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☆ Florida House passes legislation that would prohibit kids under 16 from having certain social media accounts
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-23 | by ( Sara Smart | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The Florida House of Representatives passed legislation that would prohibit anyone under 16 in the state from holding accounts with certain social media platforms. HB1, or Online Protections for Minors, would require some social media platforms to verify the age of account holders, prohibit kids under 16 from creating a new account, and terminate the accounts of anyone they believe to be under 16. The bill’s description of social media platforms that would fall under the requirements appears to be wide-ranging. Ohio’s legislation would have required social media platforms to obtain parental consent before creating accounts for children under age 16. And it highlights the many legal hurdles facing calls to ban social media for young Americans.

Persons: Ron DeSantis, Bill, DeSantis, ” DeSantis, Algenon Marbley, Marbley, Brian Fung Organizations: CNN, Republican, Senate Locations: Florida, Ohio

☆ German parliament votes to legalize limited recreational cannabis use for adults
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-23 | by ( Nadine Schmidt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Germany’s lower house of parliament voted to legalize cannabis for limited recreational use among adults on Friday, following a controversial debate about the pros and cons of allowing easier access to the drug. In total, 407 German lawmakers voted in favor of the new regulation; 226 lawmakers voted against and four lawmakers abstained from Friday’s vote. The move makes Germany the third country in Europe – after Malta and Luxembourg – to legalize the drug for recreational use, removing cannabis from the official list of banned substances. The German government said that cannabis would remain illegal for minors and highly restricted for young adults, adding that consuming the drug near schools and playgrounds would be illegal. “Nobody should misunderstand this law: cannabis consumption is being legalized, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t dangerous,” Germany’s health minister said.

Persons: –, Karl Lauterbach, ” Lauterbach, “, Tino Sorge, GMA Klaus Reinhardt Organizations: CNN, Christian Democratic Union, CDU, German Medical Associations, GMA Locations: Germany, Europe –, Malta, Luxembourg, Netherlands

☆ Janitorial company hired minors to clean slaughterhouses, US Labor Dept. says
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-22 | by ( Melissa Alonso | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

“Minors were used to clean dangerous kill floor equipment such as head splitters, jaw pullers, meat bandsaws, and neck clippers,” the Labor Department said in a news release Wednesday. CNN has reached out to Fayette Janitorial Services and STF for comment. To fulfill janitorial service contracts, the janitorial company employed at least 24 children between the ages of 13 and 17 to work overnight shifts cleaning dangerous equipment, the complaint says. According to the filing, the janitorial company employed 15 children, as young as 13-years-old, in Virginia and at least nine children in Iowa on its overnight sanitation shifts. On January 10, 2022, Fayette hired one minor “to work the overnight sanitation shift at the Perdue Facility, when he was 13 years old,” said the complaint.

Persons: “, Perdue, ”, Fayette, Seema Nanda, ” Nanda Organizations: CNN, U.S . Labor Department, Labor Department, Labor, Seaboard Triumph Foods, Perdue, “, Perdue Facility, Fair Labor Locations: Tennessee, Fayette, Sioux City , Iowa, Accomac , Virginia, Virginia, Iowa

☆ Myanmar military conscription law sparks panic and fear as youth prepare to flee
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-22 | by ( Helen Regan | Angus Watson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

It’s a terrifying prospect that could become a reality for Anna and millions of her peers across Myanmar after the military junta activated a mandatory conscription law for all young men and women. “While wounded and increasingly desperate, the Myanmar military junta remains extremely dangerous,” Tom Andrews, United Nations Special Rapporteur for human rights in Myanmar, said in a statement. “People know for sure that no matter what is written in the conscription law, they will have to go to the front lines. “In Myanmar, young people are not safe anymore,” said Maung Nyein, who also requested to use a pseudonym for safety reasons. “Our villagers won’t join the military forces or leave the country, instead we will join our resistance forces.

