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China shuts 100,000 fake news social media accounts, ramps up content cleanup | US & World

By Bernard Orr and Eduardo Baptista

(Reuters) – China has intensified efforts to clean up the internet from false news and rumours, closing more than 100,000 online accounts over the past month that misrepresented news anchors and media agencies, its cyberspace regulator said.

The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) launched a special campaign to clean up online information, focusing on social media accounts that disseminate “fake news” and impersonate state-controlled media.

The regulator said it had wiped 107,000 accounts of counterfeit news units and news anchors and 835,000 pieces of fake news information since April 6.

The cleanup comes as China and countries across the globe grapple with an onslaught of fake news coverage online, with many implementing laws to punish culprits.

News dissemination on Chinese social media, however, is already heavily controlled, with platforms like the Twitter-like Weibo favoring topic hashtags produced by state media, while censoring hashtags on issues or incidents considered sensitive by Beijing, even if they go viral.

The CAC said its review found accounts that had disguised themselves as authoritative news media by falsifying news studio scenes and imitating professional news presenters, using artificial intelligence (AI) to create anchors to mislead the public.

Fake news identified as covering hot topics such as social incidents and international current affairs, according to a statement the CAC posted on Monday on its website.

“(The CAC) will guide online platforms … to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the majority of internet users to obtain authoritative and real news,” the regulator said, adding it encouraged users to provide leads on counterfeit news and anchors.

China’s government has regularly ordered sweeping measures to scrub the internet of material and language that deems inappropriate, offensive and a threat to the public and businesses.

Recently, the CAC vowed to crack down on malicious online comments that damage the reputation of businesses and entrepreneurs.

Nascent generative AI technology like ChatGPT has introduced another layer of caution. China recently arrested a man in Gansu province for allegedly using ChatGPT to generate a fake story about a train crash.

(Reporting by Bernard Orr; additional reporting by Ethan Wang; Editing by Jamie Freed)

Lyft gears up to make ‘significant’ layoffs under new CEO – Business News

Lyft is preparing to lay off hundreds of employees just days after new CEO David Risher began steering the ride-hailing service with an eye toward driving down costs to help bring its fares more in line with its biggest rival, Uber.

Risher, a former Amazon executive, informed Lyft’s workforce of more than 4,000 employees in an email posted online Friday that a “significant” number of them would lose their jobs. It came at the end of his first week as Lyft’s CEO.

The note didn’t specify how many people would be jettisoned, but The Wall Street Journal reported that at least 1,200 employees would be laid off. The report cited unidentified people familiar with the cost-cutting plans.

San Francisco-based Lyft didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Risher, who had been a Lyft board member before being recruited to replace co-founder Logan Green, cited expense control as one of his top priorities during an interview with The Associated Press shortly after his hiring was announced. By ensuring Lyft is “super efficient,” Risher said the company would be in a better position to lower its fares to lure back passengers who had shifted to use Uber more frequently because that service was offering lower prices for the same trips.

It was a theme Risher emphasized again in his Friday email explaining why he decided to slash the payroll, which doesn’t include Lyft’s drivers — a group that is classified as independent contractors.

“We need to bring our costs down to deliver affordable rides, compelling earnings for drivers, and profitable growth,” wrote Risher.

Lyft intends to start notifying employees who will be laid off on Thursday when the company plans to close its offices.

It will mark the second round of recent job cuts for Lyft after shedding 700 workers last year.

Recurring waves of layoffs are emerging as a new phenomenon in the tech industry, reversing more than a decade of mostly unbridled growth.

Both Facebook owner Meta Platforms and e-commerce giant Amazon have gone through two rounds of major layoffs during the past year, in part because the pandemic fueled booming demand for digital services and products that resulted in hiring sprees that they and other tech companies began to regret as the COVID-19 threat waned and growth tapered off.

The pandemic initially walloped Lyft by drying up demand for ride-hailing services, a blow Uber was able to soften through an aggressive expansion in food delivery. That gave people a reason to continue using Uber’s app even when they were stuck at home while Lyft fell out of favour.

During the past year, it has become even clearer that consumers fell out of the Lyft habit as Uber’s ridership bounced back to pre-pandemic levels and Lyft’s losses mounted. Those struggles have caused Lyft’s stock price to plunge 69% during the past year, prompting the decision to bring in a new CEO to shake things up.

Lyft’s shares surged 6% after news of its cost-cutting plans came out to close Friday at $10.44.

What is Probate?

What is Probate?

Probate is a court process that your estate will go through after you pass away. The probate court will distribute your estate and make decisions regarding your estate.

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Many of our clients come to us without an understanding of probate or having had a bad experience with the probate court and wanting to keep their estate out of probate.

