Month: March 2023

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testified before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Thursday, with the tech executive receiving bipartisan questioning about the video platform’s ability to protect U.S. consumer information from ending up in the hands of Chinese leaders.

The hearing has focused on members’ concerns about the app’s data privacy, protections for children online and TikTok’s connection to the Chinese Communist Party. Chew tried to persuade members of the Committee that personal information will be protected on U.S. servers located in the country where Chinese officials will not have access to them. Most committee members, however, remained unconvinced.

Chew said in his opening statement that the app is safe and secure and that it shouldn’t be banned. He also noted that 150 million people in the U.S. are active TikTok users and that the app has developed a loyal following in the United States. Chew said he is committed to keeping their information safe and relieve lawmakers’ fears of content manipulation and safeguarding information: “There are more than 150 million Americans who love our platform, and we know we have a responsibility to protect them, which is why I’m making the following commitments to you and our users.” Chew repeatedly pushed back against concerns about China’s access to TikTok data:  “I understand that there are concerns stemming from the inaccurate belief that TikTok’s corporate structure makes it beholden to the Chinese government or that it shares information about U.S. users with the Chinese government,” he said in his prepared statement. “This is emphatically untrue.”

Editorial credit: DANIEL CONSTANTE / Shutterstock.com

The Capitol rioter who led a mob to the office of Rep. Nancy Pelosi was sentenced by a federal judge to three years in prison on Thursday. Riley Williams, convicted on six counts relating to storming the Capitol: two felony charges (interfering with law enforcement officers during a civil disorder, and resisting or impeding law enforcement officers), and was also found guilty on four misdemeanor offenses. Williams was remanded after her sentence was handed down. U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson said Williams was placed into custody immediately because she had “no confidence whatsoever” in Williams’ respect for the law.

According to court documents, Williams was seen on video “directing crowds” up a staircase to Rep. Pelosi’s office on Jan. 6, 2021. Video also showed her taking Pelosi’s laptop and hard drive, and she posted on social media that she “stormed into the capitol building and stole nancy pelosi’s hard drive and gavel.” The jury remained deadlocked on whether or not to charge Williams for aiding and abetting the theft of the laptop.

In a pre-sentencing hearing, Williams said she was a “young and stupid girl” who was “addicted to the Internet” and had become swept up in far-right message boards. She was an avid follower of White supremacist political commentator Nick Fuentes.

Editorial credit: Valerio Pucci / Shutterstock.com

Authorities say that the 17-year-old suspect accused of shooting two school administrators at a Denver high school on Wednesday was found dead in a nearby county.  Officials in Park County, Colorado said that a body had been found Wednesday night near the vehicle that had been sought following the shooting at East High School.

Denver police announced Thursday morning that the body had been identified as the suspect in the shooting, 17-year-old Austin Lyle, who was found in a wooded area, about 2/10th of a mile from a red Volvo that had been sought in the case. The coroner’s office said a death investigation was still underway and no further details would be provided until an autopsy was completed.

Denver police said that the shooting unfolded at East High School at around 9:50 a.m.   Lyle had been under a “safety plan” and had agreed to be patted down every morning, and Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas said “During that search, obviously a weapon was retrieved.  A handgun was retrieved, and several shots were fired.”  Police did not say how long the student had been under the safety plan, which meant he was searched every morning in the school’s office, away from students and other staff. Denver officials also did not say why the student was under the safety plan, citing federal student privacy laws.

A spokesperson for Denver Health said that one of the wounded administrators remained at a hospital in serious condition as of Wednesday night, while the other had been discharged in good condition. East High School recently lost a student, Luis Garcia, after he was shot and killed Feb. 13 while sitting in a car near the campus.

Editorial credit: Jamilya Khalilulina / Shutterstock.com

The Federal Reserve is raising its key interest rate by 0.25% –their ninth consecutive rate hike — to fight against inflation while warning that the series of historic bank collapses could weigh negatively on the economy. The latest 12-month inflation data came in at 6% for February, which was slightly lower than January’s 6.4% level, and down from a pack 9% last summer.

Fed officials said in a statement Wednesday that the “U.S. banking system is sound and resilient,” but warned that “recent developments are likely to result in tighter credit conditions for households and businesses and to weigh on economic activity, hiring, and inflation … The extent of these effects is uncertain.” 

The Fed also released its quarterly round of economic projections Wednesday, which will include policymakers’ forecasts on inflation and rate hikes through 2025. The additional inflation measure the Fed has been watching — ‘supercore inflation’ — reflects price increases driven by everyday services costs like haircuts or eating out. that increased slightly last month, which led many analysts over the past week to anticipate further rate hikes. The collapses of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, followed by a rush to shore up the finances of Credit Suisse and First Republic, scrambled those forecasts.

The Fed sets off a chain reaction of rate increases in other parts of the economy by raising its key federal funds interest rate, making it more expensive to borrow and invest and lessening demand for goods and services. The Fed has hiked its effective rate from near zero a year ago to more than 4.5% today. After its eight consecutive increases, consumers now face higher borrowing costs in a range of places, from credit card interest rates of nearly 20% to auto loan rates of about 6.5%.

Editorial credit: Paul Brady Photography / Shutterstock.com

The Supreme Court ruled unanimously Tuesday for a a deaf student who sued his public school system for providing an inadequate education, a significant victory for other disabled students who allege they were failed by school officials.

The attorneys for Miguel Luna Perez, who attended public school in Sturgis, Michigan, told the court that for 12 years the school system neglected the boy and lied to his parents about the progress he was making, stunting his ability to communicate permanently.  The high court justices ruled that after Perez and his family settled a complaint against the school system they could pursue money damages under a different federal law.

Perez emigrated to the United States from Mexico at age 9, and his lawyers say the school system failed him by providing an aide who was not trained to work with deaf students, did not know sign language and in later years left him alone for hours at a time. After over a decade, Perez did not know any formal sign language and communicated through invented signs that anyone unfamiliar with his unique signing did not understand. The school awarded him inflated grades and his parents believed he was on track to earn his high school diploma. Just before graduation, however, his family was told he qualified only for a “certificate of completion.”

Perez’s family pursued claims under two laws: the Americans with Disabilities Act (which prohibits discrimination against disabled people) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, (which guarantees children with disabilities a free public education that is tailored to their specific needs). Perez’s family and the school district settled under the IDEA claims, with the district agreeing to pay for extra schooling and sign language instruction for Perez and his family. He graduated from the Michigan School for the deaf in 2020.

Editorial credit: Mehdi Kasumov / Shutterstock.com