Persons: Anna, ”, “, ” Tom Andrews, — “, Aung, —, Ting Aung, Zaw Min Tun, Young, Kyaw Naing, Sen, Min Aung Hlaing, Kyaw, doesn’t, ” Anna, he’s, he’ll, Khin Ohmar, Stringer, Maung, Maung Nyein, terrifies, Ko, Maung Aye, he’d Organizations: CNN, Thai Embassy, Getty, Analysts, United Nations, People’s Defense Forces, National Unity Government, United, CNN Defense, Armed Forces, Reuters, Facebook, Foreign Ministry, Myanmar, Mandalay People's Defense Forces, Immigration, International Labour Locations: Myanmar, Myanmar’s, Yangon, AFP, United States, Naypyidaw, Thailand, Rakhine, Mandalay, Shan State, “, Shwebo, Sagaing

☆ Company Hired 24 Minors to Clean Slaughterhouses, Labor Department Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Rebecca Carballo | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A Tennessee-based company employed at least two dozen children as young as 13 to work overnight shifts cleaning dangerous equipment in slaughterhouses, including a 14-year-old whose arm was mangled in a piece of machinery, the Labor Department said on Wednesday. The department filed a request on Wednesday for a temporary restraining order and injunction in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa against the company, Fayette Janitorial Service LLC. It provides cleaning services at slaughterhouses in several states, including Iowa and Virginia, where the department said an investigation had found that the company had hired children to clean plants. The Labor Department opened its investigation after an article in The New York Times Magazine reported that Fayette had hired migrant children to work the overnight cleaning shift at a Perdue Farms plant on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. A spokesman told The Times in September that the company was unaware of any minors on its staff and learned of the 14-year-old’s true age only after he was injured.

Persons: Fayette Organizations: Labor Department, Northern, Northern District of, New York Times Magazine, Times Locations: Tennessee, slaughterhouses, U.S, Northern District, Northern District of Iowa, Fayette, Iowa, Virginia, Perdue, Shore of Virginia

☆ Iran is arresting teens for celebrating a soccer match loss from the national team, human rights activists say
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-20 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Iran has detained at least 10 teens for celebrating a soccer match, rights activists say. The Hengaw Organization for Human Rights said it identified at least three of the teens by name. Qatar beat Iran's soccer team in the AFC Asian Cup this month, knocking them out of the finals. AdvertisementIranian authorities have detained at least 10 male teenagers for "expressing joy" in response to a recent loss from the national soccer team, a Norway-based human rights organization said on Monday. The Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, which focuses on rights issues in the Kurdistan region, said it identified at least three of the minors by name.

Persons: — Organizations: Organization for Human Rights, Qatar, Iran's, AFC Asian, Service, soccer team, Business Locations: Iran, Norway, Kurdistan

☆ South Korea jails former hero pastor for sexually abusing North Korean teenage defectors
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-20 | by ( Yoonjung Seo | Jessie Yeung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Seoul, South Korea CNN —A South Korean pastor once hailed as a hero for helping North Korean defectors escape to safety has been jailed for sexually abusing minors. Refugees fleeing North Korea often make the perilous journey across the border into China, before attempting to reach South Korea. China, a close ally of Pyongyang, doesn’t consider North Korean defectors refugees, instead seeing them as illegal economic migrants. Under a border agreement with North Korea, it forcibly deports them. Once returned to North Korea, defectors face possible torture, sexual violence, hard labor, imprisonment in political or re-education camps, or even execution by the state, according to activists.

Persons: Chun Ki, Chun, ”, “, Durihana Organizations: South Korea CNN, North, Seoul Central, Court, ” CNN, Children, doesn’t, Underground Railroad, Korea Future Initiative, CNN Locations: Seoul, South Korea, Korean, North Korea, China, Pyongyang, China’s, London, Durihana

☆ Everything to know about Michael J. Fox and Tracy Pollan's 4 kids
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-19 | by ( Olivia Singh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

His wife and kids appeared in his 2023 documentary "Still: A Michael J. Sam Michael Fox, 34, is the eldest childSam Fox in November 2023. Fox's twin daughters, Aquinnah Kathleen Fox, and Schuyler Frances Fox, are 29From left: Sam Fox, Schuyler Fox, Aquinnah Fox, and Esmé Fox in November 2019. She was also involved in The Michael J. Esmé Annabelle Fox, 22, is the youngest siblingFrom left: Aquinnah Fox, Esme Fox, Schuyler Fox, and Sam Fox in October 2021.

