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Apparition said:
A Toyota subsidiary will pay $1.6 billion in a U.S. emissions scandal
Hino Motors employees tampered with tens of thousands of emissions tests

The Japanese automaker was charged with conspiracy to commit fraud in U.S. federal court in Detroit for unlawfully selling more than 105,000 heavy-duty diesel engines into the U.S. between 2010 and 2022 that failed to meet emission standards, according to court documents. It made about $1.087 billion from its actions.

The misconduct first came to light in March 2022, when employees were revealed to have tampered with test results on engines used in more than 643,000 vehicles, including tens of thousands subject to a recall. Toyota removed Hino from a major Japanese truck consortium, and four officials, including three executives overseeing production and compliance, resigned.

A committee commissioned to investigate the scandal blamed it on an environment in which workers were forced to meet a strict pace of work and engineers felt they couldn’t challenge their bosses. A poor work environment was also found at Toyota’s Daihatsu subsidiary as part of an investigation into its recent safety scandal that tormented the Japanese auto industry last year.

“Hino’s actions led to vast amounts of excess air pollution and were an egregious violation of our nation’s environmental, consumer protection and import laws,” Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim said in a statement.

As part of its agreement to resolve multiple civil and criminal allegations, Hino agreed to plead guilty to engaging in a multi-year conspiracy and serve a five-year probation, during which it will be prevented from importing diesel engines into the U.S. The deal is awaiting approval by a federal judge in Michigan.

Hino ran afoul of several federal agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency, the FBI, and the Department of Transportation, along with the state of California. The settlement includes a criminal penalty of $521.76 million, $442.5 million in civil penalties, and $236.5 million to resolve claims brought by California.

In October, Hino booked a loss $230 billion yen, or about $1.54 billion, to cover the expected costs.

“This resolution is a significant milestone toward resolving legacy issues that we have worked hard to ensure are no longer a part of Hino’s operations or culture,” Hino CEO Satoshi Ogiso said in a statement, adding that the automaker has enacted several company-wide reforms to prevent future misconduct.

“We commit to moving forward as a company that can be of service to society,” Ogiso said.

https://qz.com/toyota-hino-motors-engine-emissions-fraud-scandal-1851740925
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/toyotas-truck-division-hino-pay-164030484.html
Click to expand...

Well fuck.

"It made about $1.087 billion from its actions."

"The settlement includes a criminal penalty of $521.76 million, $442.5 million in civil penalties, and $236.5 million to resolve claims brought by California."

So if it wasn't for California imposing their own fine on top of what the feds fined, they'd have still been allowed to profit off this?
 
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lBasket said:
Well fuck.

"It made about $1.087 billion from its actions."

"The settlement includes a criminal penalty of $521.76 million, $442.5 million in civil penalties, and $236.5 million to resolve claims brought by California."

So if it wasn't for California imposing their own fine on top of what the feds fined, they'd have still been allowed to profit off this?
Click to expand...

Are you really surprised?
 
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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14292197/shock-end-nautica-malone-arizona-bikini-beans.html

Shocking end for 'pervert' who was shamed by bikini barista for flashing her at drive-thru​

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An alleged pervert reportedly took his own life after a bikini barista shamed him for flashing her in a drive-thru in Arizona.

Nautica Malone, 27, was caught in a Bikini Beans drive-thru with no pants on in Tempe, Arizona on January 8, a video filmed by a manager showed.

On Saturday, Malone killed himself by shooting himself in the head, according to the medical examiner's report.

Malone had arrived to the drive-thru and was approached by an employee who noticed he did not have on pants and informed a manager, police said, according to TMZ.

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When he reached the drive-thru window, he was still pant-less when he met the manager, who began filming their interaction.

'Hi, how are you? Have you been here before,' the female manager asked him.

Malone looked confused before replying: 'Uh, yeah.'

The manager drew close enough to the car to show viewers Malone's naked lower half, before saying: 'You need to leave, unacceptable.'

Malone quickly sped away in his Dodge Challenger, taking a right out of the parking lot, as the manager told an employee to 'call 911.'

The manager told police Malone was masturbating when he pulled up to the window, TMZ reported.

Malone's family allegedly showed up to the coffee shop on Saturday and were 'aggressive' to staff, claiming the young man had killed himself 'over the incident,' police told TMZ.

Bikini Beans owner Ben Lyles told TMZ: 'Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of the individual involved during this difficult time. This was an unfortunate and tragic situation.

