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French publishers accuse Elon Musk of trying to dodge EU copyright rules

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:50:41 GMT

PARIS — French press publishers are accusing Elon Musk of using new features on X, formerly known as Twitter, to avoid paying for copyright-protected content. X is expected to remove headlines and text from news stories shared on the platform, according to Fortune. Musk confirmed the move and claimed the reason behind it was “aesthetics.” In France, however, representatives for press publishers see it as a “coarse attempt to evade neighboring rights.”The EU’s copyright directive allows the press industry to seek remuneration when its content is displayed on online platforms. Canada drafted similar, albeit stricter, rules forcing Meta and Google to pay news publishers for content, leading to an ongoing tug-of-war with the U.S. tech giants. In France, after years of tense talks, media companies eventually inked deals with Google and Meta — but not Twitter. Twitter has long argued, even before the world’s richest man took over, that the company is not ...

First Trump co-defendant surrenders to Fulton County jail

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:50:41 GMT

(CNN) — Scott Hall, one of former President Donald Trump’s 18 co-defendants in Georgia, turned himself in to the Fulton County jail on Tuesday.Hall, who works as a bail bondsman in Atlanta, was charged by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis with crimes related to his alleged involvement in the Coffee County, Georgia, voting systems breach.His experience will likely demonstrate how most defendants in the case are treated. He had signed a bond agreement with Willis on Monday, then was given an inmate identification number and released after spending roughly an hour at the jail on Tuesday.The Fulton County grand jury indictment accuses Hall of conspiring to unlawfully access voter data and ballot counting machines at the Coffee County election office on January 7, 2021. Hall is facing seven charges, including the racketeering count that’s central to Willis’ prosecution, as well as several charges stemming from the Coffee County allegations.He spent hours ins...

The first 2 children are rescued from a cable car dangling hundreds of feet in the air in Pakistan

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:50:41 GMT

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Military commandos in helicopters rescued two children from a cable car dangling hundreds of meters (feet) above a canyon in a remote part of Pakistan on Tuesday, an emergency service official said. They were were working to save four more children and two adults. The commandos could be seen on local TV trying to lower themselves on ropes from the choppers toward the cable car. An expert warned the rescue was incredibly delicate because the wind created by the helicopters’ blades could further weaken cables holding the car aloft.The rescue of the two children was announced by Bilal Faizi, an emergency services spokesman who provided no further details.Relatives of those trapped prayed while anxiously watching the operation unfold. The rescue has also transfixed Pakistanis across the country who crowded around televisions in offices, shops, restaurants and hospitals.According to Pakistani TV stations, some of those trapped were in contact with their fa...

Attorney John Eastman surrenders to authorities on charges in Georgia 2020 election subversion case

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:50:41 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — John Eastman, the conservative attorney who pushed a plan to keep Donald Trump in power, turned himself in to authorities Tuesday on charges in the Georgia case alleging an illegal plot to overturn the former president’s 2020 election loss.Eastman was booked at the Fulton County jail before being released by authorities. He’s expected to have an arraignment set in the coming weeks in the sprawling racketeering case. He was indicted last week alongside Trump and 17 others, who are accused by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis of scheming to subvert the will of Georgia voters in a desperate bid to keep Joe Biden out of the White House. Eastman said in a statement provided by his lawyers that he was surrendering Tuesday “to an indictment that should never have been brought.” He lambasted the indictment for targeting “attorneys for their zealous advocacy on behalf of their clients” and said each of the 19 defendants was entitled to rely on the advice of lawyers a...

‘Get out of my house!’ Video shows 98-year-old mother of Kansas newspaper publisher upset amid raid

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:50:41 GMT

MARION, Kan. (AP) — Newly released video shows the 98-year-old mother of a Kansas newspaper publisher confronting police officers as they searched her home in a raid that has drawn national scrutiny, at one point demanding: “Get out of my house!”Video released by the newspaper Monday shows Joan Meyer shouting at the six officers inside the Marion, Kansas, home she shared with her son, Marion County Record Editor and Publisher Eric Meyer. Standing with the aid of a walker and dressed in a long robe or gown and slippers, she seems visibly upset.“Get out of my house … I don’t want you in my house!” she said at one point. “Don’t touch any of that stuff! This is my house!” she said at another.The raids of the newspaper and the homes of the Meyers and a City Council member happened on Aug. 11, after a local restaurant owner accused the newspaper of illegally accessing information about her. Joan Meyer died a day later. Her son said he believes that the stress contr...

