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Microsoft can move ahead with record $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, judge rules

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:45 GMT

By MATT O’BRIEN (AP Technology Writer)A federal judge has handed Microsoft a major victory by declining to block its looming $69 billion takeover of video game company Activision Blizzard. Regulators are seeking to ax the deal because they say it will hurt competition.U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley said in a ruling that the Federal Trade Commission, which enforces antitrust laws, has not shown a likelihood it would prevail if it took the case to trial.“The FTC has not raised serious questions regarding whether the proposed merger is likely to substantially lessen competition in the console, library subscription services, or cloud gaming markets,” Corley wrote.Microsoft appeared to have the upper hand in a 5-day San Francisco court hearing that ended late last month. The proceeding showcased testimony by Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella and longtime Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick, who both pledged to keep Activision’s blockbus...

3 players GM Brian Cashman and the Yankees should target at the trade deadline

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:45 GMT

It’s safe to say, the first half of the Yankees season has not gone to plan.As it stands here at the All-Star break, the Bombers are on the outside looking in at the playoff picture. Aaron Boone’s club is one game back of the Toronto Blue Jays for the third AL Wild Card spot and sit in fourth place in the AL East.Luckily for the Yanks, reinforcements figure to be headed their way. Slugging superstar Aaron Judge (toe) is continuing his rehab and All-Star Nestor Cortes (shoulder) continues to progress as well.However, GM Brian Cashman can ill afford to sit on his hands and await the return of his stars — or gamble on the sudden emergence of one of his struggling veterans such as DJ LeMahieu, Josh Donaldson or Giancarlo Stanton.Trade season is right around the corner — Aug. 1 deadline — and while the Bombers have already begun to shake things up by firing hitting coach Dillon Lawson and bringing in former big leaguer Sean Casey to replace him, upgrades on ...

Dennis Hernandez, brother of Aaron Hernandez, ordered re-arrested on brick-throwing charges at ESPN

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:45 GMT

A judge has ordered the re-arrest of former UConn football player Dennis Hernandez after he failed to appear in court last week on charges related to throwing a brick at the ESPN campus in Bristol, Connecticut.The 37-year-old, who was known as DJ Hernandez when he played quarterback and wide receiver at UConn in the mid-2000s, was originally arrested in March. Police said he went to ESPN in a car, possibly an Uber, and threw a bag containing a brick and a note over a fence and onto the property before leaving.The note said: “To all media outlets, It’s about time you all realeyes the affect media has on all family members. Since you’re a world wide leader maybe you could lead how media and messages are delivered brick by brick. Clean it up! Yours truly, Dennis J. Hernandez,” according to police.Hernandez, the older brother of the late New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez, was scheduled to enter a plea on July 7 to a misdemeanor charge of breach of peace...

Artist who dumped manure at Belarusian president’s office dies in prison, wife says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:45 GMT

TALLINN, ESTONIA (AP) — A Belarusian artist who once dumped manure outside an office of President Alexander Lukashenko has died in a prison, where he was serving a five-year sentence, human rights activists and his wife said Tuesday. Ales Pushkin, 57, died in a prison in Grodno in western Belarus of an unknown cause, even though he wasn’t known to be sick, according to the Viasna human rights center. His wife, Janina Demuch, told The Associated Press he “died in the intensive care unit of the prison under unclear circumstances.”Belarusian authorities did not comment.Pushkin was a political performer and cartoonist whose subject was often Lukashenko, the country’s authoritarian leader. The artist painted Lukashenko in hell, surrounded by riot police, on a fresco in a church in the Belarusian city of Bobr. In 1999, Pushkin was sentenced to two years for “Dung for the President,” in which he overturned a dung cart at the entrance to the presidential office in Minsk, the cou...

Israelis block highways and throng airport in protest at government’s plan to overhaul the judiciary

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:45 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Thousands of Israeli protesters took to the streets on Tuesday, blocking major highways and thronging the country’s main international airport, in countrywide demonstrations against the government’s contentious plan to overhaul the country’s judicial system..The demonstrations came the morning after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s parliamentary coalition gave initial approval to a bill to limit the Supreme Court’s oversight powers, pressing forward with a plan that has bitterly divided the nation. Netanyahu’s ultranationalist and ultra-Orthodox allies have proposed a series of bills that have provoked months of sustained protests by opponents who say the country is being pushed toward authoritarian rule.Anti-overhaul activists demonstrated nationwide throughout the day, including a mass protest Tuesday afternoon at Ben-Gurion International Airport. An estimated 10,000 people gathered outside the main hall, blowing horns and waving blue an...