If you die without a written estate plan, your estate must go through probate before your money can be distributed to your heirs. Where will your money go? It will follow the intestacy laws of your state.

If you die with a will, your estate will also go through probate.

The only way to avoid probate is to have a trust and fully fund your trust. This means that you need to put all of your assets into your trust during your lifetime.

While probate will make decisions and divide your assets, many people wish to avoid probate because it can take years to complete and the attorney fees and court costs can take a sizeable chunk out of your estate.

Probate proceedings are also publicwhich means that anyone can view your assets and your decisions set out in your will.

We help our clients look at all of their options regarding their estate plan. Because of the issues associated with probate, many of our clients opt to utilize a Living Trust for their estate plan.

If you have questions about which estate plan is the right choice for you and your family, contact us today.

We can walk you through the differences between the laws of the state, a will and a trust.

Contact us today to help you get the right documents in place or to update your current estate plan. We will plan so that you don’t have to worry about your future.

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Contact us today with all your legal needs!

The post What is Probate? appeared first on Rickard & Associates.

Recession could be just what the doctor ordered for the economy

Scotiabank chief economist says downturn could jostle the economy into a more normal, productive future

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Published April 21, 2023 • 3 minute read

Scotiabank chief economist Jean-François Perrault says that while the central banks won't come out and say it, a recession seems to be just what the doctor ordered.
Scotiabank chief economist Jean-François Perrault says that while the central banks won’t come out and say it, a recession seems to be just what the doctor ordered. Photo by Peter J Thompson/National Post/File Photo

We may be in for some rocky months, but a recession later this year could ultimately help jostle the economy back to a state of normalcy, the Bank of Nova Scotia’s chief economist said this week.

Speaking at the Canadian Fintech Summit in Toronto on April 19, Jean-François Perrault made the case that the past decade-plus has been anything but normal, in economic terms.

Central banks first kept interest rates at historic lows following the global financial crisis in 2008 and then boosted them rapidly in the post-pandemic period to stamp out high inflation. That has created economic imbalances.

But the recycling capital that takes place during a recession — and Perrault, like a number of other leading economists, expects one this year — could reset things.

“(A recession) does create conditions for a different perspective on risk appetite, a different perspective on where capital comes from, and despite the fact that things are slowing down, to some extent, the greater diversification of where capital is going into the economy ,” Perrault said. “And that, I think, ultimately is a very positive thing. It actually sets the stage for rebound after the recession.”

Some firms will not survive the economic accounting, of course.

“But as those firms fail, as firms exit certain sectors, it creates opportunities for others or allows capital to move from one part of the economy where it’s less productive, to another part of the economy where it’s more productive,” he said.

In a more normalized environment, he sees the Bank of Canada leaving interest rates in the two to three per cent range, which would be in line with the central bank’s neutral rate range, which is meant to neither contribute to nor hinder economic growth. In this return to normal, Perrault also expects that risk appetite will grow.

To get to that two to three per cent range, the bank will have to reverse course and start cutting interest rates.

For the past two monetary policy decisions, it has kept rates on hold to assess how the cumulative 4.25 per cent increase since early 2022 has affected the economy. Rate increases have a lagging impact and many economists believe the full brunt of the rate increases has not been felt.

“We are at a point now where the conversation is much more about when are central banks going to cut rates and how low do they go once they start cutting,” Perrault said. “And this is where history is a little bit of a tricky thing. We think, for example, the Bank of Canada and the Fed will start cutting rates early next year.”

The Bank of Canada expects it will reach its goal of bringing inflation down to its two per cent target from the March reading of 4.3 per cent by 2024. It’s not clear whether the central bank will cut rates in that same timeframe, but it appears to be what markets are pricing in and what economists are expecting. However, governor Tiff Macklem said it was too soon to be talking about rate cuts right now.

Perrault said that while the central banks won’t come out and say it, a recession seems to be just what the doctor ordered.

“Central banks are a little bit late to the game, so they are tightening a little bit too slowly and as a result, they have to raise rates more than we anticipated,” Perrault said. “Now, they’re not going to go out there and say ‘We want to create a recession’ — of course not. But the reality is that when the central bank has historically tightened a lot, and there are a few episodes of this, they tend to trigger recessions.”

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Does Divorce Change My Estate Plan?

Yes! Even if you don’t have a written estate plan, you have an estate plan per the laws of your state. If you get divorced, the nature of your estate plan will change.

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If you have a written estate plan and get divorced, once your divorce is final, you need to update your plan.

It is likely your divorce may change things such as your:

  • legal name,
  • Trustees,
  • beneficiaries,
  • Power of attorney, and more.

