U.s. Approves American Air, British Airways Alliance

The number of opioid overdose deaths in Cook County dropped dramatically in 2024, according to preliminary data released Thursday by the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office. Last year in Cook County, 1,026 people died from opioid overdoses — a nearly 44% drop from 2023. The medical examiner’s office expects another 200 to 300 of its pending cases will be ruled opioid overdose deaths.

Apple has agreed to pay $95 million to settle a lawsuit accusing the privacy-minded company of deploying its virtual assistant Siri to eavesdrop on people using its iPhone and other trendy devices. The proposed settlement filed Tuesday in an Oakland, California, federal court would resolve a 5-year-old lawsuit revolving around allegations that Apple surreptitiously activated Siri to record conversations through iPhones and other devices equipped with the virtual assistant for more than a decade. The alleged recordings occurred even when people didn’t seek to activate the virtual assistant with the trigger words, “Hey, Siri.” Some of the recorded conversations were then shared with advertisers in an attempt to sell their products to consumers more likely to be interested in the goods and services, the lawsuit asserted. The allegations about a snoopy Siri contradicted Apple’s long-running commitment to protect the privacy of its customers — a crusade that CEO Tim Cook has often framed as a fight to preserve “a fundamental human right.” Apple isn’t acknowledging any wrongdoing in the settlement, which still must be approved by U.

On Thursday, a three-judge panel struck down net neutrality rules that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) had hoped would stop broadband providers from varying speeds for users when connecting to different websites. In his opinion, US circuit judge Richard Allen Griffin wrote that the FCC lacked the authority to impose the net neutrality rules under the "telecommunications service" provision of the Communications Act. "The core of the dispute here," Griffin wrote, "is whether Broadband Internet Service Providers" like Xfinity or Spectrum offer a "telecommunications service" or an "information service." Because judges agreed they offer the latter, the court ruled that they could not be subjected to the FCC's net neutrality policies.

The more than two decades since Half-Life 2's release have been filled with plenty of rumors and hints about Half-Life 3, ranging from the official-ish to the thin to the downright misleading. As we head into 2025, though, we're approaching something close to a critical mass of rumors and leaks suggesting that Half-Life 3 is really in the works this time, and could be officially announced in the coming months. The latest tease came just before the end of 2024 via a New Year's Eve social media video from G-Man voice actor Mike Shapiro.

The day before Thanksgiving, Michael Diaz-Rivera was delivering goods to customers in the snow and cold, more focused on “Green Wednesday” than Black Friday. Diaz-Rivera, who contracts with Denver cannabis stores, figured he and his drivers could end up making about 25 deliveries if people chose to stay inside for the day.