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☆ Costa Rica Arrests Ex-Panama Presidential Hopeful Tied to Money Laundering Case
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Dec. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

SAN JOSE/PANAMA CITY (Reuters) - Costa Rican police on Tuesday arrested Panamanian businessman and former presidential hopeful David Ochy on charges of fraud and money laundering, judicial authorities said on Tuesday, following an Interpol request. Ochy was wanted by Interpol for being central to a case linked to former Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli, who was in July sentenced to over a decade in prison for money laundering. Ochy enrolled as a presidential pre-candidate for Martinelli's Realizing Goals party ahead of the 2024 vote, which protected him from facing trial in the Martinelli case last summer. Ochy faces criminal charges for money laundering and using a fraudulent Costa Rican identity card, Zuniga said. Carlo Diaz, who heads Costa Rica's state attorney's office, said he could be extradited to neighboring Panama though he must first face criminal proceedings in Costa Rica and could even serve a prison sentence there.

Persons: David Ochy, Ochy, Ricardo Martinelli, Martinelli, Randall Zuniga, Zuniga, Carlo Diaz, Javier Caraballo, Alvaro Murillo, Elida Moreno, Sarah Morland, Sandra Maler Organizations: JOSE, PANAMA CITY, Tuesday, Interpol, Central American Locations: PANAMA, Costa Rican, Panamanian, Costa Rica, Rican, Caribbean, Pococi, Costa Rica's, Panama, San Jose, Panama City

☆ X took 2 days to remove the account of the man suspected of California Pride-flag killing of Laura Carleton
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Haley Tenore | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

X apparently took two days to delete the account of the man suspected of killing Laura Ann Carleton. The killing happened because Carleton had a Pride flag outside her California clothing store, officials have said. AdvertisementAdvertisementThe man suspected of killing California business owner Laura Ann "Lauri" Carleton over the Pride flag outside her store apparently used X to share his homophobic views. The platform took two days to remove his account, according to CNN. The suspect and owner of the now-suspended X account was eventually identified as Travis Ikeguchi, according to USA Today.

Persons: Laura Ann Carleton, Carleton, Laura Ann, Lauri, Alejandra Caraballo, Travis Ikeguchi, Elon Musk, Musk Organizations: CNN, Harvard Law School Cyberlaw Clinic, Wayback Machine, San, San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, Southern California ., USA, European Commission Locations: California, Pride, San Bernardino County, Southern California, Southern California . Carleton

☆ Twitter took two days to suspend accused Pride flag killer's account
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Josh Campbell | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —X has suspended an account that posted numerous anti-gay and antisemitic posts and was used by the man accused of killing store owner Lauri Carleton over her display of a Pride Flag. But the account had remained live two days after law enforcement publicly confirmed its existence on the platform formerly known as Twitter. The social media company finally suspended the account Wednesday evening. The X account used by the suspect contained a pinned tweet with an image of a Pride Flag set on fire. It was not clear if the suspension of the account was a result of CNN’s query.

Persons: Lauri Carleton, Alejandra Caraballo, —, We’ll, ”, X, Elon Musk, — CNN’s Michelle Toh, Juliana Liu Organizations: CNN, Twitter, Cyberlaw Clinic, Harvard Law, San Locations: San Bernardino County

☆ Jury Awards $800,000 to a Girl Burned by a Chicken McNugget
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Chang Che | More About Chang Che | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A Florida jury awarded $800,000 in damages to a 7-year-old girl on Wednesday for the suffering and mental anguish caused when a Chicken McNugget fell on her thigh, causing a second-degree burn. The jury in Broward County awarded the girl, Olivia Caraballo, the damages for pain, suffering and other forms of mental anguish — $400,000 for the pain she endured and an additional $400,000 for any future suffering resulting from the injury, according to court documents. Lawyers for the family had asked for $15 million. The suit was brought in state court by Olivia’s parents, Philana Holmes and Humberto Caraballo Estevez, against McDonald’s and Upchurch Foods, the franchise operator in Tamarac, Fla. In May, a separate jury determined that the two companies were liable for failing to provide reasonable instructions or warnings — on the packaging, for example — about the risks of injuries that could result from a Chicken McNuggets meal, which comes with pieces of white chicken meat.

