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TikTok hit with $368 million fine under Europe's strict data privacy rules

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:31:21 GMT

LONDON (AP) — European regulators slapped TikTok with a $368 million fine on Friday for failing to protect children's privacy, the first time that the popular short video-sharing app has been punished for breaching Europe's strict data privacy rules.Ireland's Data Protection Commission, the lead privacy regulator for Big Tech companies whose European headquarters are largely in Dublin, said it was fining TikTok 345 million euros and reprimanding the platform for the violations dating to the second half of 2020. The investigation found that the sign-up process for teen users resulted in settings that made their accounts public by default, allowing anyone to view and comment on their videos. Those default settings also posed a risk to children under 13 who gained access to the platform even though they're not allowed. Also, a “family pairing" feature designed for parents to manage settings wasn't strict enough, allowing adults to turn on direct messaging for users aged 16 and 17 witho...

Avoiding THC In Your Hemp CBD — Which CBD Oils Have Zero THC?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:31:21 GMT

People unfamiliar with the hemp market are often surprised to learn that many CBD oils have slight traces of delta-9 THC. Despite the federal ban on recreational THC, the 2018 US Farm Bill allows hemp companies to sell products with ≤ 0.3 percent delta-9 THC content. Due to THC’s psychoactive traits, many customers don’t feel comfortable using CBD products with even tiny traces of THC.Luckily, plenty of CBD brands purify THC out of their products. Before buying a CBD supplement, consumers should carefully review their product’s lab reports to see whether it’s genuinely “THC-free.” Only third-party lab results will show whether CBD oils, capsules, or gummies have detectable traces of delta-9.Which CBD Products Have Zero THC?Only full-spectrum CBD oils are allowed to have ≤ 0.3 percent delta-9 THC. Customers who want a THC-free experience should focus on CBD oils labeled “broad-spectrum” or “isolate.” While there are signific...

Que Bonita! How Local Latinas are Making Over the Beauty Industry 

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:31:21 GMT

As Hispanic Heritage Month gets underway this week, there are a myriad of influences and forms of expression to recognize and celebrate. Beauty is one of the most culturally significant, especially in Los Angeles, and Latina-owned companies based here continue to highlight products that address specific needs of the community and beyond. Here, we spotlight three companies who found success by tapping into these markets only to discover that their concerns and aesthetics had the power to reach a wider population too, thus redefining the industry for customers from all ethnic backgrounds. With support and collaboration from their families, friends and clients, the inspiring enmujeres empresarias (female entrepreneurs) behind Beauty Creations’ colorful low-cost makeup, Rizo’s Curls brand’s spiraling tress successes and Melt Cosmetics premium high-impact viral makeup looks, reflect the very triumphs and traditions that this month is meant to celebrate.(Courtesy Beauty Creations)Accordin...

For ‘California Forever’ CEO, business is personal

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:31:21 GMT

CEO Jan Sramek is making good on his company’s promise to Solano County that he would start a conversation. After years of silently buying up over 52,000 acres of land in eastern Solano County, he said he’s spent the last few weeks talking with anyone and everyone who’s interested in what California Forever’s plans are in the region.Jan Sramek, CEO of California Forever, is eager to have conversations with Solano County locals about a proposed real estate development between Rio Vista and Travis Air Force Base. Sramek’s name has certainly been in the headlines — both locally and nationally — after initial reporting from The New York Times revealed the investor group’s plans to transform the land into a dense urban environment with affordable housing powered by renewable energy.Amidst the flood of information that has come out about California Forever since, Sramek wants skeptical Solano County residents to know that for him, the project is personal. Sramek’s connection wit...

A’s: Bob Melvin’s return to Coliseum a reminder of better times in Oakland

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:31:21 GMT

OAKLAND — Bob Melvin’s departure to San Diego marked the beginning of the end of the Oakland A’s last hurrah. In his return to the Coliseum on Friday, the Padres skipper will see just how far things have fallen in Oakland merely two years since he left.The Padres and A’s will play a three-game series this weekend with the teams on different trajectories. The talent-rich Padres are in the home stretch of a massively disappointing season, set to miss the playoffs despite being pegged as National League pennant contenders. After leading the Padres to an NLCS appearance last season, Melvin could be on the hot seat once September ends.In Oakland, baseball has become secondary to the franchise’s effort to uproot the team and relocate to Las Vegas. It’s a far cry from the contending team Melvin left in 2021 — the one that had made the postseason three years in a row with budding homegrown stars. Some on that team remember gathering for a group hug ...

