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Facebook Quietly Deletes Mark Zuckerberg’s Private Messages

Jonathan Antonio
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0
Facebook Quietly Deletes Mark Zuckerberg’s Private Messages

Facebook secretly deleted Mark Zuckerberg‘s private messages from the social networking platform.

According to TechCrunch, multiple sources who had previously received private messages from CEO Mark Zuckerberg through the Facebook Messenger application can no longer find those messages. That said, it begs the question if the company is secretly deleting Zuckerberg’s private messages, a feature that is currently not available to other Facebook users.

TechCrunch explains Facebook Messenger users can only delete messages from their own inboxes and will still appear in the recipient’s thread. Facebook issued a comment on the deletion of some of Zuckerberg’s private messages by referencing the 2014 Sony email hack.

After Sony Pictures’ emails were hacked in 2014 we made a number of changes to protect our executives’ communications. These included limiting the retention period for Mark’s messages in Messenger. We did so in full compliance with our legal obligations to preserve messages.

That said, the company spokesperson did not reveal whose messages, in particular, had been deleted. Moreover, they did not identify which other Facebook executives have had their private messages removed from the application.

Mark Zuckerberg Facebook Government
Stock Photo: DEAUVILLE, FRANCE – MAY 26, 2011 : Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg Press conference at the summit G8/G20 about new technologies – Deauville, France on May 26 2011 (Frederic Legrand – COMEO / Shutterstock.com)

This news comes after a Patient care data controversy. CNBC reported on Thursday that Facebook sent a physician on a secret mission to ask hospitals to anonymously share patient data. The company said that it stopped the project last month after the Cambridge Analyicta scandal went viral on March 16, 2017.

On April 4th, Bloomberg reported Facebook evaluate links and images as part of their content moderation practices.

On Friday, Sheryl Sandberg admitted that the Cambridge Analyicta data breach appeared on Facebook’s radar two and a half years ago, in December of 2015.

“We could’ve done this two and a half years ago,” Sandberg admitted. “We thought the data had been deleted and we should have checked. They gave us assurances and it wasn’t until other people told us it wasn’t true … We had legal assurances from them that they deleted it. What we didn’t do is the next step of an audit and we’re trying to do that now,” Sheryl Sandberg said during an interview on NBC’s TODAY show with Savannah Guthrie.

Ultimately, Facebook can not shy away from the criticism over the way the company manages their data, even as the company looks to shy away from controversy.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg will have to appear for two major hearings next week, who most likely think he did not handle the abuse of the social networking platform.

Even Apple’s CEO Tim Cook called out Facebook, saying he “Wouldn’t be in this situation,” referring to Facebook’s privacy scandal. Cook called for more privacy regulation following the controversy. Zuckerberg responded by calling the Apple CEO’s comments “extremely glib”.

mark-zuckerberg-facebook
DEAUVILLE, FRANCE – MAY 26, 2011 : Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg Press conference at the summit G8/G20 about new technologies – Deauville, France on May 26 2011 (Frederic Legrand – COMEO / Shutterstock.com)

Black Students Were Disproportionately Disciplined

Reginald Edward
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0
Black Students Were Disproportionately Disciplined

According to a new Government Accountability Office study that focused on the Department of Education civil rights data and found some troubling trends. The GAO found black students are with respect to discipline black students are overrepresented, which means black children are punished more severely and more frequently than white students. “These disparities were widespread and persisted regardless of the type of disciplinary action, level of school poverty, or type of public school attended.” explained the report.

For instance, the GAO reports white kids were underrepresented and black kids were overrepresented in every level of discipline. Black students were most overrepresented in the areas that allow school officials to arrest, kick out or suspend black children — out of school suspension, corporal punishment and school-related arrests.

Black students, boys, and students with disabilities were disproportionately disciplined (e.g., suspensions and expulsions) in K-12 public schools, according to GAO’s analysis of Department of Education (Education) national civil rights data for school year 2013-14, the most recent available.

These disparities were widespread and persisted regardless of the type of disciplinary action, level of school poverty, or type of public school attended. For example, Black students accounted for 15.5 percent of all public school students, but represented about 39 percent of students suspended from school—an overrepresentation of about 23 percentage points

The GAO found black children still receive harsher punishments at schools where there was nearly zero poverty. Black children are punished more severely with harsher punishments at public schools, charter schools, and all other alternative schools. Regardless of where a child attends if they are black, the students received harsher punishments.

