By Diana Novak Jones Oct 21 (Reuters) – A judge in New Mexico ordered Meta Platforms on Wednesday to pay the state $25 billion after a jury found the company had misled consumers about the privacy of their data, hitting the company with one of the largest financial penalties in US history. The ruling came in a ‌case stemming from allegations that Cambridge Analytica, a British political consulting firm involved in Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, obtained data from millions of Facebook users without their ‌consent. New Mexico had sued Meta, accusing it of lying to Facebook users in New Mexico about who had access to their data. “Facebook’s wrongdoing — over the course of years and systematically broadcast to the public — goes to the ​heart of Facebook’s core business practices,” Judge Francis Mathew wrote in his order, which came more than three weeks after the verdict. Mathew found that a penalty of more than $219 billion was warranted based on state law, but he reduced the figure to $25 billion. In a statement, C.J. Mahoney, Meta’s chief legal officer, said the company is confident it will win on appeal. “This ruling, and the Attorney General’s approach to this enforcement, makes it all but impossible to do business in the state of New Mexico,” Mahoney said. “At its core, this lawsuit seeks to impose a tax on speech to enforce new ‌rules for what people can say online.” New Mexico Attorney General Raúl ⁠Torrez said in a statement after the ruling the penalty was one of the largest financial penalties against a corporation in US history. Meta previously faced a $5 billion penalty from the US Federal Trade Commission in 2019 over the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Six other states settled their lawsuits against Meta related ⁠to Cambridge Analytica for $459.2 million as part of a $17.1 billion multistate settlement the company reached in August to resolve states’ claims that the company’s platforms had harmed teen mental health. LAWSUIT FILED FIVE YEARS AGO New Mexico’s attorney general sued Meta in 2021 following revelations that Cambridge Analytica had harvested personal data from as many as 87 million Facebook users through a third-party app. The state accused Meta of lying to Facebook users ​in ​New Mexico about who had access to their data and its handling of hate speech and misinformation posted ​on the platform. It alleged the company knew third parties had broad ‌access to users’ data and tolerated hate speech or other harmful content when it benefited the company’s bottom line. Cambridge Analytica, now defunct, used the data for voter profiling and targeting. “It has been a long time coming holding Big Tech accountable,” Torrez told a press conference in Albuquerque after Wednesday’s ruling. “I think today’s judgment is a clear break with that past and a very clear warning to those in this space and beyond that we intend to protect our people and protect our consumers.” Mathew’s decision comes as Meta faces thousands of lawsuits and pressure from lawmakers over the impact of Instagram and Facebook on teen mental health, with another trial slated to begin next week. Earlier this year, New Mexico won $942 million in a pair of trials against Meta over ‌claims it facilitated sexual exploitation of young people on Instagram and Facebook and misled consumers about the ​platforms’ safety. Analyst Gil Luria, head of technology research at D.A. Davidson & Co, called the latest New Mexico ruling costly ​but unlikely to impact the company’s value. “Meta is worth nearly two trillion dollars, and ​will likely continue to appeal these cases and drag them out,” Luria said. EXPERTS EXPECT LONG APPEAL FIGHT Jurors in September had found that the company and ‌its leadership made 26 misleading statements on data privacy, hate speech and ​other subjects. Multiplying those statements by their potential ​audience, they said the company had committed more than 43 million violations of New Mexico’s consumer protection laws. At a hearing on October 1, Randi McGinn, a lawyer for New Mexico, had asked Mathew to award the state between $35 billion and $40 billion. “This court should speak to Meta in the only language it understands, which is money, and the ​value of its stock price,” McGinn said. In court filings, Meta urged ‌Mathew to cap the penalties at $3.45 billion. The evidence showed that Meta does not sell user data and New Mexico did not prove that any consumer had ​actually been misled, the company said in court filings. (Reporting by Diana Novak Jones in Chicago, additional reporting by Andrew Hay in New Mexico and Jaspreet Singh ​and Anzar Mehraj in Bangalore. Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi, Nia Williams, Aurora Ellis and Stephen Coates) This article originally appeared on Reuters at https://finance.yahoo.com/news/meta-ordered-pay-25-billion-172737485.html

