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MAPS DEADLINE ALERT: ROSEN, A LEADING NATIONAL FIRM, Encourages WM Technology, Inc. Investors with Losses in Excess of $100K to Secure Counsel Before Important December 16 Deadline in Securities Class Action First Filed by the Firm – MAPS
Walmart's DEI rollback signals a profound shift in the wake of Trump's election victory
Johnson's 29, Rivera's game-winner lead Fordham past Bryant, 86-84
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Last season, the Indiana Pacers made a surprising run all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals. The narrative around them was that it was somewhat of a lucky accomplishment for them. Their first round opponent, the Milwaukee Bucks , were without superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo for the whole series and didn’t have Damian Lillard for two games. In the next round, they faced the New York Knicks who were missing numerous pieces such as Julius Randle , OG Anunoby , Mitchell Robinson , and Bojan Bogdanovic . Nonetheless, being one of the final four teams remaining in the NBA playoffs is an impressive feat. Much of their success was predicated on an explosive offense that was among the best in the league. Their play on the offensive end has not gone as smoothly thus far this season. It is a huge reason why the Pacers are just off to a 9-14 start after going 47-35 last season. In their most recent game on Wednesday, they had a disappointing performance against the Brooklyn Nets, losing by the score of 99-90. The Pacers scored just 35 points in the first half. Stark Differences Between Pacers Offense This Season And Last What A Difference A Year Makes For The Pacers Offense The differences in the Pacers numbers on offense from this season to last are quite stark. Just look at some of those numbers from 2023-24 and through 23 games in 2024-25 (where they rank for the season listed in parentheses). Points per game: 2023-24: 123.3 (1st) 2024-25: 113.4 (14th) Offensive rating: 2023-24: 121.0 (2nd) 2024-25: 112.6 (18th) Pace: 2023-24: 101.7 (2nd) 2024-25: 99.9 (8th) The 121.0 offensive rating that Indiana finished with last season is the second-highest in NBA history . Only last season’s champions, the Boston Celtics , have a higher one at 123.2, also from 2023-24. To go from the second-best ever to not even being in the top half of the league this season is mind-blowing. Keep in mind that the Pacers only had two-time All-NBA Pascal Siakam for about half of last season after trading for him. Haliburton’s Offensive Decline Of course, the Pacers fulcrum on offense is star point guard Tyrese Halliburton . The 24-year-old was named to the All-NBA Third Team last season while leading the league averaging 10.9 assists per game. Despite playing three more minutes per game in 2024-25, his numbers have dipped. Halliburton is averaging 2.5 less points (17.6 to 20.1 in 2023-24) and is down to 8.4 assists per contest. He is throwing up a career-high 8.6 threes per game while connecting on just 33.3% of them (career-low). Halliburton has also been less accurate inside of the arc, making 53.8% of his two-pointers compared to 59.5% in 2023-24. Injuries To Two Starters While not exactly household names, Aaron Nesmith and Andrew Nembhard have been extremely important role players for Indiana. They have been the team’s starting small forward and shooting guard respectively when available. The two just haven’t been available enough. They have combined to appear in just 15 of a possible 46 outings. The 24-year-old Nembhard has come back to play in two games for Indiana but missed 12 straight from November 8-29 with right knee tendinitis. He did not play in Wednesday night’s game due to it being the second game of a back-to-back. The 24-year-old Nesmith hasn’t played since November 1 due to a sprained left ankle. Head coach Rick Carlisle recently stated that he is still weeks away from returning. While neither of them are offensive juggernauts, both are capable three-point shooters. Nembhard really stepped up his offensive output during the 2024 playoffs. The Pacers offense needs to go back to, or at least come close to, their 2023-24 levels to have any chance of approaching the success they had last season. It will help having Nembhard and Nesmith back regularly, but most importantly, they need Haliburton to once again look like one of the best offensive point guards in the league. This article first appeared on Last Word On Sports and was syndicated with permission.No Texas fans punished for UGA bottle throws
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Malik Nabers said calling the New York Giants “soft” after Sunday's embarrassing loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was a mistake, although the star rookie receiver still plans to speak out when he thinks it's necessary. After talking with coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen and watching video of the Giants' 30-7 defeat , Nabers said Tuesday that "soft” was a poor choice of words. “I don’t think it was really soft. I think it was just a lack of technique,” Nabers said. “We were playing our butts off, we just lacked technique.” The Giants (2-9) trailed 23-0 at halftime and had run only 19 plays on offense. Nabers was not targeted in first the half but still finished with a team-high six catches for 64 yards. The No. 6 overall pick