Key stats:

  • Black students made up a minority of the population in schools with around 15.5% but, represented 39% of students being suspended.
  • Black boys represented 27% of students who receive corporal punishment as a form of discipline.

You can read the GAO report here.

Facebook Reveals 87 Million Users’ Accounts Were Exposed to Cambridge Analytica

Jonathan Antonio
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0
Facebook Reveals 87 Million Users’ Accounts Were Exposed to Cambridge Analytica

Facebook revealed 87 million users’ data to Cambridge Analytica, which is 37 million than previously announced.

The Cambridge Analytica scandal continues to unfold for the social media giant, with Facebook now revealing that 87 million users were exposed to the company. The number, which was revealed by Facebook’s chief technology officer Mike Schroepfer, is a lot higher than previously reported. In fact, the last figure was 50 million Facebook users.

“In total, we believe the Facebook information of up to 87 million people — mostly in the US — may have been improperly shared with Cambridge Analytica,” Schroepfer said the blog post.

Schroepfer added, “Overall, we believe these changes will better protect people’s information while still enabling developers to create useful experiences. We know we have more work to do — and we’ll keep you updated as we make more changes.”

The news revealed in a blog post, which also announced new changes to Facebook that restricted access to its users’ data.

Schroepfer also announced that, from April 9, users will be able to see if their data was used by Cambridge Analytica. Mark Zuckerberg also confirmed the story, adding that the company “wanted to wait until we had the full understanding” and that he is quite confident it’s not more than 87 million.”

This news comes after Facebook announced new changes to their Terms of Service.

Tyler Perry’s ‘The List’ + 2 Major Movies Now Casting Actors

Jonathan Antonio
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0
Tyler Perry’s ‘The List’ + 2 Major Movies Now Casting Actors

Hollywood is looking for actors to work on several movies and TV shows filming across the United States. Here’s everything you need to know if you want to jump into the film industry.

Tyler Perry’s The List

According to Project Casting, Tyler Perry’s new movie The List is now filming in Atlanta, Georgia. Tyler Perry’s next movie, The List, will star Tiffany Haddish and Omari Hardwick. According to Deadline, Tiffany Haddish has signed a deal to star alongside Tika Sumpter and Omari Hardwick in Tyler Perry’s The List. This will be Perry’s next film, which is currently in the works at Paramount Players. Perry is writing, directing, and producing the project with a movie release date set for November 2, 2018.

Sylvester Stallone’s Creed 2

Ryan Coogler Black Panther Director
LAS VEGAS – APR 21: Ryan Coogler, Michael B. Jordan at the Warner Brothers 2015 Presentation at Cinemacon at the Caesars Palace on April 21, 2015 in Las Vegas, CA (Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock.com)

Michael B. Jordan is fresh off of working on Black Panther, the hit box-office feature film and is now working on the sequel to Creed. Casting directors are looking for background extras to work on the feature film this week in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

“Heery Loftus Casting is looking for non-union background for Thursday and Friday for Creed 2. Needed are people who can portray Eastern European types (Russian, Polish, Ukrainian, Serbian, German, Hungarian, Romanian etc…)”.

Tom Hardy’s Fonzo

Tom Hardy’s Fonzo is now filming in New Orleans and looking for actors to work on an Al Capone scene. According to Project Casting, producers are looking for “casting Eastern European (Caucasian) looking men (18+ years old, any ethnicity) to portray Movers working at Al Capone’s estate in a small scene.”

Tom Hardy
Tom Hardy at the Los Angeles premiere of ‘The Revenant’ held at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, USA on December 16, 2015.

The 47-year old Al Capone, after 10 years in prison, starts suffering from dementia and comes to be haunted by his violent past. The movie stars Tom Hardy and is written/directed by Josh Trank.

If acting is not your cup of tea, NBC is looking for aspiring writers and casting directors.

Apple Is Reportedly Working on Touchless and Curved iPhone Screens

Jonathan Antonio
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0
Apple Is Reportedly Working on Touchless and Curved iPhone Screens

Apple is reportedly working on touches gesture screens that curve, which will be different than all other smartphones in the mobile phone market. According to various sources, the gestures feature for the iPhone is described as a hover-like gesture system “by moving their finger close to the screen without actually tapping it.”