Super Typhoon Champi, which is barreling across the western Pacific Ocean, became one of the strongest storms on Earth in 2026 on Wednesday.The tropical cyclone tied April’s Super Typhoon Sinlaku for the strongest 1-minute sustained winds of 2026, at 185 mph, which is equivalent to a Category 5 hurricane.Hurricanes and typhoons are both tropical cyclones with sustained winds of at least 74 mph. “A tropical cyclone is a generic term used by meteorologists to describe a rotating, organized system of clouds and thunderstorms that originates over tropical or subtropical waters and has closed, low-level circulation,” according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.The main difference between hurricanes and typhoons is geographic: Storms in the Northwest Pacific are called typhoons, while those in the North Atlantic and central and eastern North Pacific are called hurricanes.The Joint Typhoon Warning Center classifies a storm as a super typhoon when its 1-minute sustained winds reach at least 150 mph. That threshold falls within the Category 4 hurricane range.What is Champi’s path?Champi is currently east of the Philippines and southeast of Taiwan, moving west-northwest across the Philippine Sea at 15 mph. Maximum sustained winds are at 175 mph, after peaking at 185 mph, according to the latest update from the National Weather Service.The storm is forecast to make a slight turn toward the northwest and weaken through Thursday.Super Typhoon Champi’s path.Naval Meteorology and Oceanography CommandWhat are the expected impacts?Champi is expected to bring heavy rain and strong winds to parts of Taiwan and eastern China through the weekend, according to AccuWeather senior meteorologist Jason Nicholls.Heavy rain is expected to affect Taiwan from Thursday night (Oct. 22) into Saturday (Oct. 24) and east-central China from Friday night (Oct. 23) through Sunday (Oct. 25). Rainfall is forecast to total up to 18 inches, with the heaviest rain expected in northeastern Taiwan.The heavy rain could cause flooding, mudslides, structural damage and transportation delays, according to AccuWeather.Strong winds from Champi, with wind gusts up to 120 mph, are expected to affect Taiwan and eastern China from Thursday night into Sunday. The winds could cause structural damage, prolonged power outages and transportation delays.This article originally appeared on Yahoo News at https://www.yahoo.com/news/weather-news/article/super-typhoon-champi-becomes-one-of-2026s-strongest-storms-as-it-heads-toward-taiwan-and-eastern-china-212554537.html

Saudi Arabia has been facing near-daily attacks from the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen (Fayez Nureldine)Washington has ordered non-essential US embassy staff and their families to leave Saudi Arabia, the State Department said on Wednesday, as the kingdom comes under sustained deadly attacks by Yemen’s Houthis.It came after a diplomatic source told AFP that “all American staff and their families have been ordered to depart from the US embassy” in the Gulf kingdom. The source added that families of embassy staff had also been ordered to leave the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Qatar and Bahrain, all of which have been targeted by Iran during the Middle East war.US State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott subsequently confirmed the order in a post on X, but said it applied to “non-emergency US government employees and their family members in Saudi Arabia only”.He linked the move to Houthi attacks on the country, including airports, saying “the safety and security of Department personnel and their families remain our highest priority”.Saudi Arabia has this month come under near-daily attacks from the Iran-backed Houthis, including a strike on Riyadh’s international airport that was the kingdom’s deadliest in years, as the war with the group escalates.On Wednesday, the Saudi energy ministry said that falling debris from the successful interception of a drone targeting an oil facility killed two people and injured a further two.”The attempted attack resulted in the deaths of two individuals, a Filipino and a Nepali, and injuries to two others,” the ministry said in a statement.It did not say who launched the drone aimed at Shaybah oil field near the UAE border. Earlier on Wednesday, the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen reported intercepting six drones.In June, a four-year-old truce in Yemen’s civil war collapsed, reviving the conflict that dates back to 2014. The Saudi-led coalition has backed the internationally recognised government since 2015.- Iran explosions -The US previously ordered non-essential staff to leave the Gulf ahead of the start of its war against Iran and again in July before US President Donald Trump called off a new wave of strikes.Late on Wednesday, Iranian state media reported the sound of explosions in the southern Hormozgan province overlooking the Strait of Hormuz, breaking a spell of relative calm.”A few minutes ago, the sound of several explosions was heard in the Karpan area of Sirik, in Hormozgan Province,” the official IRNA news agency said.It added that “local sources have not yet disclosed the nature of these explosions”.The conflict began in late February, when the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran, killing the country’s supreme leader, along with senior military commanders.Iran has attempted to blockade the strategic waterway, demanding all ships seek its authorisation to cross. In peacetime, the Hormuz strait carried around a fifth of the world’s oil supplies.In retaliation, the United States has imposed a counterblockade on Iranian ports and ships.bur/jsa/dcpThis article originally appeared on AFP at https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/washington-orders-us-embassy-staff-203401687.html

