Author: potus

Ring security cameras are displayed on a shelf at a Target store on June 01, 2023 in Novato, California. Justin Sullivan | Getty ImagesAmazon’s Ring video doorbell division is rolling out AI-generated notifications alerting users to unusual or suspicious activity around their home, the company said Wednesday.The tool uses artificial intelligence to generate text summaries of motion activity captured by Ring doorbells and cameras, which are then displayed as a phone notification. The summaries describe only the main subject that triggered the alert and are “intentionally concise” so that users can quickly discern whether it’s urgent, Ring said.The feature is rolling…

Man charged for obtaining dead father’s benefitsA suburban Chicago man has been charged with fraudulently obtaining Social Security benefits in the name of his deceased father.Richard Young, Jr., 61 of Maywood, is facing four counts of bank fraud and one count of embezzling government funds.Prosecutors say Young applied for benefits in his deceased father’s name and illegally accessed more than $178,000 in taxpayer-funded Social Security funds.First West Nile case confirmed The first human case of West Nile virus in Illinois comes from the southern part of the state.The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed an individual was hospitalized…

President Donald Trump’s spending cuts and border security package would inject roughly $150 billion into his mass deportation agenda over the next four years, funding everything from an extension of the United States’ southern border wall to detention centers to thousands of additional law enforcement staff.The current annual budget for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the government’s primary department for immigration enforcement, is around $10 billion. If the Republican president’s big bill passes in Congress, the immense cash infusion could reshape America’s immigration system by expanding the law enforcement and detention network while increasing costs to legally immigrate to the U.S.The…

Crypto prices, including bitcoin, rose on Tuesday after President Trump announced a ceasefire between Iran and Israel.By midday Tuesday, bitcoin had passed the $105,000 level, ether jumped back above the $2,400 mark, and XRP climbed to $2.19. The risk-on action in the markets, which also saw stocks rally on the Mideast de-escalation, wasn’t the only source of momentum, as Republican senators unveiled a major bill to set the rules of the road for crypto. Specifically, the legislation would define when crypto is a commodity or a security, allow crypto exchanges to register with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and reduce the…

(The Center Square) – Two bills, including an energy proposal projected to save $15 billion, arrived for first-term Democratic Gov. Josh Stein to sign into law on Tuesday.Three more are listed on the state legislative website for delivery on Wednesday.The Power Bill Reduction Act, known also as Senate Bill 266, authored by Sens. Timothy Moffitt of Henderson County, Danny Britt of Robeson County and Warren Daniel of Burke County, would “eliminate the interim date for carbon reduction by certain electric public utilities.” The 2021 law called for 70% reduction of emissions by 2030 and net-zero by 2050. The proposal makes…

(The Center Square) – House Republicans and Democrats sparred on Tuesday over codifying cuts proposed by the Department of Government Efficiency.U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., said Congress needs to “lock in” DOGE’s $180 billion in cuts across the federal government at a House Oversight and Government Reform’s DOGE subcommittee.“We need to make sure we lock in those savings, it should be the first installment we pay on our nation’s $37 trillion debt,” Greene said.Greene also pointed to a $9 billion recessions package passed in the House that would make cuts to several international organizations, nongovernmental organizations as well as public…

(The Center Square) − Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill announced Monday that the state has filed three lawsuits against CVS Health Corp. and its affiliated entities, alleging deceptive and anticompetitive practices that harmed patients, manipulated drug pricing and endangered independent pharmacies.”They override doctors, block drugs, deny care and delay treatment, all while pretending they’re doing it to manage your benefits,” Gov. Jeff Landry said. “Their goal is not to cut costs for patients — it’s to inflate profits for shareholders.”The lawsuits seek injunctive relief and financial restitution and accuse the pharmacy giant of violating Louisiana’s Unfair Trade Practices Act and…

(The Center Square) − Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signed a trio of energy-focused bills and an executive order aimed at reshaping the state’s energy future and rebranding its approach to natural resource management.At the center of Monday’s signing ceremony was Senate Bill 244, authored by Sen. Bob Hensgens, R-Abbeville. Among other things, the 227-page bill targets so-called “legacy lawsuits” — a decades-old legal battleground between landowners and oil and gas operators over environmental damage.”For over 30 years, legacy lawsuits have plagued this industry,” Landry said. “Today, we close the book on the past and bring certainty back to the oil and…

(The Center Square) – Republican leaders are taking heat from two GOP factions in the House over the Senate’s changes to Medicaid provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.But while both groups oppose the upper chamber’s revisions, they do so for the exact opposite reasons.The OBBBA, a multitrillion-dollar budget resolution implementing the president’s policy agenda, barely passed the House after Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., made multiple compromises with Republican holdouts, including over Medicaid.The House’s Medicaid reforms included changing eligibility requirements back to pre-COVID-19 standards; imposing weekly work or volunteering requirements on most able-bodied adult recipients without dependents; and closing…

(The Center Square) – The Colorado Department of Law is awarding $5 million in youth mental health and well-being grants.Attorney General Phil Weiser recently announced the grants.“Youth in Colorado and across the nation are facing a crisis of connection, leading to challenges with mental health and risky behaviors like increased vaping,” Weiser said. “This funding supports schools and community partners who are developing meaningful, proactive solutions that build strong relationships, empower youth, and promote lifelong well-being.”The grants will go to nine school districts and community organizations:• Clear Creek School District: ($565,000).• Englewood School District: ($560,000).• Gilpin County Parks & Recreation: ($605,154).• Ignacio School District:…