in the draft, Nabers said his rant after the game — in which he said the Giants' quarterbacks weren't to blame for the team's poor performance — was just the competitor in him talking. “That’s just how I’m wired. That’s just who I am,” he said. “I just don’t like losing. If I feel like if I had an opportunity to help the team win, I’m going to express that.” Nabers said not being targeted in the opening half was tough because his body is prepared to play and not doing anything throws him off his game. “You’re not getting involved early, then you’re not getting the feel of the ball, you’re not getting hit,” Nabers said. “After football plays as an offense, after you get hit, you’re like, ‘All right, I’m ready to go.’” Nabers has a team-high 67 catches, the most by a player in his first nine NFL games. He said he sees himself as a resource, someone who can change the game for the Giants. “I’m not going to just sit back just because I’m a younger guy and not speak on how I feel,” Nabers said. “They want me to speak up. They feel like my energy helps the offense, in a way, to be explosive. So, of course, I’m going to speak up if something doesn’t go my way. That’s just how I am.” AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Words on ammo in CEO shooting echo common phrase on insurer tactics: Delay, deny, defend A message left at the scene of an insurance executive’s fatal shooting echoes a phrase commonly used to describe insurer tactics to avoid paying claims. The words “deny,” “defend” and “depose” were written on the ammunition used to kill UnitedHealthcare's CEO. That's according to two officials who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Thursday. The words are similar to the phrase “delay, deny, defend.” That's how attorneys describe insurers denying services and payment, and the title of a 2010 book critical of the industry. Police haven’t officially commented on the words. But Thompson’s shooting and the messages on the ammunition have sparked outrage on social media and elsewhere, reflecting frustration Americans have over the cost and complexity of getting care. Bitcoin has surpassed the $100,000 mark as the post-election rally continues. What's next? NEW YORK (AP) — Bitcoin has topped the $100,000 mark, extending a rally in the world’s most popular cryptocurrency sparked by the election of Donald Trump. The milestone comes just hours after the president-elect signaled a lighter regulatory approach to the crypto industry with his choice of crypto advocate Paul Atkins to be the next chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Bitcoin has soared to unprecedented heights since Trump won the election Nov. 5. The cryptocurrency has climbed dramatically from $69,374 on Election Day and rose to more than $103,000 before falling back below $100,000 by Thursday afternoon. US judge rejects Boeing's plea deal in a conspiracy case stemming from fatal plane crashes DALLAS (AP) — A federal judge has rejected a deal that would have allowed Boeing to plead guilty to a felony conspiracy charge and pay a fine for misleading U.S. regulators about the 737 Max jetliner before two of the planes crashed, killing 346 people. The ruling on Thursday by U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor in Texas creates uncertainty around the criminal prosecution of the aerospace giant in connection with the development of its bestselling airline plane. O’Connor’s decision was almost certain to please many relatives of the passengers who died in the crashes, which took place off the coast of Indonesia and in Ethiopia less than five months apart. McKinsey subsidiary will pay $122M for scheme to bribe South African officials, US says WASHINGTON (AP) — An African subsidiary of the consulting firm McKinsey & Company Inc. will pay a criminal penalty of more than $122 million to resolve a U.S. Justice Department investigation into a yearslong scheme to bribe South African government officials. The Justice Department says the scheme involved bribes to officials with South Africa’s state-owned and state-controlled custodian of ports, rails, and pipelines, as well as its state-controlled energy company. It netted McKinsey Africa and its parent company $85 million in profits between 2012 and 2016, officials said. McKinsey said in a statement that it “welcomes the resolution of these matters and the closure of this regretful situation.” EPA hails 'revitalized' enforcement efforts as Biden administration heads to exit WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency says it concluded more than 1,850 civil cases this year, a 3.4% increase over 2023, and charged 121 criminal defendants, a 17.6% increase over the previous year. The agency also issued $1.7 billion in financial penalties, more than double last year's total. Thursday's report was the final one account of Biden-era enforcement actions before President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January. Enforcement efforts included first-ever criminal charges for a California man accused of smuggling climate-damaging air coolants into the United States. Engine maker Cummins Inc. paid more than $2 billion in fines and penalties after it was found to use illegal software to skirt diesel emissions tests. Work-life balance isn't working for women. Why? NEW YORK (AP) — About half of working women reported feeling stressed “a lot of the day,” compared to