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A federal judge joined critics in questioning Googles controversial $700 million settlement with all 50 US states over anticompetitive Android app store practices pointing out it would only provide small cash payouts to consumers and could protect the company from future lawsuits.

US District Judge James Donato described the Google deal, which would give as little as $2 per eligible user covered in the suit and also included a set of time-limited changes to its app store practices, as a bag of not great for the American public.

It looks to me just as a matter of basic math any single person isnt gonna be getting much, Donato said at a Monday hearing in California federal court, according to Bloomberg.

Donato, who has the final word over whether the proposed $700 million settlement can move forward, also harped on the fact that the agreement would essentially protect Google from facing additional lawsuits over its Play Store practices for seven years.

This seems remarkably broad for the compensation you are proposing to pay for these claims, Donato said.

Additionally, Donato questioned why the deals terms, which first surfaced in December, did not address Googles tactic of charging service fees of up to 30% on major developers within its Play store. The states lawsuit had argued the service fees result in higher prices and less choice for consumers.

Your agreement is telling these 127 million consumers that if they dont like Googles fees they cant sue? Donato reportedly told lawyers for the states.

At the conclusion of the hearing, the judge gave both Google and the states 30 days to explain why the deal should be approved.

The terms of Googles settlement with all 50 states and millions of US consumers first surfaced in December just days after the company suffered a stunning defeat in a related antitrust case raised by Fortnite maker Epic Games.

As part of the deal, Google contribute $630 million to a settlement fund for consumers who may have overpaid for apps as a result of its Play store practices. The remaining $70 million will go toward covering legal fees and penalties in individual states.

A Google spokesman declined to comment on the judge’s remarks and referred to the company’s blog post on the settlement last December.

“We’re pleased to reach an agreement that builds on that foundation and we look forward to making these improvements that will help evolve Android and Google Play for the benefit of millions of developers and billions of people around the world,” the company said at the time.

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney was one of the most vocal critics of the settlement describing the terms as an injustice to all Android users and developers and arguing the states could have successfully secured billions in damages had they taken the case to trial.

Donato, the presiding judge in both the Epic Games case and the states case, has been sharply critical of Googles tactics a trend that could haunt the company as both legal battles enter their final stages.

In December, Donato made headlines by publicly blasting Google for what he described as a disturbing effort to destroy key evidence it was ordered to preserve, including employee chat logs, during the Epic Games case.

Donato said he had never seen anything so egregious after viewing disturbing evidence that Google had used an auto-erase feature to delete the internal conversations.

While Google has denied wrongdoing, Donato said the companyswillful and intentional suppression of relevant evidence in this case is deeply troubling to me as an officer of the court.

This conduct is a frontal assault on the fair administration of justice. It undercuts due process. It calls into question just resolution of legal disputes. It is antithetical to our system, the judge added.

Donato said Google would face penalties that would be separate from any final rulings in the Epic case, where the judge is set to determine which business practices Google must discontinue after a jury found it was maintaining an illegal monopoly through its Play Store.

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Sports

Keys to the offseason: What’s next for the Bruins, Avs, other eliminated teams?

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Keys to the offseason: What's next for the Bruins, Avs, other eliminated teams?

The 2023-24 NHL regular season was an entertaining one, with races for playoff position, point and goal leaders, and major trophies all coming down to the bitter end.

But not every fan base got to enjoy all of it so much.

With eliminations piling up, it’s time to look ahead to the offseason. Clubs that didn’t quite hit the mark this season will use the draft, free agency and trades in an effort to be more competitive in 2024-25.

Read on for a look at what went wrong for each eliminated team, along with a breakdown of its biggest keys this offseason and realistic expectations for next season. Note that more teams will be added to this story as they are eliminated.

Note: Profiles for the Atlantic and Metro teams were written by Kristen Shilton, while Ryan S. Clark analyzed the Central and Pacific teams. Stats are collected from sites such as Natural Stat Trick, Hockey Reference and Evolving Hockey. Projected cap space per Cap Friendly. Dates listed with each team are when the entry was published.

Jump to a team:
ANA | ARI | BOS | BUF
CGY | CAR | CHI | COL
CBJ | DET | LA | MIN
MTL | NSH | NJ | NYI
OTT | PHI | PIT | SJ
SEA | STL | TB | TOR
VGK | WSH | WPG

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World

Ron Benjamin: Body of Israeli hostage kidnapped during cycling trip on 7 October found in Gaza, IDF says

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Ron Benjamin: Body of Israeli hostage kidnapped during cycling trip on 7 October found in Gaza, IDF says

The body of an Israeli hostage who was captured by Hamas militants while on a cycling trip has been recovered from Gaza, the Israeli military has said.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said Ron Benjamin, 53, was riding his bike in the Kibbutz Be’eri in Israel when he was taken hostage during the 7 October attack.

The group said he was a “family man who loved cycling” and that he “used to go out for a ride every Saturday, just as he did on that fateful Saturday when he was taken hostage”.

It added: “Ron loved traveling in Israel and around the world, and he loved music.​​”

The Israeli military said on Saturday that Mr Benjamin’s body was recovered by its forces operating in Gaza.

Chief military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Mr Benjamin was “brutally murdered by Hamas terrorists at the Mefalsim Intersection, and his body was kidnapped to Gaza”.

Mr Hagari said Mr Benjamin were found along with three other murdered hostages whose repatriation was announced on Friday.

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The remains of Itzhak Gelerenter, 56, Amit Buskila, 28, and Shani Louk, 22, were discovered in an overnight operation carried out by Israel’s military and intelligence agency Shin Bet, Mr Hagari said.

They were killed at the Nova music festival on the day of the Hamas attack.

The Israeli military, citing intelligence information, has said all four hostages were killed on 7 October.

They were among the 252 people seized by Hamas-led Palestinian gunmen during the attack.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow @SkyNews on X or subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.

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Business

Marks & Spencer’s website and app go down

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Marks & Spencer's website and app go down

Marks & Spencer’s website and app has not been working for several hours, with a message telling shoppers “you can’t shop with us right now”.

“We’re working hard to be back online as soon as possible,” it adds.

All the menus and images have disappeared apart from one showing a model in a green jacket.

Customers trying to use the app got the message: “Sorry you can’t shop through the app right now. We’re busy making some planned changes, but will be back soon.”

The site is understood to have been down for several hours.

Replying to one customer on X, the retailer said: “We’re experiencing some technical issues but we are working on it.”

M&S is the latest high street name to have technical issues – last month some Sainsbury’s shoppers had problems with their online orders.

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The outage comes a few days before M&S is expected to reveal a big jump in annual profits.

It’s been a successful year for the brand, with strong sales across the business following a turnaround plan that has included store closures and cost cutting.

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