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3 tax prep firms shared ‘extraordinarily sensitive’ data about taxpayers with Meta, lawmakers say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:20 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A group of congressional Democrats reported Wednesday that three large tax preparation firms sent “extraordinarily sensitive” information on tens of millions of taxpayers to Facebook parent company Meta over the course of at least two years. Their report urges federal agencies to investigate and potentially go to court over the wealth of information that H&R Block, TaxAct and Tax Slayer shared with the social media giant. In a letter to the heads of the IRS, the Justice Department, the Federal Trade Commission and the IRS watchdog, seven lawmakers say their findings “reveal a shocking breach of taxpayer privacy by tax prep companies and by Big Tech firms.” Their report said highly personal and financial information about sources of taxpayers’ income, tax deductions and exemptions was made accessible to Meta as taxpayers used the tax software to prepare their taxes.That data came to Meta through its Pixel code, which the tax firms installed on their websit...

Muere una escaladora solitaria después de caer más de 150 metros desde una cresta en el Parque Nacional de las Montañas Rocosas de Colorado

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:20 GMT

(CNN) — Una mujer de 26 años de Boulder, Colorado, murió después de caer aproximadamente 152 metros mientras escalaba una cresta en solitario en el Parque Nacional de las Montañas Rocosas del estado este domingo, dijo el Parque.El compañero de escalada de 27 años de la mujer no identificada llamó a los guardaparques para informar que su compañera había caído de Blitzen Ridge en la montaña Ypsilon, dijo el Servicio de Parques Nacionales en un comunicado este lunes.El free-soloing es una técnica de escalada en roca arriesgada en la que los escaladores ascienden sin cuerdas, asistencia ni equipo de seguridad, dejándolos sin protección en caso de caída.Mueren cinco mexicanos en accidente de helicóptero rumbo al EverestLos miembros del equipo de búsqueda y rescate alcanzaron al compañero de escalada ileso este domingo por la noche, aunque su ubicación les obligó a solicitar la asistencia de la Guardia Nacional Aérea de Colorado, dijo el Parque. Se utilizó un helicóptero de la Base ...

Prosecutors set to present evidence against Colorado dentist accused of poisoning his wife's shakes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:20 GMT

DENVER (AP) — Investigators say a Colorado dentist accused of killing his wife researched how to poison her and get away with it, searching online for answers to questions like "Is Arsenic Detectable in Autopsy?”On Wednesday, prosecutors are set to present their evidence against James Craig to a judge to show that he should stand trial for first-degree murder in the death of Angela Craig in March.Police believe James Craig, 45, laced her pre-workout protein shakes with arsenic and cyanide, so he could be with a woman he was having an affair with, according to court documents. He has yet to be asked to enter a plea to the charge. Aurora dentist accused of poisoning his wife to death James Craig's lawyer, David M. Beller, declined to comment on the allegations against his client.Angela Craig died after being taken off life support during her third trip to the hospital in March. She was married to her husband for 23 years and the mother of six children, according to her obituary.As s...

Messi arrives in South Florida ahead of expected announcement from Inter Miami

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:20 GMT

Soccer sensation Lionel Messi arrived in Fort Lauderdale on Tuesday, solidifying his status as a star in the South Florida region ahead of Inter Miami’s unveiling event scheduled for this weekend. The Argentinean athlete, who recently clinched a World Cup victory and has been named the World Player of the Year seven times, was caught on camera as he disembarked from a private jet alongside his wife and children.In anticipation of the arrival of the renowned forward, Inter Miami CF made significant preparations to accommodate the massive crowds expected to welcome Messi to town. Additional seats were installed at DRV PNK Stadium, ensuring that the fervent supporters have ample space to witness their new hero’s performances.https://twitter.com/InterMiamiCF/status/1678783418534883328?s=20Excitement is running high among fans, as Messi is scheduled to make his debut for the club on July 21. Messi’s presence in South Florida marks a significant milestone for the regi...

Back to the 90s as Sunak and Starmer’s deputies stand in (again)

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:20 GMT

Prime minister’s questions: a shouty, jeery, very occasionally useful advert for British politics. Here’s what you need to know from the latest session in POLITICO U.K.’s weekly run-through.THANKS, NATO: For the second week running, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Labour’s Keir Starmer were missing in action at PMQs — thanks to the former’s starring role at the NATO summit in Vilnius. That left us with the dubious honor of watching deputies Oliver Dowden and Angela Rayner have a pop at each other.History lesson: Rayner pointed out that the last time a PM missed two of these sessions in a row was … March 1996.Alternative history lesson: Dowden made the reasonable excuse that Sunak is at the big military summit — before claiming that, under Rayner’s old boss and former leader Jeremy Corbyn, Labour would have abandoned Ukraine (probably not really true but hey, it’s PMQs) … Leave NATO (not true) … and abolish the army (really not true). What the...