about 4 in 10 men, according to a Gallup report published Wednesday. The report suggests that competing demands of work and home comprise part of the problem: working women who are parents or guardians are more likely than men who are parents to say they have declined or delayed a promotion at work because of personal or family obligations, and mothers are more likely than fathers to “strongly agree” that they are the default responders for unexpected child care issues. But changing workplace culture and prioritizing well-being can improve the problem, according to Karen Guggenheim, creator of the World Happiness Summit. From outsider to the Oval Office, bitcoin surges as a new administration embraces crypto NEW YORK (AP) — Bitcoin burst on the scene after trust had withered in the financial system and Washington’s ability to protect people from it. Now, it’s Washington’s embrace of bitcoin that’s sending it to records. Bitcoin briefly surged above $103,000 after President-elect Donald Trump said he will nominate Paul Atkins, who's seen as friendly to crypto, to be the Securities and Exchange Commission's next chair. The crypto industry, meanwhile, did its part to bring politicians friendly to digital currencies into Washington. It's a twist from bitcoin's early days, when it was lauded as a kind of electronic cash that wouldn’t be beholden to any government or financial institution. Stock market today: Wall Street edges back from its records as bitcoin briefly pops above $100,000 NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks edged back from their records as Wall Street counted down to a big jobs report that’s coming on Friday. The S&P 500 fell 0.2% Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.6%, and the Nasdaq composite sank 0.2% from its own all-time high. The crypto market had more action, and bitcoin briefly burst to a record above $103,000 before falling back toward $99,000. It's climbed dramatically since Election Day on hopes President-elect Donald Trump will be more friendly to crypto. Airline stocks were strong, while Treasury yields held relatively steady in the bond market. Key members of OPEC+ alliance are putting off production increases amid slack crude prices FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Eight members of the OPEC+ alliance of oil exporting countries have decided to put off increasing oil production as they face weaker than expected demand and competing production from non-allied countries — factors that could keep oil prices stagnant into next year. The OPEC+ members decided at an online meeting to postpone by three months production increases that had been scheduled to take effect Jan. 1. The plan had been to start gradually restoring 2.2 million barrels per day over the course of 2025. That process will now be pushed back to April 1, 2025 and production increases will gradually take place over 18 months until October 2026. Fox News loses bid for Smartmatic voting-tech company's records about Philippines bribery case NEW YORK (AP) — Smartmatic does not need to give Fox News any information about U.S. federal charges against the voting machine company’s co-founder over alleged bribery in the Philippines. A New York judge on Thursday also turned down Smartmatic’s request to question two Fox Corp. board members. It already has questioned others. Smartmatic is suing Fox News for $2.7 billion. The election-technology company says its business was gutted when Fox aired false claims that Smartmatic helped rig the 2020 vote. Fox says it was just reporting on newsworthy allegations. Fox maintains the Philippines bribery allegations are pertinent to Smartmatic’s business prospects and claims of losses. Florida-based Smartmatic isn’t charged in the criminal case and says it's irrelevant in the defamation suit.A top US official sought to quell growing concern Sunday over reported drone sightings in the country's northeast, reiterating there was no known security threat as authorities monitor the situation. President Joe Biden's administration has faced mounting criticism for not clearly identifying origins of the objects seen hovering over parts of New York and New Jersey. The criticism has come even from Biden's own party, with top Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer calling Sunday for action to make it easier for federal, state and local authorities to work together to detect and if need be "bring down" any drone seen to pose a threat. Video footage of mysterious airborne phenomena recently has clogged social media, with spottings also reported in Maryland and Virginia. "Some of those drone sightings are, in fact, drones. Some are manned aircraft that are commonly mistaken for drones," Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Sunday on ABC's "This Week" program. "But there's no question that drones are being sighted," he said, noting there are more than one million registered across the United States. "I want to assure the American public that we are on it," he said. "If we identify any foreign involvement or criminal activity, we will communicate with the American public accordingly. Right now, we are not aware of any." Even as Mayorkas sought to reassure the public, Boston police announced Sunday that two Massachusetts men had been arrested the previous night for allegedly conducting a "hazardous drone operation" near the city's Logan International Airport. State police were conducting a search for a third suspect, who authorities said fled the scene. Schumer, in a letter to Mayorkas Sunday, urged the Department of Homeland Security to immediately deploy special drone-detection technology across New York and New Jersey, since traditional radar struggles to detect such small objects. He also called for passage of legislation to explicitly authorize state and local law enforcement to work with federal agencies to detect and "bring down drones that threaten critical facilities or mass gatherings." Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, meanwhile expressed frustration at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) over its communications around the issue. "The answer 'we don't know' is not a good enough answer," he told "Fox News Sunday." "When people are anxious... people will fill a vacuum with, you know, their fears and anxieties and conspiracy theories," he said, calling for the FAA to hold public briefings. White House national security spokesman John Kirby had previously said the aircraft could be lawfully operated planes or helicopters mistaken for drones. "While there is no known malicious activity occurring, the reported sightings there do, however, highlight a gap in authorities," he said Thursday, calling for Congress to pass new legislation to "extend and expand existing counter-drone authorities." New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced Sunday that authorities had agreed to send a drone detection system to her state. "I am grateful for the support, but we need more. Congress must pass a law that will give us the power to deal directly with the drones," she said on X. On Friday, President-elect Donald Trump urged federal authorities to clearly identify the drones' origins. "Let the public know, and now. Otherwise, shoot them down!!!" he posted on social media. As the price of drones has fallen -- small quadcopter models with Wi-Fi camera capability can be purchased for as little as $40 -- their numbers and popularity have soared, making their presence in American skies a greater concern. acb/des/bbk/mlmUnlike scores of people who scrambled for the blockbuster drugs Ozempic and Wegovy to lose weight in recent years, Danielle Griffin had no trouble getting them. The 38-year-old information technology worker from New Mexico had a prescription. Her pharmacy had the drugs in stock. And her health insurance covered all but $25 to $50 of the monthly cost. For Griffin, the hardest part of using the new drugs wasn’t access. It was finding out that the much-hyped medications didn’t really work for her. “I have been on Wegovy for a year and a half and have only lost 13 pounds,” said Griffin, who watches her diet, drinks plenty of water and exercises regularly. “I’ve done everything right with no success. It’s discouraging.” In clinical trials, most participants taking Wegovy or Mounjaro to treat obesity lost an average of 15% to 22% of their body weight — up to 50 pounds or more in many cases. But roughly 10% to 15% of patients in those trials were “nonresponders” who lost less than 5% of their body weight. Now that millions of people have used the drugs, several obesity experts told The Associated Press that perhaps 20% of patients — as many as 1 in 5 — may not respond well to the medications. It's a little-known consequence of the obesity drug boom, according to doctors who caution eager patients not to expect one-size-fits-all results. “It's all about explaining that different people have different responses,” said Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford, an obesity expert at Massachusetts General Hospital The drugs are known as GLP-1 receptor agonists because they mimic a hormone in the body known as glucagon-like peptide 1. Genetics, hormones and variability in how the brain regulates energy can all influence weight — and a person's response to the drugs, Stanford said. Medical conditions such as sleep apnea can prevent weight loss, as can certain common medications, such as antidepressants, steroids and contraceptives. “This is a disease that stems from the brain,” said Stanford. “The dysfunction may not be the same” from patient to patient. Despite such cautions, patients are often upset when they start getting the weekly injections but the numbers on the scale barely budge. “It can be devastating,” said Dr. Katherine Saunders, an obesity expert at Weill Cornell Medicine and co-founder of the obesity treatment company FlyteHealth. “With such high expectations, there’s so much room for disappointment.” That was the case for Griffin, who has battled obesity since childhood and hoped to shed 70 pounds using Wegovy. The drug helped reduce her appetite and lowered her risk of diabetes, but she saw little change in weight. “It’s an emotional roller coaster,” she said. “You want it to work like it does for everybody else.” The medications are typically prescribed along with eating behavior and lifestyle changes. It’s usually clear within weeks whether someone will respond to the drugs, said Dr. Jody Dushay, an endocrine specialist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Weight loss typically begins right away and continues as the dosage increases. For some patients, that just doesn't happen. For others, side effects such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea force them to halt the medications, Dushay