. It remains to be seen whether these cracks can be smoothed out or if they are a portent of further strife, but critics point to the chaos in Trump's first term as a potential indicator. "Looking forward to the inevitable divorce between President Trump and Big Tech," said far-right conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer, a MAGA figure with so much influence that she had a seat on Trump's plane during the campaign. "We have to protect President Trump from the technocrats." Loomer has subsequently complained of censorship after she was stripped of her paying subscribers on X, which is owned by Musk. "Full censorship of my account simply because I called out H1B visas," she posted. "This is anti-American behavior by tech oligarchs. What happened to free speech?" rle/ft/sms
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The Eagles are looking to clinch the NFC East title while completing a rare sweep of the rival Dallas Cowboys on Sunday in Philadelphia. The Eagles (12-3) will have to play without starting quarterback Jalen Hurts, who sustained a concussion during last weekend's 36-33 loss at Washington that snapped their team-record 10-game winning streak. He was ruled out on Friday after missing practice all week. Backup quarterback Kenny Pickett suffered a rib injury against the Commanders, but he was a full participant at Thursday's practice and was limited on Friday. Pickett is expected to start, with Tanner McKee his backup on Sunday as Philadelphia tries to sweep Dallas for the first time since 2011. Meanwhile, the Cowboys (7-8) are clicking with their own QB2 at the controls. Cooper Rush has guided Dallas to wins in four of the last five games, throwing nine touchdown passes and just one interception in that span. The Cowboys are in the unfamiliar position of playing spoiler, missing the playoffs for the first time since 2020. Two more wins would give Dallas its fourth straight winning season under fifth-year coach Mike McCarthy. "It's hard to win games in this league. It's definitely an end goal just to have a winning season," Cowboys right guard Brock Hoffman said. "... But definitely where we've been at on this journey, take it week by week, win these last two games, have a winning season, and it's definitely a big boost going into next season." The Eagles cruised to a 34-6 win over the Cowboys in Arlington, Texas, in the first meeting in Week 10, with Hurts throwing two touchdown passes and rushing for two scores. Rush finished with just 45 yards on 13-of-23 passing. Pickett replaced a woozy Hurts in the first quarter against Washington and finished the drive with a touchdown pass to A.J. Brown. "I thought it was so cool for our guys to have the confidence in (Pickett) to just hop in there and handle a third down, handle another completion, throw a third-down touchdown in the red zone," Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore said Tuesday. "I thought that was a really cool moment." A sixth-round pick out of Stanford in 2023, McKee has yet to appear in a regular-season game. "I feel like I've always been preparing to be the starter and preparing to play, and so my preparation is going to stay the same," McKee said Tuesday. "And you know, I'm obviously excited for any opportunity that I do get, but we're going to take it day by day for those guys." No matter who plays QB, the Eagles likely will lean heavily on Saquon Barkley. With a league-leading 1,838 rushing yards, he needs 268 in the last two games to break Eric Dickerson's 1984 NFL single-season record of 2,105. Philadelphia's injury report Friday also included the team ruling out wide receiver Britain Covey (neck), who also returns punts, and running back Will Shipley (concussion), a contributor on kickoff return duty. Linebacker Nakobe Dean (abdomen) is doubtful after limited participation on Friday, while defensive end Bryce Huff (wrist) was a full participant and listed as questionable. He would need to be activated from injured reserve to play on Sunday. The Cowboys have shut down star wideout CeeDee Lamb for the rest of the season because of a sprained right shoulder. Also ruled out for Sunday are cornerbacks Kemon Hall (hamstring) and Amani Oruwariye (foot). Guard TJ Bass (thigh) is doubtful, while those with questionable status are wide receivers Jalen Brooks (knee) and Jalen Tolbert (finger), offensive tackles Chuma Edoga (toe) and Asim Richards (ankle), linebackers Eric Kendricks (calf) and Nick Vigil (foot), and safety Donovan Wilson (knee). --Field Level MediaAP News Summary at 6:13 p.m. EST