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☆ US judge set to decertify Google Play class action
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-28 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —A US judge plans to free Google from having to defend against a class action by 21 million consumers who claimed it violated federal antitrust law by overcharging them in its Google Play app store. Monday’s decision by US District Judge James Donato in San Francisco could significantly reduce damages that Google, a unit of Alphabet, might owe over the distribution of Android mobile applications. The judge said he couldn’t decertify the class immediately because Google had been appealing his November order. The class action included consumers from 12 US states and five territories, who were not part of a similar case against Google brought by various state attorneys general. The case is In re Google Play Store Antitrust Litigation, US District Court, Northern District of California, No.

Persons: overcharging, James Donato, Donato, couldn’t Organizations: CNN, Google, US, Consumers, District of Columbia, Epic, Court, Northern District of Locations: San Francisco, Northern District, Northern District of California

July 14 (Reuters) - Roblox Chief Business Officer Craig Donato is leaving gaming and metaverse company Roblox (RBLX.N), the company told Reuters on Friday. Donato has been at Roblox nearly seven years and will be departing at the end of the summer, the company said. The company said it promoted Christina Wootton to Chief Partnerships Officer, who will oversee all the company's business relationships, in the wake of Donato's imminent departure. Wootton has been at the company since 2014 and has worked with large brands and corporations including Gucci, Nike, Netflix and Disney to develop a presence in the Roblox metaverse, the company said. "We firmly believe that all brands will eventually have a presence on Roblox," Wootton said in a statement.

Persons: Craig Donato, Donato, Christina Wootton, Wootton, Arvind KC, Anna Tong, Edmund Klamann Organizations: Reuters, Gucci, Nike, Netflix, Disney, People, Systems, Thomson Locations: Roblox, San Francisco

☆ Italy may have dodged a ‘pasta strike’ but food inflation is still high. Here’s why
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

But it shelved the plan, citing “noticeable” falls in pasta prices. Pasta prices dipped in May compared with April, though provisional official data released Wednesday showed that they ticked up again this month. Broader food price inflation, albeit slowing, is still high in Italy and elsewhere. Concerns have grown that retailers and food producers are deliberately keeping prices high to boost profit margins — claims they strenuously deny. That meant they had “locked in higher prices” for longer, he told a gathering of central bankers in Portugal.

Persons: Danni Hewson, AJ Bell, Pasta, Remo Casilli, Andrew Bailey, “, Mintec, Andrew Woods, ”, Jack Allen, Reynolds, That’s, Christine Lagarde, ” Nestlé, ” Lagarde, Jeremy Hunt, —, Cristiano Laurenza, ” — Valentina Di Donato, Hanna Ziady Organizations: London CNN, CNN, ”, Bank of England, Labor, European Union, Capital Economics, European Central Bank, Wednesday, Competition, Markets Authority, Unione Italiana Food Locations: Italian, Italy, United Kingdom, United States, France, Germany, Russia, Ukraine, Cecco's, Fara San Martino, Portugal, Europe, European, “, Sweden

A trial in the copyright infringement case had been set to begin on Monday. YouTube and Schneider agreed to end the case with prejudice, which means it cannot be refiled. YouTube denied the allegations and said it goes "above and beyond" to protect copyrights. In a win for YouTube, U.S. District Judge James Donato last month refused to certify the lawsuit as a class action. The case is Schneider v. YouTube LLC, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, No.

Persons: Maria Schneider, Schneider's, Schneider, District Judge James Donato, Joshua Schiller, Philip Korologos, Boies Schiller, George Zelcs, Stephen Tillery, David Kramer, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich, Rosati Read, Blake Brittain Organizations: YouTube, Schneider's San, District, Northern, Northern District of, Thomson Locations: Schneider's San Francisco, infringers, U.S, Northern District, Northern District of California, Washington

☆ Silvio Berlusconi, Italy's former showman leader, dies at 86
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Valentina Di Donato Barbie Latza Nadeau Laura Smith-Spark Peter Wilkinson Antonia Mortensen Rob Picheta | Valentina Di Donato | Barbie Latza Nadeau | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +18 min

Umberto Cicconi/Hulton Archive/Getty Images Berlusconi swims at a Tunisian beach in 1984. Umberto Cicconi/Hulton Archive/Getty Images Berlusconi leaves a 1985 news conference in Paris. Franco Origlia/Hulton Archive/Getty Images Berlusconi announced in November 1993 that he would be entering the world of politics. Franco Origlia/Hulton Archive/Getty Images Berlusconi waves while attending a European Council meeting in Corfu, Greece, in June 1994. Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images Berlusconi hands the Berlusconi Trophy to AC Milan's Massimo Ambrosini in August 2011.