Persons: Olivia Caraballo, Philana Holmes, Humberto Caraballo Estevez Organizations: Broward, McDonald’s, Upchurch Foods Locations: Florida, Broward County, Tamarac, Fla

☆ Meta's Threads debut solved the chicken-or-egg problem plaguing new social startups
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Last week, Meta launched its latest social media venture, a Twitter alternative called Threads. For social media start-ups, attracting an audience is crucial to scaling a new product — but it can be near impossible to lure loyal users away from other platforms. New Threads accounts can easily migrate their information from Instagram, sharing their account data and username between the platforms. They have this pattern now of either launching or creating spin-off social media networks based on what's most popular at the time, then do it under their brand," Caraballo said. "It just is so dystopian to have one single person basically who oversees the entirety of all social media, at least in the Western world," Caraballo told Insider.

Persons: Mark Zuckerberg, Alexis Ohanian, Ohanian, —, Instagram, Sarah Oh, we've, Adam Mosseri, Alex Heath, Elon, Alejandra Caraballo, Harvard Law School's, Caraballo, WhatsApp —, Elon Musk, Meta Organizations: Meta, CBS, Boston Herald, Twitter, Harvard Law, Facebook, Federal Trade Commission Locations: Instagram

☆ A video shared by DeSantis' campaign showing his disdain for Pride is another piece of his 'extremely homophobic' campaign, law instructor says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-08 | by ( Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Governor Ron DeSantis' campaign shared a video highlighting his anti-LGBTQ+ bills. An expert told Insider the video is a "culmination" of DeSantis' "extremely homophobic" campaign. "They know exactly what they're doing," Caraballo told Insider. The organization previously threw its support at DeSantis when he signed his "Don't Say Gay" law. The DeSantis campaign and Pushaw did not respond to a list of questions sent by Insider.

Persons: Ron DeSantis, Patrick Bateman, Trump, DeSantis, Christina Pushaw —, Alejandra Caraballo, Harvard Law School's, Caraballo, there's, Groomers, Pushaw Organizations: Service, Miss, Republican, Trump, Harvard Law, Clinic, Transgender Legal Defense, Education Fund, Republicans, Trans, ADL, GLAAD Locations: Wall, Silicon, Chad, —, DeSantis

☆ Advertisers are returning to Twitter after Linda Yaccarino calmed fears over content moderation. But now brands like Disney, Microsoft, and the NBA have ads placed next to neo-Nazi propaganda.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Brands that pulled ads over content concerns have returned to the platform since it named a new CEO. But big names like Disney, the NBA, and Adobe had ads placed next to antisemitic content this week. However, those same brands are returning to market their products and services on Twitter with Yaccarino at the helm. "They appear to have restricted that specific search, and not anything else — so they haven't moderated the actual content," Caraballo told Insider of Twitter's response. She added: "It just goes to show that the site is rife with extremist content, and yet brands are returning.

Persons: Elon Musk's, Linda Yaccarino, —, General Mills, Musk, Yaccarino, they've, Musk —, haven't, Alejandra Caraballo, Caraballo, Hitler, she'd, It's Organizations: Elon, Brands, Disney, NBA, Adobe, NBC Universal, Microsoft, Twitter, GM, Audi, Street, Harvard Law School Cyberlaw Clinic, Nazi, Southern Poverty Law, ESPN Locations: Israel

☆ Fox News leaned in on anti-LGBTQ rhetoric, saying the Pride flag promotes 'grooming and pedophilia'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Natalie Musumeci | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A story headline on Fox News suggested the Progress Pride flag promotes "grooming and pedophilia." Fox News faced fierce backlash this week after it linked a new version of the Pride flag to "grooming and pedophilia," the latest anti-LGBTQ rhetoric from the conservative media giant. "White House flew controversial new transgender flag that promotes grooming and pedophilia, say critics," read a now-deleted Fox News tweet and the headline on a story posted on Wednesday. Fox News is straight up saying the pride flag promotes 'grooming and pedophilia.' Meanwhile, Fox News' parent company used the Progress Pride flag design on its logo last year in a "Corporate Social Responsibility Report."