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday pushed back against suggestions that the Trump administration had ordered Elon Musk’s Starlink and its military-grade counterpart, Starshield, to limit Ukraine’s access to the satellite communications networks, saying any such decisions were up to the SpaceX founder — and not the White House.“We cannot direct a private company as to the decisions they make or not make,” Rubio told reporters on an overseas trip in Mumbai.Rubio had stated previously that “nobody” had ordered Starlink’s speed to be slowed down, adding that it just “sort of happened.”The secretary of state spoke by phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday in an effort to ease tensions.Appearing on Fox & Friends on Wednesday, Zelensky said that Starlink connectivity is still limited in Ukraine and was told by Rubio that the U.S. State Department would work to “unblock” the slowdown.What is Starshield and why is it so important to Ukraine?Ukraine soldiers set up a Starlink satellite communication terminal in the Donetsk region on Oct. 16.NurPhoto via Getty ImagesStarshield is a low-earth satellite network designed by SpaceX for government use. According to SpaceX, Starshield “leverages Starlink technology and launch capability to support national security efforts.” The Ukrainian military has been using the system for communications between its armed forces, allowing Kyiv to carry out drone strikes against Russia.Earlier this month, officials in Kyiv said they discovered that Ukraine’s access to Starshield had been throttled by SpaceX, limiting its ability to defend itself from Russian ballistic missile attacks on energy infrastructure. The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that Musk ordered the slowdown after discussions with President Trump about Ukraine’s recent attacks on Russia’s diesel refineries, which Trump has blamed for skyrocketing U.S. fuel prices.Elon Musk speaks at the 2020 Satellite Conference and Exhibition in Washington.ASSOCIATED PRESS“Musk capped the speeds at which Ukrainian hardware could stay connected to the satellite-based network,” the Journal reported, “rendering some offensive drones and interceptor drones virtually useless.”Last week, the Telegraph reported that Musk has approached Trump with “the idea of slowing down Starlink in Ukraine,” and that Trump “agreed.” In a post on X, Musk said Starshield systems are “owned and controlled by the US government” and that “any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS.”Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government. Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS.Starlink is a commercial service owned and controlled by SpaceX. Usage of Starlink is limited to civilian or defensive activities…— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 14, 2026 In response, Trump denied any involvement, saying: “I don’t know if it was anybody, but it wasn’t me, and I don’t think it was Elon.” On Wednesday, Rubio insisted that neither the president nor anyone in the administration “ever requested that any changes to that system be made.”But he would not say whether the United States was aware of the decision to limit Ukraine’s access to Starshield beforehand.“I’m not going to comment on what we knew that they might or might not do,” Rubio said.“The president has nothing to do with the decisions that are made by Starlink and Starshield and by Mr. Musk,” the secretary continued. “That’s a private company. The president doesn’t run that company and can’t direct that company to do anything.”He added: “I’m telling you there was no foreknowledge, but beyond it, even if there was, we don’t control what a private company — how they decide their product can be used.”Rubio: If not for U.S., ‘there would be no Ukraine right now’A young woman reacts as she looks at her damaged home after a Russian missile attack in Kyiv on Oct. 14.Efrem Lukatsky/APThe secretary also took issue with comments by Serhii “Flash” Beskrestnov, one of Ukrainian Zelensky’s military advisers, who told the BBC that U.S. intelligence had also failed to give Ukraine advance warnings of incoming Russian ballistic missile strikes, resulting in the deaths of civilians.“I don’t know who this official was in the Ukrainian Government that went around saying that a bunch of people had died as a result of what America was denying them,” Rubio said. “No country in the world has done more to help Ukraine over the last four and a half years than the United States, including under the Trump administration, and that continues to be the case.”He added: “We’re no longer going to be defensive about this topic, OK? Because if it were not for the assistance of the United States, including under the Trump administration, there would be no Ukraine right now.”This article originally appeared on Yahoo News at https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/article/who-cut-ukraines-starlink-speeds-musk-and-the-white-house-offer-conflicting-accounts-185435059.html