Persons: Rome, Rome CNN — Silvio Berlusconi, Christ, ”, Berlusconi, Milan’s, Benito Mussolini, “ Il Cavaliere ”, Milan, Giorgia Meloni, Matteo Salvini, Silvio Berlusconi, Alessandra Benedetti, Eric Vandeville, Indro Montanelli, Umberto Cicconi, Italy's, Michel Clement, Francis Apesteguy, Veronica Lario, Franco Origlia, Langevin Jacques, Sygma, Cesare Previti, Pope John Paul II, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Veronica, William Stevens, Barbara, Eleonora, Oscar Scalfaro, Patrick Hertzog, Romano Prodi, Alberto Pizzoli, Giuseppe Cacace, Gregorio Borgia, Associated Press Berlusconi, Vittorio Zunino Celotto, Massimo Ambrosini, Claudio Villa, Dan Kitwood, preliminarily, Filippo Monteforte, Alessia Pierdomenico, Remo Casilli, Reuters Berlusconi, Giuseppe Lami, Angelo Carconi, Emanuele Cremaschi, Tiziana Fabi, Luigi Brugnaro, Renato Brunetta, Piero Cruciatti, Hungary’s Viktor Orban, Britain’s Boris Johnson, Donald Trump, “ Berlusconi, ” Severgnini, ” Meloni, Claudia Greco, Prodi –, –, Berlusconi’s, Ignazio La Russa, “, Gianfranco Fini –, FILIPPO MONTEFORTE, Vladimir Putin, Volodymr Zelensky, Nobel, salesmanship ’, Jesus Christ, Severgnini, il, salesmanship, Francesca Pascale, Del, Pavarotti, ” Berlusconi, Marina, Carla Dall’Oglio, Luigi Organizations: Rome CNN, Milan’s San Raffaele, Forza Italia, Freedom, Italian, Getty, Canale, AC Milan, Berlusconi, Romano, Associated Press, Associated, Bloomberg, Reuters, Venice, Anadolu Agency, RAI, Media, Milano, Milan –, world’s, Forza Italia Party, Forza, soccer team, Northern League Party, European, Union coalition, Sporting, della, PM, “, ”, Del Monaco Locations: Milan, Paris, AFP, Naples, Italy, Rome, Corfu, Greece, Tatanto, Cannes, France, Italy's, Venice, Italy's Senate, Monza, Lombardy, ”, L’Aquila, Milan’s, Italian, Europe, Ukraine

Rome CNN —Pope Francis was recovering well in a Rome hospital on Thursday, the day after the 86-year-old had abdominal surgery that renewed health fears. “This wasn’t an urgent surgery,” Dr. Sergio Alfieri, the surgeon who operated on Pope Francis, said at a press conference. Pope Francis, seated in a wheelchair, attended a weekly general audience at the Vatican on June 7. Pope’s fragile healthThis operation is the latest in a series of health scares surrounding Pope Francis. Medical sources say that the intervention was likely related to the surgery Francis underwent in 2021, which removed half of his colon.

Persons: Rome, Rome CNN — Pope Francis, “, ”, Matteo Bruni, Francis, ” Dr, Sergio Alfieri, Pope Francis, ” Alfieri, Andreas Solaro, Alfieri, he’s “, –, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Bruni, Francis ’, Pope Francis now, Annatuli, Carina, State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Tarcisio Bertone, ’ ”, Pope Benedict XVI, Gregory XII, Volodymyr Zelensky Organizations: Rome CNN, Vatican, Gemelli, Reuters, Catholic, Papal, Getty, CNN, Spanish, ABC, State, Catholic Church Locations: Rome, AFP, The Prefecture, Mexico, Myanmar, Iraq, Ukraine

