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Amazon asks federal judge to dismiss the FTC’s antitrust lawsuit against the company

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:58:14 GMT

Attorneys for Amazon on Friday asked a federal judge to dismiss the Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust lawsuit against the e-commerce giant, arguing the agency is attacking policies that benefit consumers and competition.Amazon’s response came more than two months after the FTC — joined by 17 states — filed the historic complaint against the Seattle-based company, alleging it inflates prices and stifles competition in what the agency calls the “online superstore market” and in the field of “online marketplace services.”In its 31-page filing made in a federal court in Washington state, Amazon pushed back, arguing the conduct that the FTC has labeled anti-competitive consists of common retail practices that benefit consumers. The FTC’s complaint, filed in September, accused the company of engaging in anti-competitive practices through measures that deter third-party sellers from offering lower prices for products on non-Amazon sites. The agency said Amazon buried listings offered at...

Police still investigating motive of UNLV shooting; school officials cancel classes, finals

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:58:14 GMT

Three University of Nevada, Las Vegas faculty members died this week and another was critically injured when a lone gunman walked onto campus and opened fire in the building housing the business school.The shooting stoked fear on the 30,000-student campus just miles from the Las Vegas Strip where the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history led to the deaths of 60 people on Oct. 1, 2017.Las Vegas police are still trying to understand what led Anthony Polito, a longtime business professor in North Carolina, to the campus on Wednesday. 6. Here’s what we know:THE GUNMANAnthony James Polito, 67, was a tenured associate professor who left East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina, in 2017 after teaching business there for more than 15 years.After that, he taught courses between October 2018 and June 2022 at Roseman University of Health Sciences, a 1,000-student private college in suburban Henderson, Nevada. The job ended when the program he taught under was disco...

Ontario auditor found at least 99 patients placed in LTC homes without their consent

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:58:14 GMT

At least 99 hospital patients in Ontario have been placed in long-term care homes without their consent, the province’s auditor general has found.Opposition politicians and seniors’ advocates have roundly criticized a law the Progressive Conservative government enacted last year to enable those moves, which can see those patients placed in homes up to 70 kilometres away, or 150 kilometres if they are in northern Ontario.The annual report from the auditor general’s office this week said the government has not been transparent in implementing the law. It allows hospital placement co-ordinators to transfer those patients to a home not of their choosing, and can see them charged $400 a day if they refuse.The law is aimed at moving so-called alternate level of care patients, who can be discharged from hospital but need a long-term care bed and don’t yet have one, in order to free up hospital space.The auditor general analyzed the placements of 7,357 alternate leve...

Man charged after 5 alleged sexual assaults committed in 40 minute span downtown

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:58:14 GMT

A 23-year-old is under arrest for a series of alleged sexual assaults over a 40 minute span in the downtown core on Thursday.Police say around 8 a.m. on Dec. 7 a man approached someone in the area of Robert and College Streets and sexually assaulted them before fleeing the scene.Approximately 10 minutes later, another victim was sexually assaulted about four blocks east at Beverley and College Streets.A few blocks north, a man allegedly assaulted another victim around 8:17 a.m. near Kings College Road and College Street.Then, at St. George and College Streets a similar sexual assault was committed around 8:20 a.m.Finally, at around 8:41 a.m. a man reportedly sexually assaulted another person in the area of Yonge Street and Gerrard Street East.Police did not say if any of the victims suffered serious injuries as a result of the attacks.Investigators say 23-year-old Surafiel Tewelde of Toronto has been arrested and is facing five counts of sexual assault.Police have released his photo...

Texas AG says abortions still prosecutable despite court exemptions

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:58:14 GMT

(The Hill) — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said any doctor who performs an abortion in Texas will be prosecuted, even if a woman is granted a court exception to the state’s strict abortion ban.An Austin judge gave a woman an exception to state law on Thursday, allowing her to receive abortion care due to her fetus having a lethal medical condition.Paxton said Thursday that the ruling “will not insulate hospitals, doctors, or anyone else, from civil and criminal liability for violating Texas’ abortion laws.” First-ever gene editing therapies approved He continued, "The TRO [temporary restraining order] will expire long before the statute of limitations for violating Texas' abortion laws expires."District Judge Maya Guerra Gamble’s order specifically shields Kate Cox from prosecution, alongside her husband and her physician. Cox’s physician argued that carrying the pregnancy to term could seriously risk her health and future fertility.“The idea that Ms. Cox wants desperately to ...

