Author: DispatchTimes News Desk

Texas has sued the Harris County clerk and her communications director, alleging that voter-awareness adverts on Facebook and Instagram unlawfully targeted African-American, Asian and Latino audiences while excluding other demographic groups. The lawsuit, filed by the Texas Attorney General’s Office on Thursday, names Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth and Irene Nuñez, the clerk’s director of communications, as defendants. It alleges that the county used Meta’s advertising tools to promote “Plan. Check. Vote!” messages ahead of the November 3 general election. According to the filing, the adverts used detailed targeting categories including “African-American history”, “African-American literature”, “Hispanic kitchen”, “Latin dance”, Spanish-language…

US officials have concluded that Alice Huang, a senior executive at Singapore-based data centre company Megaspeed, was a Chinese intelligence asset who funnelled information to Beijing, according to people briefed on classified surveillance. The findings have caused particular concern because Huang developed a close relationship with Jensen Huang, the chief executive of Nvidia, the US company at the centre of the global race to develop advanced artificial intelligence technology. Donald Trump was briefed on the intelligence about a year ago but decided not to take action, officials said. The president has been reluctant to disrupt Nvidia’s chip sales, which are…

Alaska’s Senate race has been thrown into fresh turmoil after the state’s Republican governor ordered an investigation into claims that people linked to Mary Peltola’s campaign helped recruit a second candidate named Dan Sullivan to confuse voters. Governor Mike Dunleavy acted after reporting alleged that a Democratic operative who had worked with Peltola’s campaign and national Democrats encouraged Daniel J. Sullivan to enter the contest against Republican incumbent Dan S. Sullivan. Peltola has denied involvement, calling the allegations “just another distraction” during a campaign stop. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee also said it was “not involved with Dan J. Sullivan”.…

Sir Patrick Stewart, the British actor best known as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation, has died aged 86 at his home in Los Angeles. He died on Wednesday following “a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia”, with his “beloved” wife, Sunny Ozell, by his side, according to a statement published on his Instagram page. The statement said the actor had been surrounded by family and friends, “live music, prayer, tears, laughter, and the kind of profound emotion that only he could inspire after a lifetime of devotion to us all”. It…

California’s far north-eastern corner faces a major political shift after Proposition 50 divided the reliably Republican congressional district that once covered the area. The changes mean many voters in the region may soon be represented by a Democrat in Washington, despite the area’s longstanding Republican leanings.

Starbucks has reported mixed quarterly results, with stronger-than-expected performance in the US offset by weaker international sales and a revenue outlook below analysts’ forecasts. The coffee chain said adjusted earnings reached 80 cents per share for the quarter ended September 27, compared with expectations of 72 cents. Revenue was $9.14 billion, below the $9.23 billion forecast. Starbucks’ net income attributable to the company rose to $677.2 million, or 59 cents per share, from $133.1 million, or 12 cents per share, a year earlier. Net revenue fell 4%, reflecting the shift in its China business to a joint venture model. The…

Todd Chrisley has said he worked briefly as an escort after describing how he was paid to have sex with an older woman when he was 18. The reality star discussed the experience during an interview on Bunnie XO’s Dumb Blonde Podcast, saying his first paid sexual encounter happened unexpectedly. Chrisley said he had moved from South Carolina to Los Angeles and was working at a Cheesecake Factory on the city’s west side in 1986. He recalled receiving an $800 tip from a group of women he had served. He initially believed the money was simply a generous tip. He…

Tottenham forward Mathys Tel has assembled a six-person support team to aid his development and maintain his fitness while he continues to seek regular first-team opportunities. The 21-year-old Frenchman is working with individual attacking and defensive coaches, a video analyst, a fitness coach, a personal chef and a nutritionist outside Tottenham’s usual training programme. Mathys Tel’s six-person support team One of the coaches focuses on attacking movement, finishing and Tel’s effectiveness in the final third. The other works on his defensive positioning and work rate. A video analyst studies match footage with the forward, helping to identify areas for improvement…

St Paul is putting $300,000 towards preserving its Evie electric car-share service after the scheme shut down earlier this month, with Mayor Kaohly Her saying the city will seek a new operator for the fleet. The service, operated by non-profit HOURCAR, ended on October 15 after the organisation said rising insurance costs and reduced federal funding had made its operations financially unsustainable. Mayor Her said on Thursday that staff from several city departments had recovered and secured nearly 200 vehicles leased by St Paul within a week of the closure. The city is now preparing to issue a request for…

Australian basketball player Izzy Borlase has the chance to feature in a WNBA winner-takes-all decider after the Atlanta Dream defeated Golden State in game six. The victory kept the Dream’s hopes alive and set up a decisive contest, with Borlase’s team now one game from advancing.