Nation and world news in brief for August 16
AI-powered deepfake nude websites are targeted in lawsuit
(TNS) — San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu announced Thursday that his office is suing the operators of 16 A.I.-powered “undressing” websites that help users create and distribute deepfake nude photos of women and girls.
ADVERTISING
The lawsuit, which city officials said was the first of its kind, accuses the websites’ operators of violating state and federal laws that ban deepfake pornography, revenge pornography and child pornography, as well as California’s unfair competition law. The names of the sites were redacted in the copy of the suit made public Thursday.
Chiu’s office has yet to identify the owners of many of the websites, but officials say they hope to find their names and hold them accountable.
12-year-old cheerleader dies after parents treat injuries with smoothies
(TNS) — A 12-year-old Texas girl died after her mother and stepfather attempted to treat her life-threatening injuries with smoothies and vitamins, according to police.
Miranda Sipps, a cheerleader at Jourdanton Jr. High School, was pronounced dead Monday night, Atascosa County Sheriff David Soward said Tuesday night in a Facebook post.
Her mother, Denise Balbaneda, and stepfather, Gerald Gonzales, were arrested Tuesday afternoon at their home in Christine, a tiny town about 45 miles south of San Antonio.
Sipps began suffering from life-threatening injuries on Aug. 8, according to police. However, Balbaneda and Gonzales did not take her to a hospital, despite her being “primarily unconscious” during that time.
Magnitude 3.9 quake hits Southern California
LOS ANGELES (TNS) — A magnitude 3.9 earthquake was reported Thursday morning at 9:39 Pacific time in Lake Elsinore, the latest modest temblor to shake Southern California.
The quake was felt over a large area from Los Angeles down to San Diego. There were no reports of damage or injuries.
The earthquake occurred less than a mile from Lakeland Village, two miles from Temescal Valley, six miles from Wildomar and six miles from Canyon Lake.
Southern California has been rattled by several quakes in recent days. On Monday, a 4.4 magnitude temblor near Highland Park hit. Last week, a quake near Bakersfield was widely felt.
Russia sentences US dual citizen to 12 years
(TNS) — Russian court sentenced Ksenia Karelina, a dual Russian-U.S. citizen, to 12 years in prison for treason over a donation she made to a charity that helps Ukraine.
The Sverdlovsk Regional Court announced the sentence Thursday after prosecutors had asked the judge to jail Karelina for 15 years. The Federal Security Service accused her in February of collecting funds for the Ukrainian army, Russia’s state-run Tass news service reported.
A resident of Los Angeles, Karelina, 33, was detained during a family visit to the Urals city of Yekaterinburg. She pleaded guilty on Aug. 7 and hopes to be released in a future prisoner exchange with the U.S., her lawyer said, according to Tass.
