Thursday, March 5

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Facebook owner Meta restarts facial recognition tech in ‘celeb-bait’ crackdown
World News

Facebook owner Meta restarts facial recognition tech in ‘celeb-bait’ crackdown

Photo: Serge Tenani / Hans Lucas via AFP Three years after Meta shut down facial recognition software on Facebook amid a groundswell of privacy and regulator pushback, the social media giant said it is testing the service again as part of a crackdown on "celeb bait" scams. Meta said it will enroll about 50,000 public figures in a trial which involves automatically comparing their Facebook profile photos with images used in suspected scam advertisements. If the images match and Meta believes the ad are scams, it will block them. The celebrities will be notified of their enrollment and can opt out if they do not want to participate, the company said. The company plans to roll out the trial globally from December, excluding some large jurisdictions where it does not have regulatory clearanc...
Election is Harris vs. Musk, not Trump, Cuban says
Business

Election is Harris vs. Musk, not Trump, Cuban says

Vice President Kamala Harris is campaigning for president against Elon Musk at least as much as she is against former President Donald Trump, Mark Cuban said Monday, as he advocated for the Democratic nominee as the pro-business choice."It's the Harris campaign versus Elon, not even versus Trump," the billionaire investor and former "Shark Tank" host said on CNBC's "Squawk Box."Cuban took a swipe at the Tesla and SpaceX CEO over Musk's promise to give $1 million per day to the winner of a swing-state voter sweepstakes, calling it "innovative" and "desperate."But Cuban later predicted that if Harris wins, she "100%" could mend her relationship with Musk.Cuban's remarks were the latest volley between the two billionaires, who have taken on increasingly prominent campaign roles while ramping ...
The ‘XL Bully cat’ is the latest internet-famous cat to stoke selective breeding concerns
World News

The ‘XL Bully cat’ is the latest internet-famous cat to stoke selective breeding concerns

By Tessa Flemming for the ABC As the name suggests, the breed closely resembles the controversial American XL Bully dog in its stocky build. Photo: Facebook / Bullycats Wrinkly with stumpy legs and a little bit ugly - the "XL Bully cat" is the latest cat crossbreed to take the internet by storm for its looks (or lack thereof). But the breed proliferation in the US and now the UK has led to fresh outrage about how designer trends and selective breeding could be harming our pets. What is a XL Bully cat? As the name suggests, the breed closely resembles the controversial American XL Bully dog in its stocky build - which was banned in England earlier this year. The XL Bully cat, also known as a Bambino, is bred by mixing the mutant gene that causes hairlessness in Sphynx cats with the ge...
N.B. votes 2024: Higgs loses own riding as PCs take devastating election blow
Politics

N.B. votes 2024: Higgs loses own riding as PCs take devastating election blow

New Brunswick Progressive Conservative leader Blaine Higgs will no longer be the representative for Quispamsis, Global News projects. Higgs, who was seeking a third government as premier, has lost his riding to Liberal Aaron Kennedy – a trend mirroring the ultimate result: a Liberal majority with Susan Holt becoming the province’s first female premier, according to Global’s projection.“It’s certainly not the night we hoped for but nevertheless, it is what it is,” he told supporters at his election gathering on Monday.Higgs said his party will begin discussing leadership transition in the coming days.“After those discussions are complete, I will make a formal announcement,” he added. 1:55 New Br...
Trump tax plans could exempt 93 million Americans from income taxes
Business

Trump tax plans could exempt 93 million Americans from income taxes

Former President Donald Trump's tax reform ideas could offer total or partial income tax exemptions to roughly 93.2 million Americans, a meaningful chunk of the U.S. electorate, according to CNBC's analysis of several estimates.As part of his economic pitch to voters, Trump has floated a sweeping tax overhaul, including a slate of income tax breaks.So far, the Republican presidential nominee has officially proposed eliminating income tax on tips and Social Security benefits, along with overtime pay. And last week, in an interview on the sports media site OutKick, Trump said he would consider tax exemptions for firefighters, police officers, military personnel and veterans.These exemptions are part of Trump's larger vision to transition away from the income tax system and replace it with th...
‘Blade Runner 2049’ producer sues Tesla, Warner Bros over AI images
World News