Persons: Jaimee Michell, —, Alejandra Caraballo, Benjamin Siemon, Siemon, Ari Drennen, Greg Gutfeld Organizations: Fox News, White, House, Fox, GLAAD, Target, Media Matters, Twitter

☆ McDonald’s found liable after child suffers burns from ‘hot’ chicken nuggets, Florida jury finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The suit was filed in 2019 against McDonald’s and Upchurch Foods. The Fort Lauderdale jury said both were at some fault for the burns sustained by Philana Holmes and Humberto Caraballo Estevez’s daughter when the hot nuggets fell on to her lap, WPLG reported. A jury agreed with her contention that the coffee was unreasonably hot. “This is not the infamous Hot Coffee case; this is Olivia’s case,” the law firm said in a statement to WPLG. “She’s an adorable, innocent child who was severely burned through no fault of her own.”In a statement, McDonald’s called it an “unfortunate incident” but that they “respectfully disagree with the verdict.” McDonald’s defense said it had no control over the injuries and damages.

☆ Florida parents are suing McDonald's after claiming a chicken nugget left their child with second-degree burns
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Florida couple is suing McDonald's over its "dangerously hot" chicken nuggets, a lawsuit says. The couple's toddler was left with burns after the nugget got stuck between her thigh and seat belt. download the app Email address By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider as well as other partner offers and accept our Terms of Service and Privacy PolicyThe parents of a four-year-old girl are suing McDonald's for $15,000 after claiming a chicken nugget left their daughter with second-degree burns. In court documents, Holmes said the injury happened after she bought her daughter a Chicken McNugget Happy Meal at a Tamarac McDonald's drive-thru in 2019. Even though the scar doesn't bother her anymore, she does sometimes refer to it as "her chicken nugget," he added.

☆ Black Tech Twitter, trans users and more marginalized groups flock to Bluesky
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Daysia Tolentino | J.J. Mccorvey | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Her first objective was to get her community, Black tech Twitter, onto Bluesky. Once Black Twitter users started moving to Bluesky, Aveta said, others wanted to follow. Some signs indicate a slowdown among Black Twitter users that predates Elon Musk's purchase of Twitter last year. Aveta said she prioritized moving the Black tech community to Bluesky first to combine social appeal with technical knowledge. Pariss Chandler, the organizer of Black Tech Twitter and the founder of the recruitment platform Black Tech Pipeline, said diversity, equity and inclusion should be considered early in a platform's launch.

☆ Twitter is adding verified check marks to the accounts of dead celebrities, making them look like paid Twitter Blue subscribers
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Twitter added verified checks to accounts of dead celebrities to promote Twitter Blue subscriptions. Their accounts said they'd bought a Twitter Blue subscription and verified their phone numbers. Chadwick Boseman's Twitter account, with Twitter Blue subscription badge added posthumously. Anthony Bourdain's Twitter account, with Twitter Blue subscription badge added posthumously. InsiderHowever, the posthumous Twitter Blue badges may run afoul of laws protecting consumers from false endorsements.

☆ Migrants cried for help in Mexico fire but no one came, survivor recalls
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Lizbeth Diaz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Thick suffocating smoke was filling the cell where he was held with over 60 other migrants in northern Mexico, but there was no way out. "We screamed for them to open the cell door, but no one helped us," Caraballo, 26, said through tears during a phone interview from his hospital bed. He is anxious to get better so he can be fully reunited with his family and start a new life in the United States. Like millions of others, Caraballo and his family fled Venezuela's economic and political crisis, setting off for the United States last October. The young father was the first to be able to cross into the United States, via the government's CBP One scheme which allows some migrants to formally enter the United States, but returned to Mexico in February after his infant daughter fell ill.

☆ Survivor of Mexico detention fire and his family cross into U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( Lizbeth Diaz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Jose Luis GonzalezEl PASO, April 1 (Reuters) - After her husband survived a fire which killed dozens of migrants at a detention center in northern Mexico, Venezuelan Viangly Infante crossed into the United States on Saturday, in search of new opportunities for her three children. "The storm has passed," Infante, 31, said while holding back tears as she walked to the vehicle which would take her to a migrant center in El Paso. The family had arrived in Ciudad Juarez just before the new year, but only Caraballo managed to cross into the United States. Mexican authorities have shut down the detention center and arrested five people over the migrants' deaths, including INM staff, a private security agent, and a Venezuelan accused of starting the fire. In the days following the fire, the U.S government announced it would aid those affected, with Infante's family the first to receive help.