'As a company, the safety our employees is always our top priority. In this case, an individual chose to commit a crime at one of our locations. We take incidents like this very seriously and remain committed to protecting our team and maintaining a safe and respectful environment.'

This isn't the first time bikini baristas have been harassed by unruly customers taking advantage of the scantily-clad workers.

A Seattle barista smashed a customer's windshield after he got out of his car and threw a large drink at her.

Emma Lee, 23, owner of a Taste of Heaven Espresso in South Seattle, was serving a man a 32-ounce coffee and 24-ounce water on Tuesday when the pair had a heated exchange about the $22 price.

After she told the customer that 'you don't get to name your own price,' he hit back saying, 'Nobody is going to miss you' in June of last year.

Surveillance video captured the moment the irate customer then got out of his vehicle, and tossed the large drinks at Lee before she took out a hammer, and smashed his windshield through the drive-thru window.

'It was a threat,' Lee said, who said she felt in danger. 'It's okay for him to be outraged about the price of his drinks, enough to assault me, but it's not appropriate for me to respond?'

 
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Frisky husband and wife lawyers are suspended after woman changed into 'very provocative' nightgown and straddled babysitter to entice her into sex
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...yers-suspended-sexual-assault-babysitter.html

A Florida couple, both of whom were practicing lawyers, have been disbarred for sexually assaulting their child's babysitter in March 2023.
Gabriel and Sarah Warren, both 40, received interim felony suspensions as attorneys from the state Supreme Court after they pleaded no-contest to charges related to the sexual assault in Leon County Circuit Court, according to the Miami Herald.

The couple were arrested on March 12, 2023, each on a charge of sexual battery.
Arrest documents obtained by the Miami Herald claimed they used a babysitter for years who had come to think of them as 'parental figures.'
The babysitter explained to Tallahassee police how the Warrens would allow her boyfriend to join her while babysitting, and when the couple would return home from their date nights, she, her boyfriend and the Warrens would share wine and converse.
But the babysitter and her boyfriend had broken up, and she was left babysitting alone on March 10, 2023, as the Warrens enjoyed a Friday night date, the victim claimed.
She said that when they returned to their four-bedroom, three-and-a-half bathroom home, Sarah was 'super drunk' and changed into a 'very provocative' nightgown without underwear and took a seat on the couch next to her.
Soon, Sarah started to straddle the babysitter and kiss her while telling her the couple had been sexually desiring her for months, according to a probable cause affidavit.

When the babysitter tried to break free, she claimed, Gabriel, Sarah or both, would block her or push her back down to the couch.
The babysitter said she 'told Sarah several times she did not want to stay' - to which 'Sarah told Gabriel to make her want to stay.'
At that point, the probable cause affidavit says, Gabriel began touching the babysitter through her leggings.
'[The babysitter] believed Gabriel noticed [she] was uncomfortable and would back off, but Sarah would tell him to do things and he would, including kissing and touching her in several places,' the affidavit reads.
Eventually, the couple let the babysitter collect her things and leave.

She then allegedly texted her ex 'SOS' and called a family friend, who later told police he could tell she was hyperventilating, according to the Tallahassee Democrat.
At first, the girl said she 'felt like she could not report the incident because Gabriel and Sarah are both lawyers, and she also did not want to jeopardize the relationship with their [child] for whom she babysits,' the affidavit said.
But after a few days, the babysitter reported the incident to police and turned over her clothes as evidence, WCTV reports.
DNA found on the clothes then matched that of the Warrens.

By June 2024, however, both Sarah and Gabriel entered pleas to a lesser charge of unlawful use of a two-way wireless communications device to facilitate or further the commission of a felony.
They could have been sentenced to at least 15 years in prison and forced to register as sex offenders if they were found guilty of sexual battery, but as part of the plea deal, the couple were sentenced to just 15 days in county jail followed by four years on state probation.
They just had to publicly apologize to the victim, according to the Democrat.

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94192663-14294403-image-a-12_1737074443275.jpg
 
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FTC bans GM from sharing driving data to settle claims that the automaker sold data without consent​


https://apnews.com/article/ftc-gm-driving-data-insurers-a555abb56a0d5f31afa9b73c3eb48287


General Motors will be banned for five years from disclosing data that it collects from drivers to consumer reporting agencies as part of a settlement with the government to resolve claims that the automaker shared such data without consumers’ permission.

GM and subsidiary OnStar, which operates a roadside assistance service, will also be banned from sharing drivers’ precise geolocation and other data, and they will be required to provide more transparency and choice over data linked to how consumers use their vehicles, according to a proposed order released by the Federal Trade Commission on Thursday.