McDonald: 49ers are the apple of the football world’s eye. What issues could bite them against the Rams?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:31:21 GMT

SANTA CLARA — Ran into one of the Faithful the other day who has concerns about the 49ers — none of which had to do with the team itself.The fan — his name is Neil — felt the damn media was being far too nice.“Everyone is gushing over them and it makes me uncomfortable,” he said.I explained it was hard to come up with a lot of negative things to say about a 30-7 road beatdown in Pittsburgh. Considering the 49ers came in 2-4 under coach Kyle Shanahan in Week 1, taking apart a supposed AFC contender and finishing it off with no injuries was worthy of praise and optimism.Fortunately, Shanahan is around with a bucket of cold water for anyone who believes the 49ers have “arrived” with one-seventeenth of all precincts reporting. It’s a long NFL season and the Los Angeles Rams are up next Sunday at SoFi Stadium.To guard against overconfidence, former 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh turned to an imaginary character named Freddy P. Soft. Freddy,...

Santa Cruz County substitute teacher let go following racist rant

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:31:21 GMT

WATSONVILLE — As of Sept. 8, a Pajaro Valley Unified School District substitute teacher is no longer employed with the district following a racist, expletive-filled video that was shared on social media.In an email, interim Superintendent Murry Schekman did not identify the teacher but said she worked at Watsonville High School over the summer and more recently was employed at Lakeview Middle School, where Sept. 8 was her last day.A video that was posted to TikTok and Facebook Saturday after an apparent fender bender on Highway 1 shows the teacher becoming irate at the other driver, who is Latino and reportedly a Pajaro Valley Unified student, as he filmed her. The teacher spouted numerous profanities and told him that, despite having insurance, she would not disclose it because “I don’t trust you. You’re probably not even a citizen.”On Monday, interim Watsonville High Principal Joe Gregorio sent a letter to families indicating that the matter was being looked into.“Thank you to the...

Real estate firms give free San Jose space to kids-oriented nonprofit

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:31:21 GMT

SAN JOSE — Two Bay Area real estate firms have teamed up to give free office space in San Jose to a nonprofit that provides home healthcare for children with severe medical conditions.Republic Urban Properties and Essex Property Trust have given away an office space to Coastal Kids Home Care, a nonprofit that specializes in pediatric health care services.Getting free office space about two blocks off West San Carlos Street near downtown San Jose was a dream come true for Coastal Kids and its nurses and pediatrics professionals, according to Margy Mayfield, co-founder of Coastal Kids.Coastal Kids Home Care office at 333 Sunol Street in San Jose. (George Avalos/Bay Area News Group)“It’s a beautiful oasis for my staff to have a place to drop in, sit, and take phone calls,” Mayfield said. “They are loving this location.”The free office is on the ground floor of Silver, a 268-unit apartment complex at 333 Sunol Street in San Jose that is a joint v...

Skelton: Take Newsom at his word. He may never run for president

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:31:21 GMT

Most of us have learned not to swallow everything a politician says. They play too many word games. Republicans and Democrats alike.That’s especially true with politicians who duck and slide when asked whether they aspire to higher office. They try to leave the option open so they’ll be “mentioned” — without making themselves targets.That said, it’s past time for us — especially in the news media — to accept what Gov. Gavin Newsom says about his presidential aspiration. Stop fantasizing about a potential Newsom race for the White House.California’s Democratic governor has repeatedly insisted: He is not running for president in 2024. The telegenic 55-year-old won’t run even if aging President Biden, 80, does not. But Biden is running, so that scenario is moot.If Biden did drop out unexpectedly, Newsom would defer to his old San Francisco ally, Vice President Kamala Harris, as the next Democratic standard-bearer. He’d never run against her.What about 2028? Conventional wisdom is that ...

Walters: California keeps title as having nation’s highest poverty rate

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:31:21 GMT

Congratulations California, you’ve done it again — retained your title of having the highest level of poverty of any state.The Census Bureau released new economic data Tuesday, including both official poverty rates for 2022 and what are called “supplemental” rates.The former, based on formula several decades old, involves only a few basic factors and applies them to all states, regardless of their economic and sociological differences.Economists consider the official rates to be misleading because of their simplistic factors, but they remain in the law because they are the basis for many federal and state programs.The nationwide official poverty rate released on Tuesday is 11.5% and California’s is virtually identical at 11.4%. Other states range from as high as 18.3% in New Mexico to as low as 7.1% in neighboring Utah — an anomaly that itself should warrant deeper investigation.More than a decade ago, those who study poverty persuaded the Census Bureau to adopt a more realistic met...