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☆ Target removing some Pride merchandise after anti-LGBTQ threats against staff
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-23 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Target on Wednesday said it was removing some products that celebrate Pride Month after the company and its employes became the focus of a “volatile” anti-LGBTQ campaign. Target said it removed from shelves “items that have been at the center of the most significant confrontational behavior.”For a decade, Target has celebrated Pride Month in and around June. “Pride Month at Target is a time of affirmation and solidarity with the LGBTQIA+ community,” the company says on its website. Some people have thrown Pride items on the floor, Target spokesperson Kayla Castaneda told Reuters. The products Target is withdrawing are being removed from all its US stores and from its website, Castaneda told Reuters.

Persons: Target, ” Target, Kayla Castaneda, Castaneda, Erik Carnell, “ I’m, transphobia, Eric Carnell, Bud Light, influencer Dylan Mulvaney, – Organizations: New, New York CNN, Target, Pride, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Republican, ” Target, Anheuser, Busch, – Reuters Locations: New York

☆ Lawsuit alleges that social media companies promoted White supremacist propaganda that led to radicalization of Buffalo mass shooter
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-14 | by ( Zenebou Sylla Artemis Moshtaghian | Zenebou Sylla | Artemis Moshtaghian | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

New York CNN —A wrongful death lawsuit filed against several social media companies Friday alleges that social media lent to the radicalization of the gunman who shot and killed 10 people at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York, last May. “However, the social media platforms that radicalized him, and the companies that armed him, must still be held accountable for their actions. Speaking to CNN Sunday, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown commended some of the victims’ families and survivors for tackling extremism on social media platforms. We deliberately designed Snapchat differently than traditional social media platforms and don’t allow unvetted content to go viral or be algorithmically promoted. The lawsuit alleges that social media platforms “Meta, Alphabet, Reddit and 4chan earned advertising revenue from hosting and amplifying” Gendron’s video on their platforms.

WASHINGTON, May 12 (Reuters) - Google, a unit of Alphabet (GOOGL.O), has agreed to pay $8 million to settle claims it used deceptive advertisements to promote the Pixel 4 smartphone, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced on Friday. In this instance, Paxton's office alleged that Google hired radio announcers to give testimonials about the Pixel 4 even though the company had refused to allow them to use one of the phones. "If Google is going to advertise in Texas, their statements better be true," Paxton said in a statement. "In this case, the company made statements that were blatantly false, and our settlement holds Google accountable for lying to Texans for financial gain." Google said in a statement that it takes compliance with advertising laws seriously.

Sonos alleges Google infringed two of its patents related to multi-room wireless audio. Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda said the case relates to "some very specific features that are not commonly used," and that Sonos "mischaracterized our partnership and technology." Sonos first sued Google for patent infringement in Los Angeles and at the U.S. International Trade Commission in 2020, accusing the tech giant of copying its technology during their collaboration. Sonos won a limited import ban on some Google devices from the ITC last year, which Google has appealed. Google has countered with its own patent lawsuits in California and at the ITC.

CompaniesCompanies Law Firms Google Inc FollowAlphabet Inc Follow(Reuters) - Alphabet's Google LLC won a jury trial on Tuesday in a long-running patent lawsuit in Delaware federal court over features in Google's smartphones and apps. The jury decided that Luxembourg-based patent owner Arendi SARL's patent was invalid and that Google did not infringe it, according to the verdict made public on Wednesday. Google spokesperson José Castañeda said the company was pleased with the decision and appreciated the jury's "careful attention to the extensive evidence presented in this case." Norwegian inventor Atle Hedloy's Arendi sued Google in 2013 over the patent, which relates to retrieving information like names and addresses from a database and entering it into word processors and spreadsheets. It asked the court for $45.5 million in damages, according to a spokesperson for Google's law firm Paul Hastings.

☆ Peruvian gas firm doubles up as pre-Hispanic tomb-finder
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

While installing gas pipes under roads and buildings, gas distributor Calidda has unearthed some 1,700 archaeological remains, including mummies, textiles and ceramics dating back hundreds or thousands of years. On Wednesday, the firm unearthed a 600-year-old funeral bundle with the remains of an ancient settler, found during excavations in a neighborhood of capital Lima. "By building out the gas distribution network, we have excavated almost all the streets of Lima," she told Reuters. Finding ruins and remains in construction sites is common in Peru, home to dozens of pre-Hispanic cultures along the coast and in the Andes. Metropolitan Lima, with some 10 million inhabitants, has some 400 'huacas' or archaeological ruins.

