Categories
Small Business Funding

Ankle monitor officials and OJJ meet on new ankle monitor law that takes effect January 1 [Video]

Criminal justice advocates in Louisiana are looking into how to implement a new law dealing with ankle monitors.The mandate, which goes into effect Jan. 1, will increase regulations for keeping tabs on both adult and youth offenders.On Tuesday, a meeting was held between ankle monitor officials and the Office of Juvenile Justice to make sure everyone is prepared and on the same page. Ankle monitor officials said following the meeting, they are a bit concerned. Matthew Dennis, president of the Association of Supervised Ankle Monitoring Providers, said, “OJJ is definitely interested in following the law.”He also said, “My biggest concern is that OJJ indicated they had not read the law yet. It’s not long. Not difficult to read.”Dennis also runs ASAP Monitoring. He has been sounding the alarm for quite some time, specifically when it comes to juveniles not being live monitored and the effects that follow. State Rep. Tim Kerner said, “There’s so many people getting hurt or dying because, in a lot of cases, providers aren’t doing their job.” Kerner helped author the bill that was passed by Gov. Jeff Landry. Under the new law, if a violation occurs, providers have 24 hours to report it to the court and bond agents.If the provider does not do this, it could face fines or lose its license. These changes will directly impact the juvenile justice system, where violations might not be reported for one to two weeks.Kerner said it’s all about providing some accountability. “This will be a big step forward in reducing crime. You are actually putting the criminal who has the ankle monitor system on because of what he did. And not allowing him to repeat and do it again while being sentenced.” Helena Moreno, president of the New Orleans City Council, said, “When there is an issue … Let’s say someone cuts off their ankle monitors. Who’s going to be the agency to respond?”Moreno said while she thinks the new law is important, her concern is how it will be enforced specifically in New Orleans if there is a violation. “NOPD does not have the manpower to do that … So that means we either have to partner up with another law enforcement agency or a bail bond company,” said Moreno.WDSU did reach out to the Office of Juvenile Justice on the matter. Moreno said the council is also looking into what comes next. You may recall months ago, the City Council realized millions of dollars allocated for juvenile services had not been spent. District Attorney Jason Williams has also been vocal about wanting that funding to go toward live monitoring and enforcement of juvenile offenders.

Categories
Small Business Funding

Meet David Costello, the Democrat running for Senate [Video]

THE WIND TURBINES COULD DAMAGE THE ISLAND’S ECOLOGICAL AND RECREATIONAL VALUE. TURNING NOW TO COMMITMENT 2024 – WE’RE INTRODUCING YOU TO ALL FOUR CANDIDATES RUNNING FOR THE UNITED STATES SENATE. TONIGHT YOU’LL HEAR FROM DEMOCRAT DAVID COSTELLO. THE BRUNSWICK RESIDENT IS A STRONG SUPPORTER OF THE DEMOCRATIC AGENDA AND SAYS IT’S TIME FOR REAL CHANGE IN D-C. CATE MCCUSKER REPORTS. 10;30;21;25 – 10;30;45;08 “DROPPED OUT AT 19 TO WORK IN MY FIRST OF THREE NATIONAL PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGNS. 10;30;45;10 – 10;31;19;14 AND I’VE BEEN INVOLVED IN INTERESTING GOVERNMENT POLITICS SINCE THEN. SENATE CANDIDATE DAVID COSTELLO GREW UP IN BANGOR – BEFORE ENTERING A LIFE OF POLITICS 10;30;45;10 – 10;31;19;14 I EVENTUALLY GOT A JOB IN AUGUSTA WORKING FOR THE SECRETARY OF STATE, THEN WENT AND WENT TO WORK OVERSEAS FOR THE UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, WORKING IN PLACES LIKE CAMBODIA, HAITI, BOSNIA, KOSOVO. A FATHER TO FOUR KIDS – HE NOW LIVES WITH HIS WIFE IN BRUNSWICK…AND AS A DEMOCRAT – HE WANTS BIG CHANGE IN DC. 10;33;53;20 – 10;34;29;00 I’M VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THE LONG TERM HEALTH OF OUR ECONOMY AND ENVIRONMENT AND THE PERFORMANCE OF OUR GOVERNMENT. BUTTED 10;39;15;09 – 10;39;39;25 I, I WOULD SUPPORT, AGAIN, MUCH MORE ROBUST EFFORTS TO TO MAKE HOUSING AND HEALTH CARE MUCH MORE AFFORDABLE. I’M SUPPORTIVE OF UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE. COSTELLO SAID HE GREW UP HUNTING AND SHOOTING – BUT HE BELIEVES WE NEED STRONGER GUN SAFETY LAWS. 10;42;45;15 – 10;43;16;04 I CERTAINLY HAVE ALWAYS SUPPORTED A UNIVERSAL BACKGROUND CHECK TO SAFE GUN STORAGE AND ASSAULT WEAPONS BAN. BUTTED 10;43;38;28 – 10;44;07;11 “I’VE ALSO SUPPORTED, YOU KNOW, INCREASED FUNDING FOR MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES, COMMUNITY POLICING AND AND BASICALLY INCREASING THE PENALTY FOR GUN RELATED CRIMES. ALONG WITH HIS DEMOCRATIC PRIORITIES – COSTELLO SAYS HE IS 100% PRO CHOICE AND SUPPORTS WOMEN’S REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM. 10;44;14;11 – 10;44;52;27 SPEAKER 1 “UNLIKE SENATOR KING, I WOULD HAVE SUPPORTED THE EFFORT TO TO REMOVE THE FILIBUSTER THAT WOULD ALLOW OF A VOTE IN THE SENATE TO CODIFY ROE V WADE. HE WANTS TO MAKE THE BORDER MORE SECURE – WHILE ALSO IDENTIFYING THE ROOT PROBLEMS OF PEOPLE SEEKING ASYLUM. 10;46;07;04 – 10;46;40;24 WE NEED TO LOOK AT OTHER COUNTRIES AND HELP SUPPORT THOSE COUNTRIES SO THAT PEOPLE WILL WANT TO REMAIN AND DON’T HAVE TO LEAVE. BUTTED 10;46;41;00 – 10;47;11;13 I THINK ANY COMPREHENSIVE REFORM WOULD DEAL WITH, YOU KNOW, WORK TEMPORARY WORKER WORKER ALLOWANCES. CERTAINLY. WE NEED TO LEGALIZE THOSE WHO ARE HERE, WHETHER THEY’RE DREAMERS AND RELATIVES WHO WHO WANT TO LEGALLY BECOME UNITED STATES CITIZENS. I THINK WE CAN IMPROVE UPON THOSE EFFORTS. AND EVEN THOUGH KING IS WELL KNOWN IN OUR STATE – COSTELLO BELIEVES HE HAS THE RIGHT BACKGROUND TO BEST SERVE THE PEOPLE OF MAINE. 10;50;29;13 – 10;50;58;06 “HAVING HAVING GROWN UP IN A WORKING CLASS FAMILY IN MAINE AND HAVING SERVED IN SENIOR LEVEL GOVERNMENT POSITIONS FOR OVER 25 YEARS, BUTTED I BELIEVE I HAVE THE BROADEST AND MOST FITTING EXPERIENCE OF ANY CANDIDATES IN THE RACE F