In Srebrenica, thousands gather to remember the 1995 massacre and bury the newly identified dead

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:45 GMT

SREBRENICA, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — Tens of thousands of people from around Bosnia and abroad gathered in Srebrenica Tuesday for the annual ritual of commemorating the 1995 massacre and to give a dignified burial to the victims unearthed from mass graves and only recently identified through DNA analysis.Twenty-eight years after they were murdered in Europe’s only acknowledged genocide since the Holocaust, 27 men and three teenage boys were laid to rest Tuesday at a vast and ever-expanding memorial cemetery just outside Srebrenica, in eastern Bosnia, joining more than 6,600 massacre victims already reburied there.Relatives of the victims can bury only partial remains of their loved ones as they are typically found scattered over several different mass graves, sometimes miles (kilometers) apart. Such was the case of Mirsada Merdzic, who buried her father on Tuesday.“Only a very few bones of his were retrieved because he had been found (in a mass grave) near the Drina River,” she sai...

Live Updates | NATO leaders move to simplify path for Ukraine to join alliance

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:45 GMT

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — Follow along for updates on the summit of the NATO military alliance in Lithuania’s capital:What to know: — Turkey’s decision to end opposition to Sweden’s NATO membership boosts summit— Sweden’s rocky road from neutrality toward NATO membership— What is NATO doing to help Ukraine in the war with Russia?— Ukraine, defense plans and Sweden’s membership top summit agenda——Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday but remained mum on the deal to advance Sweden’s membership in NATO.Although Biden made a reference to “the agreement you reached yesterday,” Erdogan said nothing about it. Turkey has been the primary obstacle to Sweden joining the alliance, but NATO announced on Monday night that Erdogan agreed to forward the issue to his country’s parliament.It was a conspicuous omission from Erdogan, who has not commented on the issue publicly during the summit.However, Erdogan appeared eager to develop his relations...

NATO chief says no timetable set for Ukraine’s membership, a position that disappointed Zelenskyy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:45 GMT

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — NATO leaders agreed Tuesday to allow Ukraine to join “when allies agree and conditions are met,” the head of the military alliance said, hours after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy blasted the organization’s failure to set a timetable for his country as “absurd.”“We reaffirmed Ukraine will become a member of NATO and agreed to remove the requirement for a membership action plan,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters, referring to a key step in joining the alliance.“This will change Ukraine’s membership path from a two-step path to a one-step path,” he said.Although many NATO members have funneled arms and ammunition to Zelenskyy’s forces, there is no consensus among the 31 allies for admitting Ukraine into NATO’s ranks. Instead, the alliance leaders decided to remove obstacles on Ukraine’s membership path so that it can join more quickly once the war with Russia is over.Zelenskyy pushed back sharply against the decision.“It’s unprecedented a...

Judge declines to block Microsoft’s record $69 billion deal to buy Activision Blizzard

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:45 GMT

A federal judge has handed Microsoft a major victory by declining to block its looming $69 billion takeover of video game company Activision Blizzard. Regulators are seeking to ax the deal because they say it will hurt competition.U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley said in a ruling that the “FTC has not shown a likelihood it will prevail on its claim this particular vertical merger in this specific industry may substantially lessen competition. To the contrary, the record evidence points to more consumer access to Call of Duty and other Activision content.”Microsoft appeared to have the upper hand in a 5-day San Francisco court hearing that ended late last month. The proceeding showcased testimony by Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella and longtime Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick, who both pledged to keep Activision’s blockbuster game Call of Duty available to people who play it on consoles — particularly Sony’s PlayStation — that compete with Microso...

Regulator lays out proposed changes to passenger rights charter

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:45 GMT

GATINEAU, Que. — The Canadian Transportation Agency is laying out proposed changes to the passenger rights charter.The reforms come after the Liberal government passed legislation last month to toughen penalties on airlines, shore up the complaint process and target flight disruption loopholes that have allowed airlines to avoid traveller compensation.The amendments to the Air Passenger Protection Regulations spell out the circumstances when an airline would not have to compensate customers, narrowing the field so that most technical problems will no longer give carriers an out.The new rules would also allow customers to claim a refund if the government raises the risk level of travel to certain countries or if a flight disruption prevents them from completing their trip within a reasonable period — well under the current threshold of 48 hours.The transportation agency is launching public consultations on the proposed overhaul today.The complaints backlog at the regulator now tops 5...