In his new book ‘The Fall,’ author Michael Wolff foresees the demise of Fox News

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:50:41 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The next book from “Fire and Fury” author Michael Wolff is both a recounting of the recent past and a prediction for the near future. Wolff’s “The Fall: The End of Fox News and the Murdoch Dynasty” will come out Sept. 26, publisher Henry Holt announced Tuesday. A spokesperson told The Associated Press that Wolff, whose previous books include “Rupert Murdoch, The Man Who Owns the News,” interviewed “people throughout the Murdoch organization, including many with direct knowledge of Murdoch and his family.”Wolff will offer behinds-the-scenes accounts of everything from Tucker Carlson’s ousting, to Rupert Murdoch’s clashes with former President Donald Trump to tensions within the Murdoch family that mirror HBO’s “Succession.” Fox’s decline is inevitable, Wolff contends.“I have been telling the story of the great power of Rupert Murdoch and Fox News for many years,” he said in a statement. “This power is now reaching a natural en...

Jailed Sam Bankman-Fried can’t prepare for trial on bread, water and inadequate meds, lawyers say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:50:41 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried can’t adequately prepare for trial in six weeks while in jail without proper access to computers, necessary medications to help him concentrate, and a better diet than bread, water and peanut butter, his lawyers told a magistrate judge Tuesday.The lawyers made their complaints at a Manhattan federal court hearing after Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty to seven charges he’ll face at his Oct. 3 trial, including wire fraud and multiple conspiracy counts.Bankman-Fried was extradited from the Bahamas in December after prosecutors said he stole billions of dollars in FTX customer deposits, spending tens of millions on his businesses, speculative venture investments, charitable donations and on illegal campaign contributions aimed at influencing cryptocurrency regulation in Washington.The 31-year-old California man was making his first court appearance in a drab beige prison uniform since his $250 million bail was revoked 10 days ago by J...

Rays’ Wander Franco moved to administrative leave while MLB, Dominican authorities investigate

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:50:41 GMT

NEW YORK. (AP) — Wander Franco was placed on administrative leave indefinitely by Major League Baseball on Tuesday while authorities in the Dominican Republic investigate the All-Star shortstop for an alleged relationship with a minor.The 22-year-old will be paid and receive service time while on administrative leave under an agreement with the players’ association that did not set a timetable for a decision on whether he will be disciplined.Franco was placed on the restricted list for a week on Aug. 14 while MLB launched an investigation following social media posts suggesting he was in a relationship with a minor. The AP has not been able to verify the reported posts. MLB said the shift to administrative leave was not disciplinary under the sport’s joint domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy. The administrative leave did not have the usual seven-day limit under the policy, so it is possible Franco will not return this season.Ángel Darío Tejeda Fabal, a pro...

After a month at sea, 37 Senegalese survivors of a deadly migration attempt to Spain return home

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:50:41 GMT

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — A few dozen survivors of a deadly sea attempt to migrate to Europe reunited with their tearful families in Senegal, a week after they were found adrift off the Atlantic archipelago of Cape Verde. A boat carrying more than 100 people is believed to have set off from Senegal toward Spain’s Canary Islands on July 10 but never reached its destination. More than 60 migrants are feared dead from the ill-fated voyage. Last week, a Spanish fishing vessel rescued 38 people who were brought to Cape Verde before being returned to Senegal.Senegalese officials said a military plane repatriated 37 men, including five minors and a citizen from neighboring Guinea-Bissau, from Cape Verde’s Sal Island on Monday. Associated Press journalists saw some of the survivors getting carried into ambulances at the airport in Senegal’s capital, Dakar. One survivor remained hospitalized in the Cape Verdean capital of Praia, according to the local Red Cross. The migration route from We...

Spain’s acting prime minister greets World Cup champs, criticizes federation head for kissing player

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:50:41 GMT

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Spain’s acting prime minister praised the country’s Women’s World Cup champions during an audience at the presidential palace on Tuesday, and later slammed the head of the Spanish soccer federation for kissing a team member on the lips without her consent.“You have achieved something very important. The girls who watch you see soccer as a place where they can develop athletically and personally,” Pedro Sánchez said while posing for a group photo with the soccer team in Madrid. “The 21st century will be the century of women on all fronts, and the century of effective equality between men and women.”Sánchez said the team members will be awarded Spain’s golden medal of sports achievement in honor of their 1-0 victory on Sunday in the final against England in Sydney, Australia.Gender equality and women’s rights have been cornerstones of Sánchez’s leftist government. But Spain’s Women’s World Cup success has been mar...