Persons: Michael J, Fox, Tracy Pollan, Sam, Aquinnah, he's, —, Willie Geist, Sam Michael Fox, Sam Fox, Evan Agostini, Michael, Tracy's, He's, Ben Barnes, Aquinnah Kathleen Fox, Schuyler Frances Fox, Schuyler Fox, Aquinnah Fox, Esmé Fox, Greg Allen, Schuyler, She's, Esmé Annabelle Fox, Esme Fox, Noam Galai, Fox Foundation Esmé, Esmé, Esmé's Organizations: Service, Fox, Guardian, AP, Harvard Graduate School of Education, Fox Foundation, Parkinson's Research, Duke University, Duke, Annapurna Pictures Locations: Schuyler, Hollywood, North Carolina

☆ The EU opens formal probe into TikTok over online protection of children
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-19 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

“The opening of proceedings means that the (European) Commission will investigate TikTok’s functionalities, systems and policies related to certain suspected infringements. It does not prejudge the outcome of the investigation,” a spokesperson for the bloc’s executive arm said in a statement Monday. TikTok’s age verification tools, aimed at preventing children from accessing inappropriate content, “may not be reasonable, proportionate and effective,” the European Commission said in a press release Monday. TikTok has almost 136 million monthly active users in the EU, according to the European Commission. It is the second time in as many months that the commission has launched formal proceedings against a large social media company.

Persons: ”, China’s ByteDance, TikTok, “, X Organizations: London CNN, European Union, Digital Services, Commission, European Commission, CNN, Social, European Commission . Companies

LONDON (AP) — The European Union said Monday it is investigating whether TikTok has broken the bloc's strict new digital rules for cleaning up social media and keeping internet users safe. The European Commission, the EU's executive branch, said it has “opened formal proceedings to assess" whether TikTok has breached the Digital Services Act, which took effect last year. The commission is focusing on whether TikTok is doing enough to curb “systemic risks” stemming from its design, including "algorithmic systems" that might stimulate “behavioral addictions." The EU has deemed nearly two dozen of the biggest online and social media platforms including TikTok, as ones that deserve the highest level of scrutiny under the DSA and hefty fines if they fail to comply. The bloc is already investigating Elon Musk’s X, previously known as Twitter, for breaches including failure to curb the spread of illegal content.

Persons: TikTok, ” Thierry Breton, We’ll, Elon Musk’s Organizations: Union, European Commission, Digital Services, DSA, EU

Others in the GOP field have attacked transgender participation in athletics and proposed nationwide bans on affirming care for transgender minors. Transgender-related issues have become perhaps the biggest rallying call to Christian conservatives, more than abortion rights or same-sex marriage. As an ethical matter, I think it’s gross,” said Tim Miller, a former Republican political operative who worked as communications director for former Florida Gov. Several people interviewed at a recent Trump rally argued children were being wrongly confronted with issues of gender identity. Both Trump and Nikki Haley, his last major rival heading into South Carolina's Republican primary this coming Saturday, have leaned into anti-transgender rhetoric.

