Day: December 23, 2024

Woman killed after being set on fire on New York subway train  Reuters
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Social media users will need to verify their identities under new decree 147, prompting fears it will undermine expression and expose anonymous dissidents
Social media users in Vietnam on platforms including Facebook and TikTok will need to verify their identities as part of strict new internet regulations that critics say further undermine freedom of expression in the communist country.
The law, which comes into force on Christmas Day, will compel tech companies operating in Vietnam to store user data, provide it to authorities on request, and remove content the government regards as “illegal” within 24 hours.
Decree 147, as it is known, builds on a 2018 cybersecurity law that was sharply criticised by the US, EU and internet freedom advocates who said it mimics China’s repressive internet censorship.
Vietnam’s hardline administration generally moves swiftly to stamp out dissent and arrest critics, especially those who find an audience on social media.
In October, blogger Duong Van Thai – who had almost 120,000 followers on YouTube, where he regularly recorded livestreams critical of the government – was jailed for 12 years on charges of publishing anti-state information.
Months earlier, leading independent journalist Huy Duc, the author of one of the most popular blogs in Vietnam – which took aim at the government on issues including media control and corruption – was arrested.
His posts “violated interests of the state”, authorities said.
Critics say that decree 147 will also expose dissidents who post anonymously to the risk of arrest.
“Many people work quietly but effectively in advancing the universal values of human rights,” Ho Chi Minh City-based blogger and rights activist Nguyen Hoang Vi told AFP.
She warned that the new decree “may encourage self-censorship, where people avoid expressing dissenting views to protect their safety – ultimately harming the overall development of democratic values” in the country.
Le Quang Tu Do, of the ministry of information and communications (MIC), told state media that decree 147 would “regulate behaviour in order to maintain social order, national security, and national sovereignty in cyberspace”.
Aside from the ramifications for social media companies, the new laws also include curbs on gaming for under-18s, designed to prevent addiction.
Game publishers are expected to enforce a time limit of an hour a game session and not more than 180 minutes a day for all games.
Nguyen Minh Hieu, a 17-year-old high school student in Hanoi who admits he’s addicted to gaming, told AFP that the new restrictions would be “really tough” to follow – and to enforce.
Games are “designed to be addictive” he said. “We often spend hours and hours playing match after match.”
Just over half of Vietnam’s 100 million population regularly plays such games, says data research firm Newzoo.
A large proportion of the population is also on social media, with the MIC estimating the country has about 65 million Facebook users, 60 million on YouTube and 20 million on TikTok.
Under the new laws, these tech titans – along with all “foreign organisations, enterprises and individuals” – must verify users’ accounts via their phone numbers or Vietnamese identification numbers, and store that information alongside their full name and date of birth.
They are required to provide it on demand to the MIC or the powerful ministry of public security.
The decree also says that only verified accounts can livestream, affecting the exploding number of people earning a living through social commerce on sites such as TikTok.
Facebook parent company Meta, YouTube owner Google and TikTok did not respond to requests for comment from AFP.
Human Rights Watch is calling on the government to repeal the “draconian” new decree.
“Vietnam’s new Decree 147 and its other cybersecurity laws neither protect the public from any genuine security concerns nor respect fundamental human rights,” said Patricia Gossman, HRW’s associate Asia director.
“Because the Vietnamese police treat any criticism of the Communist party of Vietnam as a national security matter, this decree will provide them with yet another tool to suppress dissent.”