☆ ‘The Girl from Ipanema’ singer Astrud Gilberto dies at 83
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Astrud Gilberto, the Brazilian singer, songwriter and entertainer whose off-hand, English-language cameo on "The Girl from Ipanema" made her a worldwide voice of bossa nova, has died at age 83. "The Girl from Ipanema," the wistful ballad written by Antônio Carlos Jobim and Vinícius de Moraes, was already a hit in South America. In a 2002 interview with friends posted on her web site, Astrud Gilberto remembered her husband saying he had a surprise for her at the recording studio. "When we were finished performing the song, Joao turned to Stan, and said something like: 'Tomorrow Astrud sing on record… What do you think?' Astrud Gilberto sings "The Girl from Ipanema" in a light, affectless style that influenced Sade and Suzanne Vega among others, as if she had already moved on to other matters.

Persons: Astrud Gilberto, Paul Ricci, Gilberto, " Getz, Stan Getz, João Gilberto, Antônio Carlos Jobim, Vinícius de Moraes, Getz, Creed Taylor, Stan, Joao, Sade, Suzanne Vega, Norman Gimbel, de Moraes, Heloísa Eneida Menezes Paes Pinto, Taylor, Weinert, Tom Jobim, Bené Nunes, Luis Bonfá, João Donato, João Marcelo Gilberto, Gregory Lasorsa, Chet Baker, George Michael Locations: Brazilian, Ipanema, Salva dor, Bahia, Rio de Janeiro, South America, Brazil

☆ Italy's birth rate is at a record low. Young Italians say they can't afford to have babies
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Barbie Latza Nadeau Valentina Di Donato Antonia Mortensen | Barbie Latza Nadeau | Valentina Di Donato | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The birth rate in Italy has been declining steadily since the economic crisis in 2008, for reasons demographers agree is rooted in economic insecurity. In France, the birth rate is higher at 1.8 children per woman, according to figures for 2022 from its national statistics agency. The Catholic Church, which is a predominant political force, and the right-wing government under Meloni have both lamented the low birth rate, but have put up roadblocks to ways to remedy the situation. De Luca blames the government for not doing enough for the younger generation, in part because decades of low birth rates have made the youth a minority. Testa fears that the low birth rate is contagious.

Rome/London CNN —Italy’s government convened crisis talks Thursday to investigate the reasons behind a surge in prices for pasta, one of the country’s most beloved and culturally important foods. Pasta inflation moderated a bit in April but prices were still up 16.5% over 12 months. Pasta prices have soared despite the price of wheat — the main ingredient — falling in recent months. The price of durum wheat — a type of wheat popular among Italian pasta-makers — has fallen 30% since May 2022. Making pasta only requires mixing water with the wheat, the group said, giving “little justification” for the huge increase in retail prices.

☆ At Least 10,000 Foreign Companies to Be Hit by EU Sustainability Rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Dieter Holger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +7 min

The estimates exclude foreign companies that are subject to the reporting requirements due to other conditions, such as having an EU bond listing. Foreign companies with EU listings will need to start reporting these disclosures in 2025 if they have more than 500 employees in the EU. Businesses based in the EU that reported under the bloc’s previous sustainability rules must follow the new requirements from 2025. The EU rules call for limited-assurance audits to start, with a goal of eventually moving to reasonable assurance. Other sustainability reporting regulations are also set to go into effect in the next few years.

☆ NHL roundup: Wild, Stars seal playoff berths
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Despite the defeat, the Wild clinched a playoff berth thanks to the point for the overtime loss plus the Nashville Predators' 5-1 loss to the Dallas Stars. William Karlsson had two assists and Keegan Kolesar also scored for Vegas, while Brossoit finished with 30 saves. Matt Boldy scored his 30th goal of the season and also had an assist and Brandon Duhaime and John Klingberg also scored goals for Minnesota. Jared McCann scored two goals for Seattle, and Morgan Geekie, Ryan Donato and Carson Soucy each had a goal and an assist. Lawson Crouse scored the only goal of the game for the Coyotes, who are 0-6-2 in their past eight games.