Persons: Donald Trump, Trump, “, ”, Tim Miller, Jeb Bush’s, Chase Glenn, Cheryl Savage, Nikki Haley, Haley, Trump's U.N, ” Trump, Melania Trump, Biden, Chad Connelly, they’re, Tim Carter, Christ, ” Carter, you’ve, Jami Taylor, Taylor, you’re, ” Taylor, ” Mas, ’ ” Kono, Meg Kinnard, ___ Pollard Organizations: COLUMBIA, “, GOP, Florida Gov, Republicans, Trump, ” GOP, Bills, Republican, Statehouse, Research, American Medical Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, UCLA Law, AP, Iowa Republican, Republican National, U.S, Supreme, University of Toledo, Associated Press, America Statehouse News Initiative, America Locations: Conway, South Carolina, South, Iowa, United States, New Hampshire, Daniel Island, Kono, Conway , South Carolina

☆ Child abuse scandal rattles Orban’s image as defender of ‘family values’
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-17 | by ( Christian Edwards | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Orban has long posed as a globetrotting defender of Christian values and an enemy of liberalism. But Orban’s critics say his carefully constructed image is a thin guise for a plutocratic mode of governance designed to enrich a small group of oligarchs. The scandal could also weaken Hungary’s bid to gain more influence in Brussels in the upcoming European elections. Since the scandal was revealed last weekend by Hungarian news site 444.hu, “Orban has not made an appearance or said anything. Critics argue that Orban’s proposed constitutional solution to the scandal is a symptom of his autocratic mode of governance.

Persons: CNN —, Viktor Orban, Katalin Novak, Orban’s, ”, Judit Varga, Fidesz party’s, Varga, Orban, Hungary’s, “ Orban, Kim Lane Scheppele, Attila Kisbendek, Peter Magyar, “, ” Magyar, Magyar, Hungary ”, ” Orban, Critics, ” Scheppele, Hungary –, Bernadett Szabo, Scheppele, ‘, illiberal, ’ ”, Pope Francis, Eva Fodor, Fodor, Attila Kisbenedek, Zoltan Balog, Balog, hasn’t, Mark Rutte, Europe’s, he’s Organizations: CNN, CNN — Hungary’s, Fidesz, European Union, Princeton University, Partizan, State of, Reuters, Survey, Christian, Central European University, Getty Locations: Washington, Moscow, Brussels, Budapest, AFP, Varga’s, Hungary, State, Christian Europe, China, Venezuela, ”, Netherlands

☆ Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce each donate $100,000 to the families of victims of the Kansas City Chiefs victory parade shooting
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-17 | by ( Eve Crosbie | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce have made generous charitable donations to the victims of the shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl victory parade, which occurred on February 14. Taylor Swift's message to the family of Elizabeth Lopez-Galvan, a woman who was killed in the mass shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs victory parade. Police officers at the scene of a shooting where at least one person was killed and 22 others were injured on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024, in Kansas City. — Travis Kelce (@tkelce) February 15, 2024As Business Insider previously reported, during a press conference earlier this week, Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves confirmed that three people, including two minors, had been detained following the shooting. A spokeswoman for the Office of the Juvenile Officer in Jackson County, Mo., told the publication that additional charges are "expected in the future as the investigation by the Kansas City Police Department continues."

Persons: Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce, Elizabeth Lopez, Galvan, Taylor, Swift's, Reyes, — Travis Kelce, Stacey Graves, Lopez Organizations: Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl, Business, Variety, Kansas City Chiefs, Police, Kansas City . Kansas City Star, Super Bowl, Chiefs, KC, Kansas City Police, New York Times, Kansas City Police Department, NBC News Locations: Kansas City ., Jackson County, Mo

The company also has promised to wall off U.S. user data from its parent company through a separate entity run independently from ByteDance and monitored by outside observers. TikTok says new user data is currently being stored on servers maintained by the software company Oracle. The AP-NORC poll shows TikTok users — about 170 million in the U.S., most of whom skew younger — are less likely to be worried about the app sharing American users' data, reflecting a previously felt generational divide. The Biden campaign has said it is using a separate cellphone for TikTok to isolate the app from other communications and was taking additional steps for protection. The poll also found that about 6 in 10 U.S. adults — and 41% of daily TikTok users — are “extremely or very concerned” about the amount of time children and teenagers spend on TikTok.