said. In such situations, patients who were counting on the new drugs to pare pounds may think they’re out of options. “I tell them: It's not game over,” Dushay said. Trying a different version of the new class of drugs may help. Griffin, who didn't respond well to Wegovy, has started using Zepbound, which targets an additional hormone pathway in the body. After three months of using the drug, she has lost 7 pounds. “I'm hoping it's slow and steady,” she said. Other people respond well to older drugs, the experts said. Changing diet, exercise, sleep and stress habits can also have profound effects. Figuring out what works typically requires a doctor trained to treat obesity, Saunders noted. “Obesity is such a complex disease that really needs to be treated very comprehensively,” she said. “If what we’re prescribing doesn’t work, we always have a backup plan.” ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Jonel Aleccia, The Associated Press
ATLANTA (AP) — Robert Braswell's 19 points helped Charlotte defeat Georgia State 77-63 on Saturday. Braswell also contributed three steals for the 49ers (5-4). Nik Graves scored 15 points while shooting 5 of 7 from the field and 5 for 9 from the line. Jaehshon Thomas totaled 13 points and seven rebounds. Zarigue Nutter led the Panthers (4-6) with 19 points. Nicholas McMullen and Toneari Lane both finished with 13 points and six rebounds. Charlotte took the lead with 8:06 remaining in the first half and never looked back. The score was 32-25 at halftime, with Braswell racking up seven points. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .None
NoneStock market today: Wall Street edges back from its records as bitcoin briefly pops above $100,000Stocks wavered on Wall Street in afternoon trading Thursday, as gains in tech companies and retailers helped temper losses elsewhere in the market. The S&P 500 was down less than 0.1% after drifting between small gains and losses. The benchmark index is coming off a three-day winning streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 6 points, or less than 0.1%, as of 1:52 p.m. Eastern time. The Nasdaq composite was down less than 0.1%. Trading volume was lighter than usual as U.S. markets reopened after the Christmas holiday. Chip company Broadcom rose 2.9%, Micron Technology was up 1% and Adobe gained 0.8%. While tech stocks overall were in the green, some heavyweights were a drag on the market. Semiconductor giant Nvidia, whose enormous valuation gives it an outsize influence on indexes, slipped 0.1%. Meta Platforms fell 0.7%, Amazon was down 0.6%, and Netflix gave up 1.1%. Tesla was among the biggest decliners in the S&P 500, down 1.9%. Health care stocks helped lift the market. CVS Health rose 1.7% and Walgreens Boots Alliance rose 3% for the biggest gain among S&P 500 stocks. Several retailers also gained ground. Target rose 2.8%, Best Buy was up 2.2% and Dollar Tree gained 2.7%. Retailers are hoping for a solid sales this holiday season, and the day after Christmas traditionally ranks among the top 10 biggest shopping days of the year, as consumers go online or rush to stores to cash in gift cards and raid bargain bins. U.S.-listed shares in Honda and Nissan rose 4% and 16%, respectively. The Japanese automakers announced earlier this week that the two companies are in talks to combine. Traders got a labor market update. U.S. applications for unemployment benefits held steady last week , though continuing claims rose to the highest level in three years, the Labor Department reported. Treasury yields turned mostly lower in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.57% from 4.59% late Tuesday. Major European markets were closed, as well as Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia. Trading was expected to be subdued this week with a thin slate of economic data on the calendar. Still, U.S. markets have historically gotten a boost at year’s end despite lower trading volumes. The last five trading days of each year, plus the first two in the new year, have brought an average gain of 1.3% since 1950. So far this month, the U.S. stock market has lost some of its gains since President-elect Donald Trump’s win on Election Day, which raised hopes for faster economic growth and more lax regulations that would boost corporate profits. Worries have risen that Trump’s preference for tariffs and other policies could lead to higher inflation , a bigger U.S. government debt and difficulties for global trade. Even so, the U.S. market remains on pace to deliver strong returns for 2024. The benchmark S&P 500 is up roughly 26% so far this year and remains near its most recent all-time high it set earlier this month — its latest of 57 record highs this year. Wall Street has several economic reports to look forward to next week, including updates on pending home sales and home prices, a report on U.S. construction spending and snapshots of manufacturing activity. AP Business Writers Elaine Kurtenbach and Matt Ott contributed.Israeli attorney general orders probe into report that alleged Netanyahu's wife harassed opponents