In the data privacy case, Google has said its Chrome browser users consented to the company's data collection. The sanction in the data privacy action is not the first time Van Keulen has punished Google in the same case. The new sanctions order and the prior one from May 2022 addressed internal Google evidence concerning consumer use of the company's private browsing mode. Google, according to the judge's order, will be barred from relying on certain employee witnesses in the case. Van Keulen also said Google must pay fees associated with two experts working for the plaintiffs, and must also pay a $79,000 fine.

☆ Federal judge rules Google tried to ‘hide the ball’ by deleting chat logs in a big antitrust case
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Washington CNN —Google intentionally sought to “hide the ball” in a high-profile antitrust case by automatically deleting employee chat messages that could have been used as evidence in the suit, a federal judge ruled Tuesday, dealing a blow to the tech giant. But Donato repeatedly criticized Google this week for trying to keep sensitive chat logs out of the record. The Justice Department has filed a similar sanctions motion against Google in an ongoing antitrust suit over Google’s search business. Though that case is unfolding in a different federal court, Donato’s ruling Tuesday could give other courts more ammunition to reach the same conclusion. “We’ll continue to show the court how choice, security, and openness are built into Android and Google Play.”

U.S. District Judge James Donato in San Francisco said in his order that Google "fell strikingly short" in its duties to preserve records. Separately, the plaintiffs will have a chance to urge Donato to tell jurors that Google destroyed information that was unfavorable to it. The lawyers said Google was deleting chat records every 24 hours and "did so even after this litigation commenced." Google is separately fighting claims in a U.S. Justice Department antitrust case in Washington, D.C., federal court of destroyed chat records. The case is In re Google Play Store Antitrust Litigation, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No.

Google should be sanctioned for failing to preserve chat messages between employees related to an antitrust case brought by Epic Games, a federal judge in California ruled on Tuesday. The company "adopted a 'don't ask, don't tell' policy for keeping messages, at the expense of its preservation duties," the judge said in the filing. A Google spokesperson said at the time of the DOJ's filing that it disagrees with the DOJ's claims. Epic alleged that Google failed to retain chat messages between employees that it should have preserved while under a litigation hold. Exhibits presented by Epic seem to show that Google employees saw chats as a less formal way to communicate.

☆ DOJ alleges Google destroyed chat messages that it was required to save during antitrust investigation
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

According to the DOJ, Google should have adjusted its defaults in mid-2019, "when the company reasonably anticipated this litigation." Meanwhile, DOJ alleged, Google "falsely" told the government it had "'put a legal hold in place' that 'suspends auto-deletion.'" The alleged issue is one that previously came up in Epic Games' antitrust litigation against Google. The DOJ alleged that even after Epic confronted Google about the chat deletion concerns in that case, Google still withheld its deletion policy from the federal government "and continued to destroy written communications in this case." Scallen said that if Google "didn't give clear directions to retain" relevant chats "this notion that they left it to the individuals, that's just not responsible."

The case involves a group of consumers who contend Facebook exploited user data to maintain its market power. Representatives for Quinn Emanuel and Facebook declined to comment, and a spokesperson for Hagens Berman did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. Scarlett in recent court filings said Quinn Emanuel was not respecting her view as a leading antitrust attorney based on her gender. Quinn Emanuel denied the claim, saying it has "worked very hard to be cooperative with all counsel on the case, including female counsel." Donato started the appointment process from scratch in January amid quarreling between Seattle-based plaintiffs' firm Hagens Berman and 900-lawyer Quinn Emanuel.

"While we disagree with the allegations in this case, we are pleased to have resolved this legacy issue," a Wells Fargo spokesperson said in a statement. Wells Fargo disclosed in July 2017 that hundreds of thousands of customers had been unnecessarily charged for "collateral protection insurance," which covers auto lenders when borrowers are uninsured. The bank also concealed auto insurance issues from the U.S. Senate Banking Committee in November 2016, the investors alleged. Wells Fargo settled an auto borrower class action in 2019 for $386 million without admitting wrongdoing. In 2018, Wells Fargo agreed to pay $1 billion to U.S. regulators to settle probes of its auto insurance and mortgage practices.

Part of the clash included a Hagens Berman partner accusing Quinn Emanuel of discounting her views based on her gender. Quinn Emanuel denied the allegation, calling it a "mystery." The two law firms on Friday night submitted their pitches to Donato about why he should appoint them solely rather than jointly to lead the consumer class. A representative from Hagens Berman did not immediately comment, and a Quinn Emanuel spokesperson declined to comment. Hagens Berman and Quinn Emanuel have been on opposite sides in other cases.

