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Blake, Wm. Europe a Prophecy. 1804.

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Meta is set to reduce the visibility of political content on Instagram and Threads. This move will allow users to opt out of recommendations related to laws, elections, and social issues unless they specifically choose to see them.

Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, announced the changes, stating they aim to respect users’ preferences regarding political content while keeping the option for those interested.

The policy update extends an existing Reels guideline to Instagram and Threads, preventing political content from non-followed accounts from appearing in recommended feeds, including Explore and Reels.

Professional accounts on Instagram will have the ability to check whether posting political content affects their recommendation eligibility.

This move is part of Meta’s broader efforts to distance its platforms from news and politics, following findings that a minimal percentage of content in U.S. users’ feeds is politically related, and ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

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Blake, Wm. The Inscription Over Hell Gate. 1826.

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Silicon Valley’s leaders are stepping into San Francisco politics, aiming to address issues like crime, drug abuse, and homelessness by supporting local candidates and city ballot initiatives. They’re hosting fundraising events and using their influence to pit moderate Democrats against progressives in upcoming elections.

Tech-backed efforts have already seen success, including the recall of the district attorney and some school board members, criticized for their handling of crime and education policies. This push for change stems from a belief that San Francisco’s current leadership leans too far left, impacting the city’s safety and livability.

The industry’s focus is on electing a less liberal group of candidates to San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors. The board plays a crucial role in the city’s governance, with the ability to control the budget and influence policy decisions. Mayor London Breed, supported by the tech sector, often faces opposition from the board.

Critics, including Dean Preston, a member of the Board of Supervisors up for re-election, argue that the tech sector’s political activism is self-serving, aiming to reshape the city’s policies for their own economic benefit. 

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Blake, Wm. Night IX, object 455. 1795.

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A Nevada jury awarded about $130 million in damages to individuals who suffered severe liver damage after consuming a trendy “alkalized” water. “Real Water” was found to be contaminated with hydrazine, a toxic chemical commonly used in rocket fuel.

The plaintiffs, including a man who underwent a liver transplant and others who suffered liver failure, experienced extreme pain and loss of control over their limbs due to the consumption of the water, which was marketed for its supposed health benefits.

This verdict follows a previous award of over $228 million to other plaintiffs, including the family of a woman who died and a young boy who was hospitalized with severe liver failure.

Real Water, which was recalled from store shelves in 2021, admitted negligence, stating the toxic chemical likely entered the water during its manufacturing process, despite a seven-stage purification process claimed to remove harmful substances.

The company, based in Las Vegas, marketed the water as having detoxifying properties and being beneficial to health.

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Blake, Wm. Joseph Making Himself Known to His Brethren. 1775.

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Piers Morgan is moving away from his live, daily, hour-long TV show, to YouTube, where his show has gained significant popularity.

Morgan has gained 2.3 million subscribers since his channel launch in 2022. His interviews with high-profile guests, including Cristiano Ronaldo, have contributed to this growth.

The move to digital gives Morgan more flexibility in content creation, free from the constraints of traditional TV formats and regulatory oversight by bodies like Ofcom in the UK. He views the shift as an opportunity to reach a broader audience and generate higher revenue, especially from U.S. viewers.

Piers Morgan: “The frustration for me has been continuing to create a TV-format show when that’s not how 95% of my audience is watching it. I’ve gotten to know very well The Daily Wire, and how lucrative that business has become. I don’t see any reason why I couldn’t expand the Uncensored brand globally.” 

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Blake, Wm. The Entombment. 1780.

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A man is suing Intuitive Surgical (IS), claiming a surgical robot used in a procedure to treat his wife’s colon cancer burned a hole in her organs, leading to her death.

The lawsuit alleges that during a September 2021 operation at Baptist Health Boca Raton Regional Hospital, the da Vinci surgical robot caused damage to Sandra Sultzer’s small intestine, necessitating further medical intervention.

Despite additional treatments, Sandra experienced ongoing abdominal pain and fever until her death in February 2022, which the lawsuit directly attributes to complications from the robotic surgery.

The Sultzer lawsuit accuses IS of knowing about insulation issues with the da Vinci robot that could lead to burns on internal organs, a risk reportedly identified by the FDA between 2009 and 2011 but not disclosed to patients or the public.

IS faces accusations of selling the surgical robots to hospitals inexperienced with robotic surgery and inadequately training surgeons, alongside claims of underreporting injuries and defects associated with the device to the FDA.