Tag: Current Events

The head of the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requested Apple and Google on Tuesday to remove TikTok from their app stores due to ‘serious national security threats’ posed by the said mobile app.

In a letter dated June 24, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr told Apple and Google to remove TikTok from their app stores as it “harvests extensive amounts of personal and sensitive data” from its American users.

“Statistics show that TikTok has been downloaded in the US from the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store nearly 19 million times in the first quarter of this year alone. It is clear that TikTok poses an unacceptable national security risk due to its extensive data harvesting being combined with Beijing’s apparently unchecked access to that sensitive data,” Carr wrote in his letter.

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A Utah judge has temporarily blocked a “trigger law” banning most abortions in the state. A Democrat judge in Louisiana also issued a temp…

A Democrat judge in Louisiana also issued a temporary halt on a trigger law in that state earlier in the day.

In 2020, Utah passed S. B. 174, which bans abortions except in cases of rape, incest or severe fetal “brain abnormality.” The bill specifically excludes the removal of miscarriages or ectopic pregnancies from the definition of abortion. The law would only trigger if the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which it now has.

Under the law, an abortionist could face up to 15 years in prison and heavy fines for performing the procedure, but the pregnant women would face no penalties.

On Saturday, Planned Parenthood of Utah and the American Civil Liberties Union filed a joint lawsuit to try and block the state law. They claim that the “catastrophic” law violates the state constitution.

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A New York State Supreme Court Judge ruled Monday that a New York City law, which would have permitted resident non-U.S. citizens in the city the right to vote, violated state law and the state constitution.

“There is no statutory ability for the City of New York to issue inconsistent laws permitting non-citizens to vote and exceed the authority granted to it by the New York State Constitution,” Staten Island Supreme Court Justice Ralph Porzio wrote in his 13-page ruling, according to the New York Post.

The judge said that the city’s December “Our City, Our Vote” would go against the state’s Election Law and Municipal Home Rule Law. These laws permitted only U.S. citizens above 18 to vote in state and local elections, according to the judge, the New York Post reported.

Because the city’s law went against state constitutional requirements, should the city extend voting rights to its over 800,000 resident aliens, it would first need to hold a referendum, the judge wrote in his ruling, according to the New York Times.

In December, the New York City city council approved 33-14 with two abstentions in the measure granting the city’s resident aliens, who comprise 10 percent of its population, the right to vote, according to reporting from the Washington Post.

The law was set to come into effect in the state’s January 2023 elections, according to the Times.

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LONDON, March 9 (Reuters) – A global food crisis sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine escalated on Wednesday as Indonesia tightened curbs on palm oil exports, adding to a growing list of key producing countries seeking to keep vital food supplies within their borders.

The conflict in Ukraine is threatening global grain production, the supply of edible oils and fertiliser exports, sending basic commodity prices rocketing and mirroring the crisis in energy markets.

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According to the Oregonian, the liberal Pacific Northwest bastion topped off February with 22 murders thus far this year – up from the 19 in 2021 – and is on track to hit roughly 130 by December.

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(INDIANAPOLIS) – A proposed ban on transgender girls in high school sports in Indiana is now up to Governor Holcomb.

The Senate has voted 32-18 to make Indiana the 11th state to bar transgender girls from girls’ sports. Logansport Republican Stacey Donato contends the ban is needed to preserve equal access to sports for boys and girls, and make sure transgender athletes don’t take away scholarship opportunities in women’s sports.

The Indiana High School Athletic Association already has a policy on transgender athletes, based on how their bone density and body mass compares to other students their age. Anderson Democrat Tim Lanane says senators should let the organization do its job.

“If I have to follow someone’s advice, is it going to be the 50 of us in this room, who quite frankly don’t even know what the heck we’re talking about?” Lanane asked. “Or the IHSAA, who have thoughtfully considered this and come up with a fair policy?”

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