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DeKALB – The DeKalb Fire Department fought a fire Sunday night at apartments at 1024 and 934 W. Hillcrest Drive.
As of 9 p.m. Sunday, firefighters were still battling the fire that broke out around 5 p.m.
Authorities are asking impacted families to go to the Westminister Prebysterian Church at 830 N. Annie Glidden Road.
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CLEVELAND, Ohio — Christmas Eve could be extra special … if someone can beat the long Mega Millions odds.
The Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024, Mega Millions jackpot currently is an estimated $944 million, the seventh largest in the lottery’s history. The numbers from the Friday, Dec. 20 drawing are 2-20-51-56-67 Mega Ball 19 Megaplier 2x.
The Monday, Dec. 23 Powerball jackpot is an estimated $103 million after no tickets matched the Saturday, Dec. 21 numbers, which are 1-12-17-21-58 Powerball 1 Power Play 3x.
The Classic Lotto jackpot is $1 million for Monday’s drawing. Saturday’s numbers are 1-2-9-33-38-39 Kicker 779897.
Sunday’s winning Ohio Lottery numbers are:
Pick 3 evening: 909 (midday, 150)
Pick 4 evening: 8959 (midday, 4675)
Pick 5 evening: 99828 (midday, 68238)
Rolling Cash 5: 6-26-27-36-37
Lucky for Life: 4-7-37-43-47 Lucky Ball 8
Pick 3 winners receive $500 for a $1 straight bet and the odds of winning are 1-in-1,000. Pick 4 winners receive $5,000 for a $1 straight bet and the odds of winning are 1-in-10,000.
The Rolling Cash 5 jackpot for the next drawing is $100,000 for hitting all five numbers and the odds of winning are 1-in-575,757.
Drawings for Pick 3, Pick 4 and Pick 5 are twice daily, at 12:29 p.m. and 7:29 p.m. The drawing for the Rolling Cash 5 is each night at 7:35 p.m.
Classic Lotto draws at 7:05 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. The odds of winning the jackpot with a $1 ticket are 1-in-13,983,816.
Lucky for Life draws at 10:30 p.m. each night. The odds of winning the jackpot with a $2 ticket are 1 in 30,821,472.
Powerball draws on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays at 10:59 p.m. The odds of winning the jackpot with a $2 ticket are 1 in 292,201,338.
Mega Millions draws on Tuesdays and Fridays at 11 p.m. The odds of winning the jackpot with a $2 ticket are 1-in-302,575,350.
The official Ohio Lottery site offers more information on instant tickets, raffles & other lottery games.
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The creators of the crypto analytics firm Glassnode are warning that altcoins could lose all bullish momentum following last week’s market correction.
Jan Happel and Yann Allemann, who go by the handle Negentropic on the social media platform X, tell their 63,400 followers that “altcoin season,” which they say began in late November, could come to an abrupt end after alts witnessed deep pullbacks over the last seven days.
According to the Glassnode co-founders, traders and investors will likely have a risk-off approach on altcoins unless Bitcoin recovers a key psychological price point.
“Is This the End of Altcoin Season?
Bitcoin dominance is surging after dipping below $100,000, while altcoins are losing critical supports. Dominance has risen and resumed its upward trend, signaling a stronger BTC environment.
If BTC stabilizes above $100,00, we might see a pump in altcoins now in accumulation zones. Until then, Bitcoin appears poised to lead, leaving altcoins lagging behind.”
The Bitcoin Dominance (BTC.D) chart tracks how much of the total crypto market cap belongs to BTC. In the current state of the market, a surging BTC.D suggests that altcoins are losing value faster than Bitcoin.
At time of writing, BTC.D is hovering at 59%.
Looking at Bitcoin itself, the Glassnode executives say long-term Bitcoin holders are massively unloading their holdings as other investor cohorts pick up the slack.
“The Board Keeps Shifting. 
As BTC continues flowing out of exchanges during this dip, long-term holders are exiting forcefully, while short-term holders step in without hesitation.
Whales quietly accumulate, miners remain neutral, and selling pressure has merely reshuffled the board.
New hands are absorbing the sales.”
At time of writing, Bitcoin is worth $97,246.
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Archbishop of Hartford Archdiocese sees good news in attendance numbers  CT Insider
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WASHINGTON – Congress on early Saturday passed a bill that would increase Social Security benefits for public sector workers.
The Social Security Fairness Act, would eliminate the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO), which reduce Social Security benefits for certain retirees who also receive pension income.
Together, WEP and GPO affect nearly 3 million Americans including police officers, firefighters, postal workers and public-school teachers.
The Senate approved the bill by a vote of 70-26 at 12:15 a.m. It was passed by the House in November and now goes to the president’s desk to be signed.
More:Will you take Social Security in 2025? Better know your official full retirement age
The legislation is “a great gift for our retired firefighters, police officers, postal workers, teachers, and others who for years contributed to Social Security, but are now being penalized because of their time of public service,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. said Wednesday. “That’s unfair. It’s deeply unfair. It goes against the American ideal of working hard, chipping in, and enjoying a well-earned retirement.”
However, some senators who voted against the legislation argued it would unfairly benefit some workers while increasing burdens for others on Social Security, and jeopardize the Social Security fund overall.
“Let’s be crystal clear: this bill would increase unfairness in how Social Security benefits are calculated,” said Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, in a speech on the Senate floor Friday.
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said the Social Security trust fund is less than 10 years away from being insolvent, and said this bill will speed that up.
More:Trump pledged to eliminate Social Security Benefit taxes. Why that could be bad.
“This policy does address a challenge with Social Security for a single-digit percentage of people who have a pension,” he said. “It is something we need to fix, but this is not the way to fix it.”
The bill will cost $196 billion over the next 10 years, according to estimates by the Congressional Budget Office.
The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) reduces Social Security for those who earn “non-covered” pension income their jobs, which are typically public sector roles, that didn’t contribute Social Security payroll taxes. Those workers can lose up to half the pension amount.
More:Will Social Security COLA go up in 2025? What you need to know about benefit increases
The Government Pension Offset (GPO) reduces survivor or spousal benefits when a person’s pension is non-covered. GPO affects fewer people, but it cuts the Social Security benefit by two-thirds of the pension amount. If two-thirds of your government pension is more than your Social Security benefit, your benefit could be reduced to zero.
The rules were intended to prevent Social Security from overpaying people who worked in non-covered pension jobs, experts told USA TODAY.
Public sector workers have been fiercely advocating for the Senate to take up the legislation.
“The Social Security Fairness Act rights a wrong that has been unfair and uncorrected for far too long,” American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten said in a statement. “When you contribute to Social Security, it should be there for you when you retire. Period.”