Persons: Joe Biden’s, TikTok, ”, Dan Ives, Biden, Mark Warner, ” Warner, “, Alex Haurek, Vivek Ramaswamy, influencers, —, it’s, Linley Sanders, ___ Organizations: The Associated Press, NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, U.S, Oracle, Foreign Investment, Commerce Department, Wedbush Securities, European Union, Senate, Virginia Democrat, Republican, Union Locations: U.S, Beijing, Virginia, India, Washington

Greece has become the first majority-Orthodox Christian nation to legalize same-sex marriage under civil law. Public opinion in majority Orthodox countries has mostly been opposed, too. Civil unions may become more common among Orthodox countries gravitating toward the European Union. Greek Orthodox showed relative tolerance, with half of Orthodox saying homosexuality should be accepted and a quarter favoring same-sex marriage. As head of the Russian Orthodox Church, he oversees the world's largest Orthodox flock.

Persons: ”, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, “, George Demacopoulos, ” Demacopoulos, —, Vladimir Putin, “ perversions, Putin, Kirill, Moscow, Tiny Montenegro, Aleksandar Vucic, ″, ___ Smith, Yuras, Stephen McGrath, Illia Novikov, Veselin Toshkov Organizations: European Union, Pew Research Center, Orthodox Christian Studies Center, Fordham University, Ukrainian, of, of Human, Russian Orthodox Church, Kremlin, Russia’s, Levada, MONTENEGRO Serbia, Balkan, Serbian Orthodox Church, of Human Rights, Orthodox, Bulgarian Orthodox Church, Associated Press, Gec, Lilly Endowment Inc, AP Locations: Greece, Montenegro, Cyprus, Russia, Eastern Europe, Washington, New York, European, UKRAINE, Ukraine, RUSSIA, Russian, BELARUS, Belarus, SERBIA, MONTENEGRO, Serbia, ROMANIA, MOLDOVA Romania, Romania, Bucharest, Moldova, BULGARIA, Bulgaria, Pittsburgh, Tallin, Estonia, Belgrade, Kyiv, Sofia

☆ 12 women sue FBI over alleged failure to protect them from Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-14 | by ( Nicki Brown | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —The FBI’s “repeated and continued failures, delays and inaction” allowed Jeffrey Epstein to continue his sex trafficking operation for more than 20 years, 12 alleged victims claimed in a lawsuit filed Wednesday. The lawsuit also says they support the unredacted release of FBI documents regarding Epstein, claiming the files are still largely sealed. “During the FBI investigation, the FBI was complicit in permitting Epstein and coconspirators to continue to victimize Jane Does 1-12 and other young women,” the lawsuit said. The FBI was notified the bank handled more than $1.1 million in payments from Epstein to women or girls, the lawsuit claimed. However, the FBI allegedly received additional tips and reports concerning sex abuse following the 2008 plea deal.

Persons: “, ”, Jeffrey Epstein, Epstein, ” Jennifer Plotkin, Nathan Werksman, Jane, ” Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, FBI “, coconspirators, JP Morgan Chase, JP Morgan, procrastinated Organizations: CNN, of, Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI, Department of Justice, Palm Beach Police Department, U.S . Virgin Islands, Virgin Islands, U.S . Locations: United States, Southern, of New York, Florida, Virgin, New York, Palm Beach, U.S, U.S . Virgin Islands

(AP) — A Nebraska lawmaker who tanked an effort last year by his fellow Republicans to pass a near-total abortion ban has given top priority this year to a bill that would allow abortions beyond the state's 12-week ban in cases of fatal fetal anomalies. The bill by state Sen. Merv Riepe would amend Nebraska’s 12-week abortion ban, passed last year, to allow abortions in cases when a fetus is unable to survive outside the womb. The diagnosis and abortion must come before 20 weeks of pregnancy — a timeline consistent with Nebraska's previous 20-week ban on abortions. In Nebraska, advocates are trying to collect about 125,000 signatures needed by July 5 to put a constitutional amendment before voters to protect abortion rights until fetal viability. On the national stage, Democrats see the issue of abortion rights as a major driver in a presidential election year.