The new technology is rumored to be two years away from debuting to the public or if Apple is even interested in using it. Apple will implant the latest technology in the iPhone bezel instead of the display, which is similar to Samsung’s Air Gestures. The curved iPhone display has been a rumor for a while now as its been in development but, now it is expected to be around two or three years away from implementation.

Apple will ditch Intel chips in 2020

This news comes after Apple is set to ditch Intel chips in 2020. According to Bloomberg, Apple will be developing its processors for the Mac as early as 2020, doing away with current Intel processors powering the product. The decision to ditch Intel for Apple chips is a multistep process project for Apple to use their processor across all of their platforms.

Apple has been working on their ARM-based processors currently available inside iOS devices, the Apple Watch, and the Apple TV. However, Intel will still be working on the iPhone, of which it proves over half the modems for each device. It is also important to note that Apple provides 5% of Intel’s annual revenue.

‘Fortnite’ Vending Machines: Here’s What’s Inside of Them

Jonathan Antonio
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0
‘Fortnite’ Vending Machines: Here’s What’s Inside of Them

Fortnite vending machines are being released for some players and will appear on all platforms.

This 3.4 video game update adds a new feature that places machines across the Battle Royale island and works by randomly selling three items of rarities in exchange for materials; the higher the rarity, the higher the price.

Materials

  1. Items found in a Common (white) version will cost 100 materials.
  2. Items found in an Uncommon (green) version will cost 200 materials.
  3. Items found in a Rare (blue) version will cost 300 materials.
  4. Items found in an Epic (purple) version will cost 400 materials.
  5. Items found in a Legendary (gold) version will cost 500 materials.

Weapons

  1. Suppressed Submachine Gun
  2. Tactical Submachine Gun
  3. Pistol
  4. Suppressed Pistol
  5. Revolver
  6. Hand Cannon
  7. Assault Rifle
  8. Burst Assault Rifle

Each material type has a corresponding item that can also be exchanged for the vending machine will slowly cycle through each for you to choose from. If you are short on time, you can pickaxe it to skip to the next three items. The update also introduces Limited-Time Mode, another High Explosives mode, weapon balances, which may also include a “first shot accuracy” ability.

Check Epic Games’ website for the full patch notes.

About Fortnite:

Fortnite is a co-op survival game developed by Epic Games and People Can Fly and published by Epic Games. Released on July 25, 2017, with a full free-to-play rleease expected in 2018. On July 26, 2017, it was announced that Fortnite had sold over 500,000 digital pre-order copies. Then on August 18, 2017, Epic revealed Fortnite had surpassed over a million players.

Facebook Reveals Their First Major Change to their Terms of Service

Jonathan Antonio
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3
Facebook Reveals Their First Major Change to their Terms of Service

On Wednesday, Facebook announced they will be updating their terms of service to clarify what it does with user’s social media information. The changes to the TOS are in response to major business shakeups to Facebook’s business since the last time the company implemented major changes in 2015.

What does this mean for Facebook?

This news comes after the Facebook/Cambridge Analytica scandal. However, the company says the update is not connected to the user privacy controversy. Rob Sherman, Facebook’s Deputy Chief Privacy Officer told Axios, “As head of GDPR, I can tell you that we needed to update our terms anyway. This would’ve happened anyway.”

Major updates include policies around new services and businesses the company has added since they last updated their features including Facebook Live and Marketplace.

Additional information will be added explaining how Facebook shares user data with businesses like Instagram or WhatsApp. Facebook’s different platforms share data through the Facebook Audience Network, the collection of user data from Instagram, Messenger, and Facebook, which is then used for advertising.

Facebook will also include additional transparency about their commitments to user data privacy, like the company’s mission to not sell user data.

What’s next for Facebook?

At the end of the day, the updates are normal business practice decisions, which were presumably going to be included at the end of the day. That said, following the Cambridge Analytica scandal, the public has unto seven days to comment on the draft terms, Facebook said they will use that feedback to create a finalized TOS in the next few weeks. All users will then have to agree to the new terms, according to Robert Sherman.

Police Officers Killed in 2017 Drops to a Record Low

Reginald Edward
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0
Police Officers Killed in 2017 Drops to a Record Low

The number of cops killed in the line of duty has dropped in 2017 and hit its lowest numbers in nearly 60 years, according to a report by USA Today.

As of Thursday, December 28, 2017, 128 officers died in the line of duty this year, down from 135 in 2016. Since 1959, only 2013 saw fewer police officers die while working when 116 were killed, according to statistics from the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.