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Internet Archive is back online, but for how long?  CyberNews.com
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Just Love You (5f Love You-Just In Love-Ever Jet-Tarass Boulba) easily won today’s Paris-Vincennes co-featured Prix Tenor de Baune-Amerique Q4 (Gr. I International, purse 240,000€, 2700 meters, 12 five year old starters) timed in 1.12.1kr.
It was a coast to coast victory with Alexandre Abrivard driving for Laurent Claude Abrivard training for breeder/owner Michele Bliard off at 2.1/1 favorite odds. The winner captured an Amerique ’25 ticket which he already owns through a fourth place finish in the Bretagne Prix. He now sports 11 career wins in 34 starts for 752,050€ earned. Finishing second was 4.2/1 odds Working Class Hero (5m Village Mystic-Magnesia) with Mathieu Mottier teaming the Jorgen Westholm trainee for Stall Fuena AB.
The 2.2/1 second choice Justin Bold (5m Bold Eagle-Udine) was second for P-Y Verva, trainer Jean Remi Delliaux and Ecurie du Damier the owner. Jazzman Debailleul (5m Repeat Love) at 10/1, Juninho Dry (5m Carat Williams) at 90/1, Jakartas des Pres (5m Scipion du Goutier) at 138/1 odds and 172/1 Die Hard (5m Bird Parker) finished fourth through seventh. Joumba de Guez was scratched.
To view the race replay, click here.
The Amerique qualifying horses to date are:
Bretagne – Hussard du Landret, San Moteur, Hooker Berry, Just Love You
Bourbonnais – Josh Power, Emeraude de Bais, Hokkaido Jiel, Fakir de Mahey
Criterium Continental – Keep Going
Tenor de Baune – Just Love You (already ticketed)
 
Trotteur Francais, Paris-Vincennes files/photos
by Thomas H. Hicks, for Harnesslink

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