In its complaint, the FTC alleged that Detroit-based GM used a misleading enrollment process to get consumers to sign up for OnStar’s services and its Smart Driver feature, which the automaker touted as a tool to help drivers assess their driving habits.
The agency also claims the automaker failed to clearly disclose to consumers that it would collect data on their precise location and driving behavior, and then sell it to third parties.

GM sold the data, including every instance when a driver was speeding or driving late at night, to consumer reporting agencies, which used it to compile credit reports and, ultimately, provided it to insurance companies that used the data to set their rates, the FTC claims.

“GM monitored and sold people’s precise geolocation data and driver behavior information, sometimes as often as every three seconds,” said FTC Chair Lina Khan. “With this action, the FTC is safeguarding Americans’ privacy and protecting people from unchecked surveillance.”


The automaker acknowledged the settlement agreement with the FTC in a statement on its website Thursday, noting that its Smart Driver offering was discontinued last year across all GM vehicles and unenrolled all customers. GM also said it ended its “third-party telematics relationships” with LexisNexis and data broker Verisk Analytics.

The FTC launched its investigation after two U.S. senators called on the agency last July to look into allegations that GM and other automakers were sharing drivers’ data with data brokers.
 
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And apparently more automakers are being scrutinized:


EXCLUSIVE: Red state sues insurer for using customer data to build ‘world’s largest driving behavior database'​

State accuses Allstate of secretly using driving data from over 45 million Americans to build a database consisting of 'trillions of miles' worth of data​

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/ex...uild-worlds-largest-driving-behavior-database\

Published January 13, 2025 9:59am EST

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing Allstate insurance company for allegedly illegally collecting, using and selling the driving behavior data of over 45 million Americans.

Paxton filed the suit in the District Court for Montgomery County, Texas, on Monday morning. In the suit, he accuses Allstate, and its subsidiary data analytics company "Arity," of secretly using driving data from over 45 million Americans’ mobile devices, in-car devices and vehicles to build the "world’s largest driving behavior database," consisting of "trillions of miles" worth of data.

"Our investigation revealed that Allstate and Arity paid millions of dollars to install Allstate’s tracking software," Paxton said in a Monday statement. "The personal data of millions of Americans was sold to insurance companies without their knowledge or consent in violation of the law. Texans deserve better and we will hold all these companies accountable."

A representative for Allstate Corporation, however, claims that its data collection system "fully complies with all laws and regulations." Allstate is one of the largest auto, home and life insurance companies in the U.S. It is headquartered in Glenview, Illinois.

The suit said that in 2015, Allstate and Arity developed and integrated software into several third-party apps so that when a consumer downloaded these apps onto their phone, they unwittingly downloaded the tracking software. Once Allstate’s software was downloaded onto a customer’s device, they could monitor the consumer’s location and movement in real time.

According to the suit, the company used the driving data to justify raising customers’ insurance rates and further profited by selling the data to third parties, including other insurance companies.

"Defendants [Allstate and Arity] never informed consumers about their extensive data collection, nor did Defendants obtain consumers’ consent to engage in such data collection," the suit said. "Finally, Defendants never informed consumers about the myriad of ways Defendants would analyze, use, and monetize their sensitive data."

Paxton said that because tens of millions of Americans, including millions of Texans, were never informed about their driving data being gathered, Allstate’s data-gathering scheme violates the Texas Data Privacy and Security Act, the Data Broker Law, and the Texas Insurance Code’s prohibition on unfair and deceptive acts and practices in the insurance business.

He is asking the court to permanently block Allstate from continuing to gather and use customers’ data and to impose thousands of dollars in civil penalties per customer.Meanwhile, a representative for Allstate Corporation told Fox News Digital that its data collection system is completely legal.

"Arity helps consumers get the most accurate auto insurance price after they consent in a simple and transparent way that fully complies with all laws and regulations," the representative said.

According to Paxton, this suit is the first enforcement action ever filed by a state attorney general to enforce a comprehensive data privacy law.

Fox News Digital reached out to Allstate but did not immediately receive a response.
 
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Asteroid? Nope, It’s Elon Musk’s Tesla Roadster Cruising Through Space​


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Less than a day after astronomers announced the discovery of a new asteroid, they issued a correction. The space-faring object wasn’t a space rock after all, they concluded. It was a car. And not just any car speeding through our galaxy, but a red Tesla Roadster belonging to Elon Musk.



Musk famously shot his personal vehicle into space on Feb. 6, 2018, when his company SpaceX first test-launched its Falcon Heavy, considered one of the world’s most powerful rockets. It took off with the Roadster aboard as payload headed toward Mars.