Persons: LINCOLN, Sen, Merv Riepe, Roe, Wade, Kate Cox, Riepe, ” Riepe, “, Adelle Burk, Burk, “ They're, ” Organizations: —, U.S, Texas Supreme, Democrat, Nebraska, Republican Locations: Neb, Nebraska, U.S ., Texas

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A GOP legislative effort to prevent Virginia children from using the popular video-sharing app TikTok — an idea backed by Republican Gov. Jay Leftwich of Chesapeake, was left in a House of Delegates committee after concerns were raised about how the ban would be enforced. Leftwich also said he brought the bill out of mental health and data privacy concerns for young people. “But I will not be supporting this bill because I think it’s unfair to single out TikTok,” she said. “We’ve long said bans, like the one proposed in this legislation, are not only the wrong approach, but also raise significant First Amendment concerns," Brown said.

Persons: Glenn Youngkin —, Republican Del, Jay Leftwich, Lawmakers, Youngkin, Leftwich, ”, —, Holly Seibold, Jamal Brown, We’ve, Brown, Macaulay Porter, “ Organizations: —, Republican Gov, Democratic, Republican, Inc, Commonwealth, TikTok Locations: RICHMOND, Va, Virginia, Chesapeake, Fairfax County, Commonwealth

Other Israeli officials have said only a deal can bring about the release of so many hostages. A deal in late November brought about a brief truce in exchange for the release of about 100 hostages. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the sensitive talks with the media. That was viewed as a nonstarter for Israel, which wants to topple Hamas before ending the war. Residents and displaced Palestinians in Gaza were searching through the rubble from Israeli airstrikes that provided cover for the Israeli forces.

Persons: — Israel, Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, Fernando Marman, Louis Har, David Barnea, Antony Blinken, Joe Biden, ” Biden, King Abdullah II, ”, Khan Younis, ___ Jobain, Goldenberg, ___ Organizations: U.S, Health Ministry, Hamas Locations: CAIRO, Gaza, Rafah, Qatar, U.S, Egypt, Israel, Cairo, Western, Gaza’s, Tel Aviv, israel

☆ Outside the US, teens’ social media experiences are more tightly controlled
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-13 | by ( Samantha Murphy Kelly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Here’s a closer look at how child safety is regulated on social media platforms in other parts of the world. “It will take a couple of years until the first round of the audits of social media companies mandated in the DSA are published,” he said. Can social media companies be sued in the EU? At the same time, however, China’s government also largely blocks access to social media platforms as part of its efforts to monitor and censor the internet. And in Brazil, a data protection law includes special protections for children’s data, including consent to share personal data.

Persons: Here’s, Apple –, what’s, haven’t, Fernando Hortal Foronda, ”, “, Asha Allen, Brian Fung, Clare Duffy Organizations: CNN, European, Meta, Apple, Digital Services, Companies, Big Tech, EU, European Consumer Organisation, DSA, ” Tech, European Commission, EU’s Digital Service, Centre of Democracy and Technology, Justice, European Union, Minor Protection Locations: EU, Centre of Democracy and Technology Europe, China, India, Brazil

So far, Idaho has been the only state to enact a so-called “ abortion trafficking ” law. Yet even as legal questions linger in the Idaho case, other states like Tennessee are moving forward with implementing their own versions. Photos You Should See View All 22 Images“This bill is simply a parental rights bill,” said Republican Rep. Jason Zachary, who is sponsoring the proposal. Tennessee law bans abortion throughout all stages of pregnancy but contains exemptions for very narrow instances for saving the life of a mother. On the eastern side of the state, a clinic has relocated to Virginia after operating along the Tennessee border for years.