☆ Archaeologists in Peru find adolescent mummy wrapped in bundle
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The mummy was probably an adolescent and found in an underground tomb wrapped in a funerary bundle, along with ceramics and rope and including bits of skin and hair. [1/5] Skeletal remains and parts of the funerary bundle of a mummy found by Peruvian archaeologists are seen in the ruins of Cajarmarquilla, in the outskirts of Lima, Peru, April 24, 2023. The mummy was discovered about 200 metres (220 yards) from where the first mummy of Cajamarquilla was found, explained Huaman, referring to another mummy found nearby last year. The complex is the second largest mud-brick city in Peru after Chan Chan in the north of the Andean country. Located in a dusty area about 20km (12 miles) from Lima, the site was believed to be a thriving trading center.

☆ Activists gather for Earth Day, urge action to avoid 'dystopian' future
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"Climate impacts are here," Areeba Hamid, co-executive director of Greenpeace UK, said on Friday as climate change activists walked down the street outside parliament, some dressed in green costumes and green paint. Activists led by the Extinction Rebellion group have gathered in London to kick off a four-day action, billed "The Big One", to coincide with Earth Day. [1/5] Peru's shamans perform a traditional ritual and make an offer to "Pachamama" (Mother Earth) on the eve of "Earth Day", in Lima, Peru April 21, 2023. In Peru, shamans on Friday made an offering to the "Pachamama", or Mother Earth. Holding yellow flowers and rattles, the shamans walked around a papier-mache globe as they performed a cleansing ritual.

April 18 (Reuters) - Alphabet's Google LLC (GOOGL.O) on Tuesday convinced a U.S. appeals court to cancel three anti-malware patents at the heart of a Texas jury's $20 million infringement verdict against the company. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit said that Alfonso Cioffi and Allen Rozman's patents were invalid because they contained inventions that were not included in an earlier version of the patent. But the Federal Circuit said Tuesday that all of the patents were invalid. The appeals court said the new patents outlined technology specific to web browsers that the first patent did not mention. The case is Cioffi v. Google LLC, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, No.

☆ Target workers reveal the best perks and biggest frustrations of the job
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Dominick Reuter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

But as attractive as the incentives may be for new applicants, some Target workers say the daily realities of working for the company can make those perks lose their luster. Most workers who spoke to Insider said that managers often pull them from one task to another to support a lean-staffing model. Joe Raedle / Getty ImagesAdditionally, all the workers Insider spoke with agreed that the company's interest in tracking metrics on activities from restocking and repricing to drive-up-order fulfillment can increase the pressure on workers. The company's benefits website says hourly workers' benefit eligibility is reviewed annually and averaged over the prior twelve months. A majority of the sources Insider spoke with said a big reason they sought a job at Target was that they love shopping there — and they still do.

Google spokesperson José Castañeda said in a statement the company appreciated the decision to invalidate one of Sonos' patents and that Sonos "misrepresented our partnership and mischaracterized our technology." Sonos accused Google in the San Francisco case of infringing four patents related to multi-room wireless speaker technology. Alsup found Thursday that a second Sonos patent was also invalid, but rejected Google's request to cancel the remaining two patents before trial. The judge also said Google did not infringe one of the surviving patents willfully, reducing Sonos' potential damages. Alsup also said he would hold a separate bench trial after the jury trial to determine whether Google's redesigned speakers infringe Sonos' patents.

☆ Why Bucks County, Pennsylvania, is suing social media companies
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Samantha Murphy Kelly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The lawsuit, which was filed in California federal court, said “the need is great” to continue to fund mental health outpatient programs, mobile crisis units, family-based mental health services, and in-school mental health programming and training to address the mental health of young people. Bucks County is joining a small but growing number of of school districts and families who have filed lawsuits against social media companies for their alleged impact on teen mental health. Some families have also filed wrongful death lawsuits against tech platforms, alleging their children’s social media addiction contributed to their suicides. Carl Tobias, a professor at the University of Richmond School of Law, believes it will be “difficult” for counties and school districts to win lawsuits against social media companies. “There will be the issues of showing that the social media content was the cause of the harm that befell the children,” he said.

Apple, Google, Cisco, Intel Corp (INTC.O) and Edwards Lifesciences Corp (EW.N) sued the PTO in the California federal court in 2020 over the rule. They argued it undermined the role inter partes review plays in "protecting a strong patent system" and violated federal law. Companies including Tesla, Honda, Comcast and Dell filed briefs at the Federal Circuit in support of the plaintiffs. The California court dismissed the case in 2021, citing U.S. Supreme Court rulings that Patent Trial and Appeal Board decisions on whether to review inter partes review petitions cannot be appealed. The case is Apple Inc v. Vidal, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, No.