Democrats have filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump and the Justice Department, alleging that the Trump administration is unlawfully interfering with the midterms by pressuring states to remove voters from their rolls. The complaint, filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, cites the Department of Homeland Security’s recent demands that states remove alleged noncitizens from their voter rolls. The complaint argues such action is based on “shoddily compiled lists” that have “crumbled upon the barest inspection.”Subscribe to The Post Most newsletter for the most important and interesting stories from The Washington Post. The complaint also alleges that Trump administration officials at the Justice and Homeland Security departments have directed a “persistent stream of threats and intimidation” at state and local election officials across the country. The complaint noted that Trump himself had last week threatened to imprison California election officials if they counted mail-in ballots by people the Trump administration claimed were noncitizens. “None of this is lawful,” the complaint states. “The Executive Branch enjoys no authority to superintend state voter list maintenance, to supplant state determinations of who is qualified to vote, or to dictate who gets a ballot or whose ballot gets segregated.” The complaint, filed by three national Democratic groups and other Democratic leaders, asks a federal court to stop Trump and his administration from trying to alter states’ voter rolls and to stop pressuring and threatening election officials. In a statement Wednesday, the Justice Department said that enforcing federal election law and election integrity was a top priority. “Every action the Department has taken to protect the integrity of this year’s elections is grounded in the law and being litigated in open court. Ensuring that only eligible citizens vote and that every lawful ballot is counted a requirement of federal law,” Justice Department spokeswoman Kiersten Pels said. Asked about the lawsuit Wednesday, White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis blamed Democrats for fighting “common sense election-security measures.” “Anyone who illegally votes in our elections will be held accountable,” Bis said in an email. Trump has spent years claiming noncitizen voting is rampant, even though court reviews and independent studies have found it is rare. Many of the administration’s claims of noncitizen voting have fallen apart under scrutiny. This summer, the Department of Homeland Security asserted that up to 16,000 voters on the rolls in Nevada could be noncitizens. It later dramatically scaled back its claims and provided the state with a list of 185 suspected noncitizens. State officials checked those names and determined all of them were citizens. Earlier this month, the Justice Department sued California officials over what it claimed were more than 20,000 noncitizens on its voter rolls. California elections officials have also said those numbers are not accurate. A preliminary review of a sample of 200 of those voters found more than half were not sent ballots and many appeared to be eligible to vote, according to filings from the Registrar of Voters office in Los Angeles County. The complaint filed Tuesday was made by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the Democratic Governors Association, the Nevada Democratic Party, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) and Erick Jose Jimenez, a naturalized citizen and California resident. In addition to Trump and the Justice Department, the complaint also names Attorney General Todd Blanche, the Department of Homeland Security and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin as defendants. The legal challenge comes one day after elected officials in a Northern Virginia county also sued the Trump administration, alleging that administration officials have unlawfully claimed the authority to send armed federal agents to polling places. The lawsuit, filed in federal court Tuesday by the Arlington County Board, alleges that the administration’s policies threaten to disrupt the voting process and undermine trust in local election officials. The lawsuit said the potential for federal interference has forced county officials to “plan for and expend resources to address the possibility of unlawful activity and the reasonable fears of voters and election workers.” “Threatening to send armed agents to polling stations is unlawful and contravenes the bedrock values of free and fair elections we hold dear in this country,” Matt de Ferranti, chair of Arlington County’s board, said in a statement. “These statements are a clear attempt to stoke fear and undermine confidence in our elections.” Liam Bowman contributed to this report. Related ContentThis article originally appeared on Washington Post at https://washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/10/21/democrats-sue-trump-doj-over-effort-remove-voters-state-rolls/