☆ A rash of proposed Florida laws use 'genocidal rhetoric' to attack trans people, legal experts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | Katie Balevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

If passed, the bills would restrict access to gender-affirming care and classify it as child abuse. Experts told Insider the bills are posturing ahead of the 2024 presidential race. New legislation 'short circuits existing law'The proposed new bills go further to expand anti-trans legislation than others across the nation, disrupting established custody and health care precedent, legal experts told Insider. "I think that's important, just to note how brazen the language has become — it's genocidal rhetoric," Caraballo told Insider. "This is all about politics, and this is all about bolstering DeSantis is run for the presidency," Caraballo told Insider.

☆ Florida courts could take 'emergency' custody of kids with trans parents or siblings — even if they live in another state
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Florida Senate Bill 254 would grant courts emergency custody of kids who receive gender-affirming care. The bill, introduced Friday, would also allow the courts to modify out-of-state custody agreements. The bill would grant officials authority under the law that protects kids from domestic violence. "The court must vacate, stay, or modify the child custody determination to the extent necessary to protect the child from the provision of such prescriptions or procedures." "The bill goes even further to violate interstate comity by authorizing the courts to vacate child custody determinations of other courts only if the child is trans.

☆ U.S. Republicans target transgender youth healthcare in legislative push
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Daniel Trotta | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The aggressive legislative push comes as battles over gender and sexuality increasingly are being fought in U.S. classrooms, courtrooms and political campaigns. Republicans including former President Donald Trump have embraced restricting trans rights ahead of the 2024 White House race, a push that trans advocates fear will harm transgender children. Gender-affirming care covers a variety of treatments, including puberty blockers, hormone therapy and, in exceedingly rare cases for trans people under 18, surgery. But many opponents of trans rights believe that the sex assigned at birth is immutable and distrust the prevailing opinions of medical associations with specialties in pediatrics, endocrinology and mental health. Governors in South Dakota and Utah have already signed into law gender-affirming care bans that state legislatures passed this year.

Last year, the nation’s largest LGBTQ advocacy organization, the Human Rights Campaign, labeled 2021 the “worst year” for LGBTQ rights in modern U.S. history, citing a record number of anti-LGBTQ bills introduced in state legislatures across the country. “The LGBTQ+ community is really under siege right now,” said Ricardo Martinez, CEO of LGBTQ advocacy group Equality Texas. One bill that was successfully implemented, and gained national headlines for months, was Florida’s Parental Rights in Education law, or what critics have dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. The word “grooming” has long been associated with mischaracterizing LGBTQ people, particularly gay men and transgender women, as child sex abusers. Those losses came after some conservative groups ramped up misleading or inflammatory campaign ads targeting transgender rights.

☆ Why detransitioners are crucial to the science of gender care
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +43 min

A Canadian health provider said it couldn’t participate, citing recent threats to hospitals offering youth gender care. But as Reuters found, hard evidence on long-term outcomes for the rising numbers of people who received gender treatment as minors is very weak. Dr Marianne van der Loos, the Dutch study’s lead author, is a physician at Amsterdam University Medical Center’s Center for Expertise on Gender Dysphoria, a pioneer in gender care for adolescents. For those who also received medical treatment, detransitioning typically includes halting the hormone therapy they otherwise would receive for years. One is Max Robinson, who was 16 when she sought gender care at Kaiser in 2012.

☆ Why extremism experts say it's worth discussing the Colorado shooting suspect's pronouns
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Jo Yurcaba | Jo Yurcaba Is A Reporter For Nbc Out. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +12 min

Attorneys for the alleged gunman in the deadly shooting at an LGBTQ club in Colorado said in court filings the suspect is nonbinary and uses “they” and “them” pronouns. In court appearances this week, Aldrich’s lawyers and District Attorney Michael Allen used he/him pronouns for Aldrich, but Aldrich’s attorneys referred to their client as “Mx. It’s unclear whether the public defenders were accidentally using he/him pronouns for Aldrich, and their office has not returned a request for comment. A spokesperson for the district attorney’s office said, regarding the suspect’s pronouns, “The defendant will be identified as the defendant throughout proceedings,” but declined to comment further on both legal teams using he/him pronouns for Aldrich in court. Holt said the response from Carlson is another part of why he believes it’s worth questioning the suspect’s claim.