Categories
Small Business Funding

X changed its terms of service to let its AI train on everyone’s posts [Video]

When X unveiled its newest terms of service, which go into effect on Nov. 15, users quickly picked up on one change.”By submitting, posting or displaying Content on or through the Services, you grant us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to make your Content available to the rest of the world,” the terms of service said, which includes the right to analyze any of that content “including, for example, for use with and training of our machine learning and artificial intelligence models, whether generative or another type.”Video above: LinkedIn is using your data to train AI. This is how to opt outBasically, by continuing to use the platform, users will agree that X can use their data to train its AI models.Using content to train AI has become a major issue as the technology booms. On X, artists and others in creative roles are fretting about their work being used not just on X to train computers that could someday replace human creators entirely. Other X users say they are concerned about personal information in their tweets being used that way. Some users said on the site they have already begun deleting photographs of themselves from their feeds.And if users have any issue with those terms, they may end up in a federal courtroom that is favored by conservative activists and is already presiding over two lawsuits involving Musk-owned X.According to the update, all disputes related to the terms will be brought to the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas or state courts in Tarrant County, Texas.Tarrant County is more than 100 miles away from X’s new headquarters outside of Austin, Texas.X’s terms said any users who continue to use their products or services on or after Nov. 15 would be agreeing to the updated terms.Changes to data privacyGrok, X’s AI chatbot, has already been embroiled in controversy, from spreading false information about the 2024 election to generating violent, graphic fake images of famous politicians. Companies from Google to Microsoft have similarly come under fire for sometimes weird, completely off-base AI tools.Before the most recent terms of service update, X users could opt out of sharing data by going to “settings,” then “privacy and safety.” Under the “data sharing and personalization” header, there is a tab for “Grok,” where users can uncheck the box that allows the platform to use their data for AI training.But it’s not clear whether X’s new terms of service take away that option. X can now license all the content on the platform, including using it in its machine learning and artificial intelligence models.While such broad licensing with few limitations is not uncommon for a social media platform, Alex Fink, CEO and founder of Otherweb, an AI-based news reading platform that targets misinformation, told CNN that what makes X unique is that its new terms “remove any ambiguity” in contrast to other platforms that don’t spell out their intentions.Before, X said posts from private accounts would not be used to train Grok. But the language in the new terms of service does not differentiate between the types of accounts.But only time will tell if you may still be able to opt out, despite the new terms. Fink said it’s fairly common for a company’s legal terms to give it more leeway than its own menu options allow.CNN’s Clare Duffy contributed to this report.

Categories
Small Business Funding Small Business Growth

Mahama reiterates commitment to startup support for poultry, baking and other small businesses [Video]

Presidential Candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama says he remains unfazed by attempts from the governing New Patriotic Party to downplay his proposal to support startups and create jobs for individuals interested…