Persons: Roe, Wade, ”, Jason Zachary, Zachary, John Ray Clemmons, Bill Lee Organizations: GOP, Supreme, Republican, quizzed, Democratic, Republican Gov, Centers for Disease Control, Guttmacher Institute Locations: Tenn, Tennessee, U.S, Idaho, Missouri, Oklahoma, Memphis, Nashville, Carbondale , Illinois, Virginia

☆ Federal judge blocks Ohio law regulating kids’ access to social media
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-13 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

Washington CNN —A federal judge has temporarily blocked an Ohio law seeking to regulate kids’ access to social media platforms, saying that the law is likely unconstitutional. Monday’s order by District Judge Algenon Marbley reiterates what Marbley said last month when he issued an emergency order halting the Ohio law from going into effect. Ohio’s legislation would have required social media platforms to obtain parental consent before creating accounts for children under age 16. It’s the latest blow to states that have vowed a crackdown on social media in the face of mounting claims that the technology contributes to mental health harms. And it highlights the many legal hurdles facing calls to ban social media for young Americans.

Persons: Algenon Marbley, Marbley, “, ” Marbley Organizations: Washington CNN, US, Court, Southern, Southern District of, NetChoice Locations: Ohio, Southern District, Southern District of Ohio, Arkansas , California, Utah

☆ A McDonald's franchisee is paying $4.35 million to settle a lawsuit from a worker who said she was raped by her manager when she was just 14
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-12 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

A McDonald's worker in Pittsburgh said in a lawsuit she was raped by her manager when she was 14. McDonald's franchisee Rice Enterprises is paying $4.35 million to settle the suit, first filed in 2021. AdvertisementA McDonald's franchisee has agreed to pay $4.35 million to settle a lawsuit from a worker in Pittsburgh who said she was raped by her manager, a registered sex offender, when she was 14. The minor's family had filed a lawsuit against both McDonald's and Rice Enterprises, the eight-unit franchise business operating the restaurant she worked at, in September 2021. Rice Enterprises sued the vendor, Backgroundchecks.com in May 2023, according to a copy of the lawsuit viewed by BI.

Persons: didn't, —, McDonald's, McDonald’s, Walter Garner, Garner, Plaintiff, ”, We're Organizations: Rice Enterprises, Service, Staff, Police, ” Rice Enterprises, BI, Business, USA Locations: Pittsburgh

☆ Indian State's Polygamy Ban Divides Some Muslim Women
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-11 | by ( Feb. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +4 min

For others like Jafar, Muslim politicians and Islamic scholars, it is an unwelcome stunt by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist party. A 2013 survey found 91.7% of Muslim women nationwide saying a Muslim man should not be allowed to have another wife while married to the first. The Supreme Court in 2017 found the Islamic instant divorce unconstitutional, but the order did not ban polygamy or some other practices that critics say violate equal rights for women. The All India Muslim Personal Law Board called the code impractical and a direct threat to a multi-religious Indian society. "Banning polygamy makes little sense because data shows very few Muslim men have more than one wife in India," said board official S.Q.R.

Persons: Bano, Sadaf Jafar, Jafar, Narendra Modi's, Modi's, Ilyas, Rupam Jain, William Mallard Organizations: DELHI, Reuters, Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, SOCIETY BJP, Islam Locations: Islam, Uttarakhand, India's, India, Uttar Pradesh

Surgical castration “will always be pronounced” for those guilty of raping a child under the age of 10, according to the law's wording. Cases of rape against children between the ages of 10 and 13 will be punished by surgical or chemical castration. The younger the child, the greater the punishment,” Randriamanantenasoa said. Chemical castration is the use of drugs to block hormones and decrease sexual desire. Several countries and some U.S. states — including California and Florida — allow for chemical castration for some sex offenders.

Persons: Andry Rajoelina, Landy Mbolatiana Randriamanantenasoa, Randriamanantenasoa, “, ” Randriamanantenasoa, Jessica Lolonirina Nivoseheno, ” Organizations: —, Senate, Constitutional Court, Amnesty, AP Locations: ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar, California, Florida, africa

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