☆ Elon Musk's 'Twitter Files' drop revealed some of the tweets the Biden campaign asked the social app to remove were nude photos of Hunter Biden spread without his consent
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Internal Twitter emails showed the Biden campaign asked the company to remove posts. Some of the posts contained nude photos of Hunter Biden shared without his consent. "Handled these," an unnamed Twitter executive wrote in an email in response to five links shared by another Twitter employee. Of the links to five since-deleted tweets that were shared in a screenshot by Taibbi, four had archives available online. Musk, Taibbi, and representatives for Twitter and the Biden administration did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.

☆ Colorado shooting prompts top drag queens to tour with armed guards and metal detectors
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Matt-Lavietes-Byline-Jm.Jpg | Matt Lavietes | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +11 min

Curtis Brown“We’re trying to smile and make people happy for the holidays, and in the back of our heads we’re thinking, ‘I hope I don’t get shot,’” said Jinkx Monsoon, winner of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” season five and “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars” season seven. For months, many right-wing lawmakers, media personalities and activists have accused LGBTQ people — and drag performers in particular — of “grooming,” “indoctrinating” and “sexualizing” children. Latrice Royale, who has appeared on both “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars,” reasoned that the backlash is due to the greater visibility of drag brought on by the global success of the RuPaul-led competition shows, which have spinoffs in at least 16 other countries. Drag performers who have hosted events that have catered to children, such as Drag Story Hours at public libraries or family-friendly drag brunches, have particularly drawn the ire of conservative protesters. Them.”BenDeLaCreme, who appeared on the sixth season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and the third season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars,” shared a similar sentiment.

☆ Daylight Saving Time debate sheds light on growing racial inequities in sleep health
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Jacqueline Howard | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine, the Sleep Research Society and other medical groups have advocated for ending the practice, calling for the adoption of a permanent standard time that would not involve shifting forward each spring and falling back each autumn. She authored a paper, published in September in the journal Sleep, detailing the potential health benefits of adopting a permanent standard time. Now, some sleep researchers worry about the potential effects that continuing to change standard time twice each year may have on sleep health inequities. “Fortunately, sleep health is largely modifiable.”As for the inequities seen in sleep health, it’s not that White adults don’t also experience a lack of sleep and its health consequences – but people of color appear to disproportionately experience them more, and that’s believed to be largely due to social systems in the United States. Improving sleep health has been a national objective in the federal government’s past two Healthy People programs, noted Caraballo-Cordovez, who is not involved in the programs.

Some right-wing media figures and influencers have doubled down on the use of inflammatory rhetoric against the LGBTQ community in the wake of Saturday night’s shooting at a Colorado gay club that killed five. “We shouldn’t tolerate pedophiles grooming kids,” Pool tweeted. At least one Republican politician also targeted LGBTQ people on social media in the wake of the shooting. Ellis said leaders in the LGBTQ community have “seen a dramatic uptick” in anti-LGBTQ rhetoric. “This is priming some very violent people to do shocking acts of violence, and this is all being pushed on social media and on Fox News, on Tucker Carlson.”

☆ Texas GOP looks to restrict transgender health care and drag shows
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Zachary Schermele | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Texas Republicans introduced several bills this week that target the transgender community, including at least two measures seeking to criminalize gender-affirming care for minors and one bill looking to prevent children from attending drag performances. For minors, this type of care typically includes puberty blockers, which are recommended to trans youths before the onset of puberty, or hormone therapy for teenagers. The Texas bills come on the heels of a previous attempt this year by the state’s attorney general, Ken Paxton, to deem transition-related care for minors as child abuse under state law. Greg Abbott, the state’s Republican governor, subsequently called on citizens to report parents of transgender minors to the state if they suspect these minors are receiving gender-affirming care. The state’s current definition of “sexually oriented businesses” includes any venue where two or more people perform nude and alcohol is served.

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