☆ Shares of Roblox pop after December update shows increase in bookings
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Ashley Capoot | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Shares of Roblox popped 13% on Tuesday after the gaming company released its December 2022 metrics report. It showed estimated bookings were between $430 million and $439 million for the month, up 17% to 20% year over year. Roblox calls its revenue figure bookings. The December report seemed to encourage investors after shares of Roblox closed down 15.7% when the company released its November business update. That report showed slowing growth and a decline in how much it earns from its daily users.

☆ Laid-off Twitter workers have been forced to drop their class-action lawsuit demanding more severance pay
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The five laid-off workers had signed arbitration agreements agreeing not to bring suits against Twitter. "Twitter provided signed copies of the agreements, and they are all clear and straightforward," Donato wrote in the order. Since Elon Musk took ownership of the company in late October, Twitter has laid off thousands of workers. Shannon Liss-Riordan, the attorney representing the laid-off Twitter workers, did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment, made outside of regular working hours. She said that she had already filed 500 individual arbitration demands, with more to come.

☆ Twitter’s laid-off workers cannot pursue claims via class-action lawsuit, judge says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Twitter (TWTR) has secured a ruling allowing the social media company to force several laid-off workers suing over their termination to pursue their claims via individual arbitration rather than a class-action lawsuit. US District Judge James Donato on Friday ruled that five former Twitter employees pursuing a proposed class action accusing the company of failing to give adequate notice before laying them off after its acquisition by Elon Musk must pursue their claims in private arbitration. Donato granted Twitter’s request to force the five ex-employees to pursue their claims individually, citing agreements they signed with the company. The lawyer who represents the plaintiffs, Shannon Liss-Riordan, said on Monday that she had already filed 300 demands for arbitration on behalf of former Twitter employees and would likely file hundreds more. Those workers all claim they have not received the full severance package promised by Twitter before Musk took over.

☆ Twitter's laid-off workers cannot pursue claims via class-action lawsuit, judge rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Twitter Inc has secured a ruling allowing the social media company to force several laid-off workers suing over their termination to pursue their claims via individual arbitration than a class-action lawsuit. Donato granted Twitter's request to force the five ex-employees to pursue their claims individually, citing agreements they signed with the company. The lawyer who represents the plaintiffs, Shannon Liss-Riordan, said on Monday that she had already filed 300 demands for arbitration on behalf of former Twitter employees and would likely file hundreds more. Those workers all claim they have not received the full severance package promised by Twitter before Musk took over. The judge said that before asking workers to sign severance agreements waiving their ability to sue the company, Twitter must give them "a succinct and plainly worded notice".

☆ Twitter's laid-off workers asked to drop lawsuit over severance, judge rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 14 (Reuters) - Twitter Inc has secured a ruling allowing the social media company to force several laid-off workers suing over their termination to pursue their claims via individual arbitration than a class-action lawsuit. Donato granted Twitter's request to force the five ex-employees to pursue their claims individually, citing agreements they signed with the company. The judge said that before asking workers to sign severance agreements waiving their ability to sue the company, Twitter must give them "a succinct and plainly worded notice". Twitter laid off roughly 3,700 employees in early November in a cost-cutting measure by Musk, and hundreds more subsequently resigned. Reporting by Mrinmay Dey in Bengaluru and Nate Raymond in Boston, Editing by Angus MacSwanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ NHL roundup: Wings escape 4-goal hole, top Pens in OT
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Dylan Larkin, Joe Veleno, Jonatan Berggren and David Perron also scored and Lucas Raymond had two assists for the Red Wings, who won their second straight game. In Tampa Bay's fifth straight home victory, Alex Killorn and Brandon Hagel tallied while Victor Hedman had two assists. Flames 3, Kraken 2Jonathan Huberdeau scored the tiebreaking goal with eight minutes remaining as Calgary won at Seattle. Adam Henrique scored two goals for Anaheim, the 25th multi-goal game of his career, while Terry and Zegras each assisted on both goals. Mark Stone and Ben Hutton scored for the Golden Knights, who lost consecutive road games for the first time this season.

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