The leading cause of death for police officers in 2017 was traffic crashes, which killed 47 police officers. While 44 police officers were shot and killed in 2017. Better training, improved safety gear and policing strategies are credited for decreasing the number of police officers killed in the line of duty.

President Trump sparked controversy in July when he encouraged police officers to treat suspects roughly when loading them into the police cars.

As the number of police officers killed by police has decreased, more people are getting killed by police. A study conducted by The Washington Post found the number of people killed by police rose from 964 in 2016 to 971 in 2017.

Cancer Drug, Lomustine, Price Rises By 1400%

Brent Edward
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0
Cancer Drug, Lomustine, Price Rises By 1400%

Lomustine is a cancer drug that treats brain tumors, lung cancer, and Hodgkin’s lymphoma. It has been around for nearly 40 years, but it is becoming more expensive after the drug has gone up in price by 1400%.

The drug was previously called CeeNU and was sold from Bristol-Myers Squibb to a Miami-based startup called NextSource Biotechnology.

The drug previously sold for $50 a pill and now costs $768. The company has increased the price of the prescription nine times in less than five years. According to Wall Street Journal, the drug saw a 20% hike in August followed by a 12% hike in November. Prices of other doses of the drug, which is called Gleostine, has also increased.

While the patent for lomustine has expired, currently there is no generic version being produced, and as a result, NextSource has no competitors to discourage it from raising prices.

The Nextsource chief executive told the Journal the company bases its pricing on development costs, fees and the benefit the drug provides to people. It also gives low-income patients and those without health insurance a discount on products.

NextSource is not the only company accused of dramatically increasing prices. In 2015, Martin Shkreli, chief executive of Turing Pharmaceuticals, sparked controversy after increasing the cost of anti-Aids drug Daraprim by more than 5,000 percent from $13.50 to $750 a pill. Many people criticized the price increase including  Infectious Diseases Society of America and the HIV Medicine Association, by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, and soon after that by presidential candidates Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and Donald Trump.

In December 2015, Shkreli was arrested by the FBI after being indicted on federal charges of securities fraud. He would later resign as CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals and was replaced by the company’s board chairman, Ron Tilles. Shkreli was later convicted of two counts of securities fraud and one count of conspiring to commit securities fraud in August 2015.

Also, Valeant Pharmaceuticals bought the rights to two life-saving heart drugs, Isuprel and Nitropress, and immediately increases prices by 525% and 212%.

California Says Nestlé Has Been Bottling and Selling Water It is Not Allowed to Use

Reginald Edward
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0
California Says Nestlé Has Been Bottling and Selling Water It is Not Allowed to Use

Officials in California claim Nestlé has been bottling and selling water that it does not have a legal right to use.

Since 2015, officials with the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) have received complains that Nestlé was using water from the San Bernardino National Forest to which the company had no right to claim and then selling the water under the company’s Arrowhead brand.

Nestlé cited a 150-year-old claim by a man named David Noble Smith whose property later became the site of the Arrowhead Springs Hotel. Because in California, water rights are given based on who got there first.

The company points to the business’ commitment to “sourcing water exclusively from carefully selected mountain springs,” which “ensures that every drop of water is revered by Native Americans for its healing powers.”

“Westerners have savoured the natural goodness of Arrowhead water since bottling began in the 1890s,” the company explains on their website.

However, last week the board declared that the company holds no legal right to that water it is draining from the Strawberry Canyon watershed. The committee said the company’s argument to use that water was “not valid for Nestlé’s current appropriative diversion and use of water from the San Bernardino National Forest.”

“A significant portion of the water currently diverted by Nestlé appears to be diverted without a valid basis of right,” the report said.

The board argues that Nestlé has a right to about 26 acre-feet a year, which results in approximately 8.5 million gallons. But, the company averaged around 192 acre-feet a year or nearly 62 million gallons.

The board’s report is not enforceable order. Instead, the board released a series of recommendations for Nestlé in a letter to the business, including the company “cease any unauthorized diversions,” submit a compliance plan and obtain a permit for claiming more water beyond their allowance.

In a statement, Nestlé said “We look forward to cooperating with the SWRCB during the review process and to providing the necessary documents to supplement the SWRCB’s report, including producing information requested from over a century ago, to the extent that it is available,” the statement said.

It is important to point out California’s law does not prohibit a company from bottling the state’s water.

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