☆ Cyclone in Peru causes major flooding, at least six dead
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The government has declared a state of emergency as it seeks to bring relief to regions of Peru hard hit by the cyclone known as Yaku, which include Lambayeque, Piura and Tumbes. Early on Friday, the National Institute of Civil Defense (INDECI) said flooding caused by Yaku had claimed six lives. [1/5] Machinery is used to repair a bridge destroyed by rains and floods caused by direct influence of Cyclone Yaku, in Piura, Peru March 11, 2023. Peru has been riven by instability and anti-government protests over the past few months since Congress removed former President Pedro Castillo from power in December. His replacement, President Dina Boluarte, visited parts of northern Peru on Saturday as the government delivered humanitarian aid to areas badly hit by the cyclone.

☆ Bird flu kills sea lions and thousands of pelicans in Peru's protected areas
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 21 (Reuters) - Bird flu has killed tens of thousands of birds, mostly pelicans, and at least 716 sea lions in protected areas across Peru, the authorities said, as the H5N1 strain spreads throughout the region. Peru recorded its first case of the virus in November in birds in the north of the country. "We have also recorded since mid-January the unusual death of many sea lions, so far we have about 716 dead sea lions in seven protected natural areas of the coast," said Roberto Gutierrez, head of surveillance of the National Service of Natural Protected Areas. REUTERS/Sebastian Castaneda 1 2 3 4 5In South America, bird flu cases have been detected in Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay and recently in Argentina and Uruguay. In recent weeks, crews from Peru's National Forestry and Wildlife Service, in protective plastic suits, gloves and masks, have collected and buried hundreds of sea lions from several beaches along Peru's central coast.

[1/8] Anti-government protesters clash with the police, as they demand the release of protesters detained in the protests, after President Pedro Castillo was ousted, in Lima, Peru January 21, 2023. REUTERS/Sebastian CastanedaLIMA, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Peruvian police arrested over 200 people accused of illegally entering the campus of a major Lima university, while authorities in Cusco shut the Incan citadel of Machu Picchu and the Inca trail as deadly anti-government protests spread nationwide. Some 46 people have been killed in the weeks-long clashes and another nine in traffic accidents related to the barricades set up amid the protests. In videos circulating online, an armored vehicle can be seen breaking down a door on the university campus to allow entry for security forces. Protests have rocked Peru since former President Pedro Castillo was ousted in December after he attempted to dissolve the legislature to prevent an impeachment vote.

☆ FEC dismisses RNC complaint that Google’s spam filters were biased against conservatives
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Washington CNN —The Federal Election Commission has tossed out claims by the Republican National Committee that Google’s spam filters in Gmail are illegally biased against conservatives, according to an agency letter obtained by CNN. In its letter, the FEC cited Google’s public statements claiming that its reasons for spam filtering include blocking malware, phishing attacks and scams. The study by North Carolina State University researchers had involved an experiment testing the spam filters of Gmail, Microsoft Outlook and Yahoo! Meanwhile, a separate RNC lawsuit against Google over the same Gmail filtering issue is still ongoing. And Google has continued with an FEC-approved pilot project that allows political campaigns to bypass Gmail’s spam filters.

☆ Analysis: Capture of El Chapo's son gilds Mexican president's patchy record on crime
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Dave Graham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The arrest of Ovidio Guzman, son of captured kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, was a timely reversal of fortune for Lopez Obrador. However, the arrest, one of just a handful of major scalps Lopez Obrador has claimed, is unlikely to herald a major sea change in the battle on organized crime unless the government is more aggressive about going after gangs, analysts said. Lopez Obrador took office in 2018 vowing to get a grip on gang violence. And while Lopez Obrador is popular, his record on combating crime has consistently been viewed critically by voters. GOODWILLLopez Obrador's attitude to the Sinaloa Cartel has stirred up misgivings, particularly when he decided to greet El Chapo's mother on a trip to Sinaloa in 2020.

[1/6] Burning vehicles are seen blocking a road after drug lord Ovidio Guzman's capture, in Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico January 5, 2023. Defense Minister Luis Cresencio Sandoval told a news conference that security forces had captured the 32-year-old senior member of the Sinaloa Cartel. Ovidio, a fugitive since the previous arrest attempt, was now being held in the capital Mexico City, Sandoval said. The city's airport was caught up in the violence, with Mexican airline Aeromexico (AEROMEX.MX) saying one of its planes had been hit by gunfire ahead of a scheduled flight to Mexico City. "It's very important the government bear in mind that the weakening of the Sinaloa Cartel may also bring about an even greater expansion, a greater presence of the Jalisco Cartel."