Mumbai: The Nagpur police have uncovered a new cyber-crime tactic where scammers impersonate bank officials, record the victim’s voice during a call, and use it to create fake obscene audio notes. These are paired with nude photographs of a woman and used to extort money from the victim. A 24-year-old Nagpur resident recently fell prey to this scheme, losing Rs 7.17 lakh across multiple transactions. On October 6, the complainant received a call from someone claiming to be from his bank for address verification. Shortly after, he was sent a nude photograph of a woman along with an obscene audio note featuring his voice via Telegram. The sender demanded money, threatening to share the material with his contacts and on social media. The complainant initially transferred money to a UPI ID provided by the scammer and blocked their number, but continued receiving similar threats from other Telegram accounts. Between October 6 and November 20, the complainant was coerced into paying Rs 7.17 lakh. Overwhelmed, he confided in his family, who urged him to report the crime to the police, resulting in a case being registered under sections 318 (cheating), 351 (criminal intimidation) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and 66D (cheating by personation by using computer resource) of the Information Technology Act.BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) — Tre Carroll scored 18 points off the bench to lead Florida Atlantic to an 89-80 victory over Texas State on Saturday. Carroll shot 7 of 9 from the field and 4 of 4 from the free-throw line for the Owls (7-5). Niccolo Moretti scored 15 points, shooting 4 of 6 from the field and 6 for 7 from the line. Matas Vokietaitis shot 5 of 8 from the field and 3 of 8 from the free-throw line to finish with 13 points. The Bobcats (7-4) were led by Tyler Morgan, who posted 19 points, six rebounds and five assists. Tylan Pope added 14 points and three blocks. Josh O'Garro finished with 13 points, nine rebounds and two blocks. Texas State had a five-game win streak end. Story continues below video Florida Atlantic took the lead with 51 seconds to go in the first half and never looked back. The score was 43-40 at halftime, with Vokietaitis racking up 11 points. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .
Goins signs with UTEPLiverpool v Leicester: Premier League – liveIn an era where communication is no longer confined to one medium, Massachusetts’ wiretap law remains frozen in time, a 56-year-old statute that doesn’t entirely fit into the realities of today’s digital landscape, raising questions for lawmakers, police officers and prosecutors seeking evidence for crimes. As then-attorney general, Gov. Maura Healey supported efforts to update the state’s wiretapping law, calling it “an important issue.” She backed then-Gov. Charlie Baker’s 2017 legislation to modernize the statute, highlighting its outdated nature and the challenges it posed to investigating serious crimes like human trafficking and narcotics rings. However, her gubernatorial administration has not advanced major efforts on the topic. In the fall of 2019, to capture a drug dealer in East Boston, an undercover Boston Police officer purchased drugs three times from a suspect outside of a laundromat and in a pharmacy parking lot. Simultaneously, these transactions were surreptitiously recorded using Callyo, a widely used law enforcement software, and livestreamed to other officers nearby. The suspect, Thanh Du, was identified through a phone number found on a deceased fentanyl overdose victim’s phone and subsequently arrested for drug trafficking. Now, five years later, the conversation is still happening in the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, with arguments whether those recordings should be deemed “unlawful interceptions” under the state’s wiretap law, which prohibits secret recordings without a warrant and the consent of all parties involved. Under the current law, wiretap warrants are limited to investigations of organized crime and approved by judges. Massachusetts also requires all-party consent for any recording — one of the strictest stances in the country — while federal law and many other states only require one-party consent. State Sen. John Velis, D-Westfield, argues that the law is outdated and unsuited for modern investigations, particularly as most crimes today don’t meet the statute’s “organized crime” requirement. Article continues after... Cross|Word Flipart Typeshift SpellTower Really Bad Chess He said the premise of requiring a wiretap warrant for organized crime sometimes conflicts with the process of collecting evidence. He explained that many crimes, including murders, are often random acts by strangers or crimes of passion, which are not organized in the sense of what the law requires to fit that category of being an organized crime under the statute. “I think it’s antiquated,” Velis said. “That’s probably the best word I can use to describe the wiretap law we have on the books.” Arguments about the wiretap statute have also sparked ripples in domestic abuse cases. In the summer of 2022, a woman secretly recorded her conversation with her abusive husband, who attempted to suffocate her with a pillow and threatened their young child in the Boston area. She was later charged with violating the wiretap law by recording without consent, even though she argued that she did so to protect herself and her child from her husband’s abuses, according to court documents. Sen. Patrick O’Connor, a Weymouth Republican who has spoken with the victim, said the law exacerbates harm by punishing abuse survivors. “It’s important that we are able to protect women who record their