Business

Ruling clears way for Purdue Pharma to settle opioid claims

The Associated Press A federal court ruling cleared the way Tuesday for OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma’s settlement of thousands of legal claims over the toll of opioids. Under the plan approved by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York, members of the wealthy Sackler family would give up ownership of Stamford, Connecticut-based Purdue, which would become a new company known as Knoa, with its profits being sent to a fund to prevent and treat addiction. The exact details of how the money is to be used will be largely up to state and local governments. Family members would ...

US ends probe into Tesla allowing games while vehicles are moving

DETROIT (AP) — U.S. highway safety regulators have closed an investigation into Tesla allowing video games to be played on center touch screens while vehicles are moving. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says in documents posted Tuesday that Tesla disabled the feature called “passenger play” with an online software update in December of 2021, under pressure from the agency. The agency said in documents that removing “passenger play” resolved its concerns about distracted driving that could be caused by the feature. The software update covered more than ...

Ace Hardware Grand opening

Direct Dental Care opens new location

LEWISTOWN — Formerly owned by Dr. John Bauman, Direct Dental Care has been providing dental care to the residents of Mifflin County for over four decades and will continue to at a new address, 120 East Market St., Lewistown. For the past year, Simar P. Kaur, D.D.S. has been slowly updating ...

Regulators take aim at AI to protect consumers, workers

NEW YORK (AP) — As concerns grow over increasingly powerful artificial intelligence systems like ChatGPT, the nation’s financial watchdog says it’s working to ensure that companies follow the law when they’re using AI. Already, automated systems and algorithms help determine credit ratings, loan terms, bank account fees, and other aspects of our financial lives. AI also affects hiring, housing and working conditions. Ben Winters, Senior Counsel for the Electronic Privacy Information Center, said a joint statement on enforcement released by federal agencies last month was a ...

Target on the defensive after removing LGBTQ + products

NEW YORK (AP) — Target once distinguished itself as being boldly supportive of the LGBTQ+ community. Now that status is tarnished after it removed some LGBTQ+-themed products and relocated Pride Month displays to the back of stores in certain Southern locations in response to online complaints and in-store confrontations that it says threatened employees’ well-being. Target faces a second backlash from customers upset by the discount retailer’s reaction to aggressive, anti-LGBTQ+ activism, which has also been sweeping through Republican state legislatures. Civil rights groups ...