☆ Conservative Peruvian groups march for peace ahead of fresh protests
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] Demonstrators hold a giant national flag as they participate in a march asking for peace, after violent protests in the country, following the ousting and arrest of former President Pedro Castillo, in Lima, Peru January 3, 2023. People dressed in white carried Peru's flag at the march, which was organized by conservative groups. Former President Castillo, a leftist who was previously a teacher, attempted to illegally dissolve Congress in early December and was subsequently ousted and detained. There are millions of us who want peace and just a few vandals," said Monica Sanchez at the march. The government issued a state of emergency when violent protests first erupted in December, sending security forces into protest areas.

☆ Ousted Peruvian President Castillo calls his detention 'political revenge'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Marco Aquino | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Peru's President Pedro Castillo addresses the audience during the opening of the VII Ministerial Summit on Government and Digital Transformation of the Americas, in Lima, Peru November 10, 2022. REUTERS/Sebastian CastanedaLIMA, Dec 28 (Reuters) - Former Peruvian President Pedro Castillo, who is being held for 18 months in pre-trial detention after attempting to illegally dissolve Congress, said on Wednesday he was a victim of "political revenge" by his adversaries. "This unjust pre-trial detention... has only served to polarize our country," an unshaven Castillo said to the appeals court in a video stream. Dina Boluarte, who served as vice president under Castillo, was sworn in as the new president the same day. "I have never committed a crime of rebellion, I have not taken up arms, nor have I called anyone to take up arms," Castillo said.

☆ Peru's defense minister named PM in Cabinet shuffle after protests
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/6] Peru's President Dina Boluarte, who took office after her predecessor Pedro Castillo was ousted, poses for a family picture with members of her new Cabinet, in Lima, Peru, December 21, 2022. REUTERS/Sebastian CastanedaLIMA/MEXICO CITY Dec 21 (Reuters) - Peru's President Dina Boluarte promoted the country's defense chief to the prime minister's job as part of a shuffle of her 11-day-old Cabinet on Wednesday, a move that followed protests this month that have left roughly two dozen people dead. Alberto Otarola, a lawyer who had been the Andean nation's defense minister, was named prime minister, and four others entered the Cabinet. That move followed Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's public support for Castillo. Earlier, members of Castillo's family landed in Mexico City after being granted political asylum.

☆ El Salvador's Congress approves pension system reforms
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SAN SALVADOR, Dec 20 (Reuters) - El Salvador's Congress on Tuesday approved reforms to increase pensions and create a state entity to supervise the retirement income system, despite criticism from experts who argued the measures were insufficient. El Salvador's population is 6.7 million. Congress also endorsed the creation of the Salvadoran Pension Institute, a state entity that will oversee the pension system and private funds. The changes, approved by the congress with a pro-government majority, will take effect in January 2023 for all workers affiliated with the pension system. The pension system in El Salvador has operated privately since 1998.

☆ Peru protests grind on despite state of emergency, court mulls prison for former president
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Supporters of Peru's former President Pedro Castillo gather outside the police prison where he is being held, in Lima, December 15, 2022. REUTERS/Sebastian CastanedaLIMA, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Protesters blocked roads in Peru again on Thursday, despite the government's enactment of a state of emergency, while judicial authorities mulled giving ousted former president Pedro Castillo a year and a half of preventive detention. Peru announced a nationwide state of emergency on Wednesday, granting police special powers and limiting freedoms including the right to assembly, after Castillo's removal fueled a week of protests that have left at least eight dead. Prosecutors are seeking 18 months of pretrial detention for Castillo, who has been charged with rebellion and conspiracy. Reporting by Marco Aquino; Writing by Valentine Hilaire; Editing by Anthony Esposito and Alistair BellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Peru diplomatic spat grows as envoys in Mexico, Argentina summoned home
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Marco Aquino | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Supporters of Peru's former President Pedro Castillo gather outside the police prison where he is being held, in Lima, December 15, 2022. REUTERS/Sebastian CastanedaLIMA, Dec 15 (Reuters) - A diplomatic spat over Peru deepened on Thursday as the new foreign minister formally summoned ambassadors home from countries including Mexico and Argentina, which have criticized the recent ouster of former president Pedro Castillo. On Monday, four nations led by leftist presidents - Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia and Mexico - signed onto a joint statement declaring Castillo "a victim of undemocratic harassment." Gervasi wrote in a post on Twitter that the consultations "relate to interference in the internal affairs of Peru." Boluarte's week-old administration, which she has said will be a transition government, has been recognized by Chile's leftist president, plus by Uruguay, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Canada and the United States.

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