Boris Johnson’s ‘political assassination’ laid bare in new book from ally Nadine Dorries

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:20 GMT

LONDON — What brought down Boris Johnson — a cascade of self-inflicted scandals or a shadowy plot?The former British PM’s closest political ally Nadine Dorries believes the latter — and is penning a book as she seeks to prove it.The ex-culture secretary — already a bestselling author — has written ‘the Plot’, which, according to a Harper Collins release, will tell the “seismic, untold story of how the most charismatic politician of his generation was driven from office.” The book is due for release on September 28 this year. The release states that Dorries spoke to “dozens of inside sources” for the book to piece together “a profoundly shocking story of powerful, unaccountable forces operating behind the scenes who became the architects of a prime minister’s downfall.”Johnson resigned in Summer 2022 as restless Tory MPs demanded change. Ministers already wounded by the Partygate scandal resigned en masse when Johnson w...

Former Chelsea owner Abramovich sanctioned for fame, his lawyers argue in EU court

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:20 GMT

LUXEMBOURG — Russian tycoon Roman Abramovich never stood a chance of avoiding EU sanctions despite having no link to the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine, his lawyers argued Wednesday.“A real myth has grown around the personality of Roman Abramovich,” his lawyer Thierry Bontinck told the EU’s second highest court, the General Court.“He can’t go for a coffee at Starbucks without the next day’s headlines announcing his intention to buy the chain. His visit to any city in the world will automatically imply that he will buy the local football club,” he added. The former owner of Chelsea Football Club was sanctioned in March last year for allegedly benefiting from his close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin and for contributing to the Kremlin’s war chest through his economic activities. The EU’s measures include assets freezes and visa bans.Shortly after, Abramovich sold the English Premier League club for the highest price ever paid for a football team. A foundation set up to distr...

Zelenskyy puts brave face on lackluster NATO membership signal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:20 GMT

VILNIUS — NATO didn’t give Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy what he was looking for, but on Wednesday he toned down his public anger over the alliance’s cautious stance on Kyiv’s membership bid.“Nobody is willing to have a world war, which is logical and understandable,” Zelenskyy told reporters gathered at the NATO leaders’ summit in Vilnius, speaking through an interpreter. The Ukrainian leader’s muted tone contrasted sharply with his messaging from a day earlier, when he blasted a NATO leaders’ communiqué as “absurd” for not providing Kyiv with a timeline and concrete path to membership. On Wednesday, rather than fixate on the terms under which the alliance would accept Ukraine once the war ends, the Ukrainian president praised Western capitals for offering Kyiv security assurances while insisting that the ultimate goal for Ukraine remains NATO accession. The assurances “will surely become a very important and specific success,” he said. “We can state that t...

Vermont turns to recovery after being hit by flood from slow-moving storm

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:20 GMT

ANDOVER, Vt. (AP) — Floodwaters receded in Vermont cities and towns pummeled by a storm that delivered two months of rain in two days, enabling officials to focus on recovering from a disaster that trapped residents in homes, closed roadways and choked streets and businesses with mud and debris.In the capital city of Montpelier, where streets were flooded Tuesday by the swollen Winooski River, officials said that water levels at a dam just upstream appeared to be stable.“It looks like it won’t breach. That is good. That is one less thing we have to have on our front burner,” Montpelier Town Manager Bill Fraser said.Fraser said the dam remains a lingering concern but with the water receding the city was shifting to recovery mode. Public works employees were expected out Wednesday to start removing mud and debris downtown and building inspections will start as businesses begin cleaning up their properties.Gov. Phil Scott planned to tour areas impacted by the flooding with Deanne...

3 dead and 14 injured in Illinois crash involving Greyhound bus and tractor-trailers, police say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:20 GMT

HIGHLAND, Ill. (AP) — Three people were killed and 14 others injured, some seriously, early Wednesday when a Greyhound bus crashed into three tractor-trailers parked along a highway exit to a rest area in southern Illinois, state police said.Illinois State Police said an initial investigation indicates a Greyhound passenger bus was westbound along Interstate 70 in Madison County around 1:55 a.m. when it crashed into the three tractor-trailers, which were parked on the exit ramp to the Silver Lake Rest Area.“Three fatalities are confirmed and multiple others were taken to a hospital with serious injuries, four by helicopter and at least 10 by ambulance,” state police said in a news release.The agency said no one in the three trucks was injured in the crash near the city of Highland about 25 miles (40 kilometers) east of St. Louis.State Police spokesperson Melaney Arnold said those killed and injured were all on the Greyhound bus. She was not sure if the bus driver was among those kil...