St. Paul teachers contract talks headed to mediation

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:58:14 GMT

Contract negotiations between St. Paul Public Schools and the district’s teachers union are headed to mediation once again.It’s the eighth bargaining cycle in a row where the district and union have brought in a third party to help with the negotiations.The district on Friday announced both sides agreed to bring in a state mediator to help with the next two-year contract, which will replace the one that expired in June.State of negotiationsNegotiations for the last contract also went to mediation, and the district narrowly averted a strike. And this year there’s an even bigger gap between what the St. Paul Federation of Educators wants and what the school district says it’s willing to offer.Early on in negotiations this November there was already a $94 million gap between what the union wanted in new pay, benefits and other programs and what the district was willing to offer.SPPS officials estimated that requests from the SPFE could top $106 million, and the district said it w...

Court docs: Woman made $100K for unworked hours at Chesterfield nursing home

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:58:14 GMT

CHESTERFIELD, Mo. - A woman faces a felony charge after she allegedly earned $100,000 for unworked hours at a Chesterfield nursing home over parts of the last two years. St. Louis County prosecutors have charged Cia Hardin, 34, with one count of stealing in excess of $25,000. Missouri’s top educator warns of ‘domino effect’ with four-day school weeks According to court documents obtained by FOX 2, Hardin had been employed at the Delmar Gardens nursing home amid allegations of unpaid work. Investigators say she submitted fraudulent time sheets with her supervisor's forged initials from June 2022 to August 2023. Per court documents, Hardin was paid at least $100,000 for hours not worked at the nursing home. Authorities requested a warrant for Hardin's arrest on Thursday, per Missouri court records. If convicted, Hardin could face up to anywhere from 3-10 years in prison.

Colorado road conditions: Multiple snow-related crashes that closed I-70 cleared

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:58:14 GMT

6 p.m.: Eastbound I-70 at Glenwood Springs and westbound I-70 at Parachute have reopened to traffic.4:36 p.m.: Westbound Interstate 70 at Golden has reopened to traffic.Interstate 70 was closed in several places across Colorado on Friday for crashes as a winter storm moved west across the mountains and into metro Denver.Related ArticlesTransportation | Interstate 70 westbound closed near De Beque for 18-car pileup Transportation | I-70 westbound reopens at Golden after oversized load hits bridge Transportation | Colorado Department of Transportation wraps up major I-70 project between Frisco and Silverthorne Transportation | Colorado weather: Heavy snow and strong winds create hazardous travel conditions Transportation | Interstate 70 westbound near Glenwood Springs reopens after crash Eastbound I-70 was closed at Glenwood Springs through Glenwood Canyon to exit 129 for Bair Ranch due to a pileup crash a...

Wife of LASD deputy who died by suicide files claim against department

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:58:14 GMT

The widow of a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department deputy is considering legal action after her husband died by suicide.Arturo Atilano-Valdez was one of four department employees to die by suicide in a 24-hour span in early November.Arturo's wife, Michele Atilano, said for years that her husband had complained about long hours at work and stressful jail conditions. She claims he didn’t receive the necessary support or help from his employers that could’ve saved his life.“My daughters cry every night when they go to sleep,” Michele said. “It's just me and my daughters left now.”The grieving widow is speaking out as she recalls the day her husband died.She said Arturo was home one night, sitting on the couch. She and her daughters were in their bedrooms when they heard a single pop that sounded like fireworks. It was gunfire. Arturo had fatally shot himself. Upon the gruesome discovery, Michelle said she threw a blanket over her husband, who was still bleeding, and quickly tried t...

Californians will be able to recycle these beverage containers beginning in 2024

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:58:14 GMT

Californians will be able to recycle wine, liquor and large juice bottles and earn cash for doing so beginning next year.The beverage containers will now be considered in the California Redemption Value Fee, a statewide program implemented after the 1986 Bottle Bill, which requires consumers to pay a fee when purchasing aluminum, glass, plastic, or metal-packaged beverages. Planned Parenthood sues Fontana for allegedly blocking abortion access Previously, the bill applied to nonalcoholic beverages such as juice, soda, and water but excluded milk, vegetable juice over 16 ounces, beer, wine coolers, distilled spirits coolers, and drinks in refillable containers.As with containers already included in the program, the fee will be refundable when the containers are returned to a recycling center beginning on Jan.1, 2024, according to CalRecycle.Wine, liquor, alcoholic coolers and juice in containers 24 ounces or less will be redeemable for five cents, those over 24 ounces will be redee...