Other than your estate plan, it is important to reassess:

  • jointly owned properties,
  • Beneficiaries on retirement accounts and life insurance,
  • Vehicle titles, and more.

If you have minor children, it is incredibly important to consider your estate plan because you will need to give thought to their guardianship and provide for their care if something were to happen to you.

While many situations that arise in life can impact your estate plan, a divorce will certainly require review and updates to your existing plan.

We recommend meeting with an estate planning attorney as soon as the divorce is finalized.

If you need help with your estate plan or following the death of a loved one, we can help.

Contact us today to help you get the right documents in place or to update your current estate plan. We will plan so that you don’t have to worry about your future.

We publish vital information every Wednesday and Friday. To get this important information delivered directly to your mailbox,

Contact us today with all your legal needs!

PRESS DIGEST-New York Times business news

March 28 (Reuters) – The following are the top stories on the New York Times business pages. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

– US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) sued Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, and two of its senior executives on Monday, alleging that in wooing business from American investors, they had chosen to “knowingly disregard” laws governing certain US financial markets .

– Lyft Inc said on Monday founders Logan Green and John Zimmer would step down as CEO and president, with board member David Risher taking on the top role as the ride-hailing firm struggling to keep up with bigger rival Uber.

– US regional lender First Citizens BancShares scooped up the assets of failed peer Silicon Valley Bank, in a vote of confidence for the battered banking sector that prompted a rally in bank shares.

– Shawn Fain won the race for United Auto Workers president, narrowly defeating incumbent head Ray Curry in a shakeup for the Detroit-based labor union.

– Fox News Media of Fox Corp has fired producer Abby Grossberg who last week accused the network of discrimination and of coercing her into providing misleading testimony in a blockbuster defamation case.

(Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)

What is a Power of Attorney?

Many of our clients have heard of the powers of attorney, but do not know what they actually entail.

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It is important to know that there are different types of powers of attorney, however, they are all legal documents that allow you to pick an agent or attorney-in-fact on your behalf.

Powers of attorney allow another person to make financial, legal, and medical decisions for you, depending on the type.

There are different types of powers of attorney. Some include:

  1. Durable Power of Attorney – A durable power of attorney is one that is effective, even upon incapacitation. It allows the appointed person the power to make decisions on your behalf, whether financial or legal.
  2. Limited Power of Attorney – A limited power of attorney restricts the powers to certain designated powers, such as selling property.
  3. Medical Power of Attorney – This allows you to name a person to make medical decisions for you. This is helpful if you are incapacitated and need medical care.

There are other ways to structure powers of attorney too.

Many people choose their spouse or a close relative to act as their power of attorney.

If you no longer want that person to act on your behalf, you can revoke your power of attorney and pick a new person to list in new documents.

The reason we recommend having the powers of attorney in place is so that you are in control of who makes decisions on your behalf, should you be unable to make those decisions.

If you need help with your power of attorney, we can help.

Contact us today to help you get the right documents in place or to update your current estate plan. We will plan so that you don’t have to worry about your future.

We publish vital information every Wednesday and Friday. To get this important information delivered directly to your mailbox,

Contact us today with all your legal needs!

Where Do Healthcare Breaches Come From?

While we have seen an increase in healthcare data breaches stemming from vendor vulnerabilities, there can be a variety of sources.

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Recent breaches have demonstrated various sources of data breaches.

One source is from vendors and vendor tools.

We have seen a large uptick in vendor cyber attacks, as cybercriminals have found it easier to hack vendors than the healthcare entities directly. Many vendors have less security measures in place than healthcare entities.

A second source of breaches is employees.

Employees wrongly accessing patient charts is a large source of healthcare breaches. Employees can also be a source of vulnerability if they click on phishing links or ransomware.

A third source is analytical tools.

Analytical tools may be used to capture information and perform data analysis on behalf of healthcare entities. However, they may be used by various websites and could violate HIPAA in their collection of protected health information.

How can you protect your practice from the above risks?

First, make sure all of your security is up to date. Protect your own data as much as possible through encryption, firewalls, and more.

You then want to make sure you require adequate protection from vendors through your contracts and business associate agreements. You should also routinely audit vendors and inquire about their security measures.

Finally, you should train your employees routinely and comprehensively on their duties and on potential risks. We often recommend utilizing fake phishing emails as training devices.

We also help our clients ensure that they are protected through their agreements and we provide thorough employee training.

If you have questions or need help with your healthcare contracts, employee training, or security, contact Rickard & Associates today.

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Do you need help updating your Business Associate Agreement or negotiating contracts with third-party vendors? We can help. To contact us about your Business Associate Agreement, your vendor contracts or your other legal needs, call us today.