abusers,” O’Connor said, emphasizing the need for legal reform to ensure survivors aren’t further victimized. This September, the woman’s husband, accused of assault and battery on a family member, appeared in court, where his attorney sought to have the charges dropped . The charges against the wife, meanwhile, will be dismissed after six months of probation so long as she commits no additional crimes, according to the Cape and Islands District Attorney’s Office. In October, the complexities of the wiretap law extended beyond criminal investigations, delving into issues of digital privacy brought up by hospital patients. Kathleen Vita, a Revere resident, filed a lawsuit against New England Baptist Hospital and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, accusing them of violating the wiretap law by tracking and sharing website visitors’ data using tools like Meta Pixel and Google Analytics. While she was looking up doctors and seeking information for her husband’s medical conditions, she noticed the pop-up windows stating that “We use cookies and other tools to enhance your experience on our website and to analyze our web traffic.” The data and information collected would be tracked by a third-party service provider — Meta Pixel and Google Analytics — and be used for commercial purposes. Vita’s lawyers argued that such information-collecting behavior violated the wiretap law as the browsers’ users won’t be specifically notified that the information they’ve collected will be transmitted to a third party. The Supreme Judicial Court ruled 5-1 that the hospitals did not violate the wiretap law, concluding that website interactions do not constitute “person-to-person” conversation or messaging within the wiretap act’s ambit. “If the Legislature intends for the wiretap act’s criminal and civil penalties to prohibit the tracking of a person’s browsing of, and interaction with, published information on websites, it must say so expressly,” Justice Scott Kafker wrote for the court. Kafker acknowledged that the hospitals’ alleged conduct raised serious concerns and may “indeed violate various other statutes,” he wrote about the improper handling of confidential medical information. “And we do not in any way minimize the serious threat to privacy presented by the proliferation of third-party tracking of an individual’s website browsing activity for advertising purposes. These concerns, however, should be addressed to the Legislature.” From real-time drug busts to the revictimization of abuse survivors and the balance between privacy and “optimized experiences,” the decades-old statute has sparked lawmakers to push for modernization. “What’s happening is that judges are being confronted with situations involving technologies that just weren’t contemplated when this law was written,” Velis said. “When the world changes, we need to change with it.” Velis proposed starting discussions to update the law while balancing concerns about government overreach as he is mindful of and had foreseen the concerns. “A compromise” is necessary, he suggested, between people who acknowledge that technology and crime have changed and those with privacy concerns. O’Connor highlighted the challenges of obtaining wiretap warrants under the current statute. “What we need to do is give the judges more flexibility in being able to issue these wiretap orders,” O’Connor said. He added that it is important to have a “clear picture” of different investigations, including developing a timeline and understanding what’s happening in a specific situation. He said the totality of the positive impacts, as well as the accountability of going through the court system, would add a significant layer of protection, which will give little opportunity for people to abuse these logs. Velis and O’Connor both said they will continue prioritizing legislation in the next legislative session to modernize the wiretap statute. Joseph Webber, an assistant district attorney with the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office, emphasized that wiretap warrants are already tightly regulated. “What you’re trying to do with a wiretap is figure out the hierarchy of an organization and ensure you’re prosecuting the higher echelon,” Webber said. “You’re not just consistently arresting the persons standing outside holding a bag of drugs. You’re figuring out who’s trafficking it into Massachusetts.” He noted that while wiretaps can be critical and more often used in certain jurisdictions, their time-intensive application process and associated costs mean they are not suitable for all cases. Webber stressed the essential link between police officers and the judges. “When police are applying for a wiretap statute, a judge would have that ability to make the determination whether or not there’s probable cause and whether the wiretap statute needs to be utilized instead of having a set list of offenses [that] may, in some cases, hinder an investigation unnecessarily so,” he said. Webber said it’s vital not to create a separate problem unintentionally in the legislative process, and that “making sure that there’s some oversight from the judicial branch in terms of the search warrants and the renewal process certainly makes sense.” Zichang Liu writes for the Greenfield Recorder as part of the Boston University Statehouse Program.
President seeks support of all to achieve successful new era