‘Blade Runner 2049’ producer sues Tesla, Warner Bros over AI images

Photo: AFP Movie and television studio Alcon Entertainment has sued Tesla and Warner Bros Discovery over claims they used images tied to the film 'Blade Runner 2049' to promote Tesla's new autonomous cybercab. Alcon's California federal lawsuit alleged violations of US copyright law and accused Tesla of "false endorsement" for suggesting a relationship between Alcon and the Elon Musk-owned electric vehicle maker. "Any prudent brand considering any Tesla partnership has to take Musk's massively amplified, highly politicised, capricious and arbitrary behavior, which sometimes veers into hate speech, into account," the lawsuit said. Tesla and Warner Bros did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Warner Bros was Alcon's distributor for 'Blade Runner 2049', which won two 2018 Acad...
What’s wrong with the Nasdaq? One troubling thing for the bulls’ case
Business

What’s wrong with the Nasdaq? One troubling thing for the bulls’ case

Wall Street has continued to rattle off some new record highs in October, but the absence of one major index from the list is starting to become glaring, according to Raymond James. Quantitative and technical strategist Javed Mirza pointed out in a note to clients that the Nasdaq 100 has not set a record high since July. The relative struggle of that tech-heavy index is possibly a sign that the broader bull market is on the verge of entering into a new phase — and getting close to a peak, according to Mirza. "The Nasdaq 100 is a good proxy for the more 'growthy' areas of the market and this negative divergence suggests that Portfolio Managers have begun to shift away from the more growth-oriented areas of the market, consistent with a shift into the late stages of the current 4-Year Cycle....
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs lawsuits pile up as lawyers seek gag order
World News

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs lawsuits pile up as lawyers seek gag order

By Jonathan Stempel, Reuters Sean "Diddy" Combs has been hit with seven new sexual abuse lawsuits, as his lawyers asked the judge overseeing the music mogul's criminal sex trafficking case for a gag order against Combs' accusers and their lawyers. Sean "Diddy" Combs poses during the MTV Video Music Awards, 2023. Photo: Angela Weiss / AFP The civil lawsuits were made public on Sunday and Monday (local time) by four men and three women over alleged misconduct in New York, Los Angeles and Las Vegas dating to 2000 but mainly in 2022, the accusers' lawyer Tony Buzbee said on Facebook. Some lawsuits said unidentified celebrities also assaulted Combs' accusers. Combs, 54, faces least two dozen civil lawsuits accusing him of sexual misconduct, including 13 from Buzbee's firm. Combs has denie...
Ex-B.C. premier Christy Clark wants to be part of ‘conversation’ if Trudeau resigns
Politics

Ex-B.C. premier Christy Clark wants to be part of ‘conversation’ if Trudeau resigns

Former British Columbia premier Christy Clark says she wants to be “part of the conversation” around the future of the federal Liberals if Prime Minister Justin Trudeau were to step down as party leader. Her statement Monday — which does not call for Trudeau’s resignation — comes amid a growing internal revolt from within the Liberal caucus to push Trudeau to step down and questions about the prime minister’s grasp on his leadership.“The position of Liberal leader is not going to be available any time soon,” Clark said in the statement, which her office provided to Global News.“If that were to change, I would want to be part of the conversation on the future direction of the Liberal Party and of the country.”Global News has learned Clark, a registered Liberal Party member who led the more ...
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs faces 7 more lawsuits, laments ‘fresh wave of publicity’ – National
Entertainment, Movies

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs faces 7 more lawsuits, laments ‘fresh wave of publicity’ – National

NOTE: The following article contains disturbing content. Please read at your own discretion. Seven new lawsuits have been filed against Sean “Diddy” Combs, including one alleging the rape of a 13-year-old girl. They come as his lawyers tried again Monday to get him freed on bail — and complained that a “fresh wave of publicity” is endangering his right to a fair criminal trial.In the lawsuits filed Sunday in state and federal courts, four men and three women, all anonymous, allege they were sexually assaulted by Combs at parties over the last two decades.Combs, 54, has pleaded not guilty to federal sex trafficking charges contained in an indictment unsealed the day after his Sept. 16 arrest. Charges include allegations he coerced and abused women for years, aided by associates and employee...