Nearly seven years later, on Jan. 2, the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center announced the discovery of an unusual asteroid designated 2018 CN41. The MPC said the asteroid was orbiting within 150,000 miles of Earth, closer than the moon’s orbit, meaning that it qualified for classification as a near-Earth object.

Then came the notice that the MPC was erasing the asteroid from the record because professional and amateur astronomers had identified it as Musk’s famous sports car. “The designation 2018 CN41 is being deleted and will be listed as omitted,” said the MPC, the global authority for identifying, designating and tracking the positions of minor planets, comets and irregular natural satellites. The center is located at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Mass.


Who First Saw 2018 CN41?​

A citizen scientist in Turkey first spotted the object formerly known as 2018 CN41 using software written to comb the MPC’s public archive of observations of objects. And while the “asteroid” remained classified as such only briefly, some professional space watchers expressed concern that it was misclassified at all. They say the error is emblematic of a growing problem, according to Astronomy.com’s Mark Zastrow, who writes that “the lack of transparency from nations and companies operating craft in deep space, beyond the orbits used by most satellites.”

“While objects in lower-Earth orbits are tracked by the U.S. Space Force, deeper space remains an unregulated frontier,” Zastrow says. That’s a potential problem because untracked objects could distract scientists from their efforts to protect Earth from potentially hazardous real asteroids, and even throw off statistical analyses of the threat they pose.

Musk’s Tesla Roadster grabbed much attention when it first launched into space with a suited mannequin named Starman sitting in the driver’s seat looking chill. “If all goes well, the Roadster will be in deep space for a billion years or so, if it doesn't blow up on ascent,” Musk tweeted at the time.

Where Is Musk’s Tesla Roadster Now?​

The all-electric Roadster was Tesla’s first car, produced from 2008 until 2012, with the delayed second-generation version of the vehicle yet to materialize. If you want to track the trajectory of Musk’s red ride, you can do it via whereisroadster.com. Earlier Tuesday, the site’s creator, programmer Ben Pearson, shared on X that the Roadster was 1.64 astronomical units from the sun, 2.57 AU from Earth and 3.16 AU from Mars. Fortunately, Pearson did not mistake the car for an asteroid.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/leslie...-musks-tesla-roadster-cruising-through-space/
 
Apparition said:

Asteroid? Nope, It’s Elon Musk’s Tesla Roadster Cruising Through Space​


View attachment 589494

Less than a day after astronomers announced the discovery of a new asteroid, they issued a correction. The space-faring object wasn’t a space rock after all, they concluded. It was a car. And not just any car speeding through our galaxy, but a red Tesla Roadster belonging to Elon Musk.



Musk famously shot his personal vehicle into space on Feb. 6, 2018, when his company SpaceX first test-launched its Falcon Heavy, considered one of the world’s most powerful rockets. It took off with the Roadster aboard as payload headed toward Mars.


Nearly seven years later, on Jan. 2, the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center announced the discovery of an unusual asteroid designated 2018 CN41. The MPC said the asteroid was orbiting within 150,000 miles of Earth, closer than the moon’s orbit, meaning that it qualified for classification as a near-Earth object.

Then came the notice that the MPC was erasing the asteroid from the record because professional and amateur astronomers had identified it as Musk’s famous sports car. “The designation 2018 CN41 is being deleted and will be listed as omitted,” said the MPC, the global authority for identifying, designating and tracking the positions of minor planets, comets and irregular natural satellites. The center is located at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Mass.


Who First Saw 2018 CN41?​

A citizen scientist in Turkey first spotted the object formerly known as 2018 CN41 using software written to comb the MPC’s public archive of observations of objects. And while the “asteroid” remained classified as such only briefly, some professional space watchers expressed concern that it was misclassified at all. They say the error is emblematic of a growing problem, according to Astronomy.com’s Mark Zastrow, who writes that “the lack of transparency from nations and companies operating craft in deep space, beyond the orbits used by most satellites.”

“While objects in lower-Earth orbits are tracked by the U.S. Space Force, deeper space remains an unregulated frontier,” Zastrow says. That’s a potential problem because untracked objects could distract scientists from their efforts to protect Earth from potentially hazardous real asteroids, and even throw off statistical analyses of the threat they pose.

Musk’s Tesla Roadster grabbed much attention when it first launched into space with a suited mannequin named Starman sitting in the driver’s seat looking chill. “If all goes well, the Roadster will be in deep space for a billion years or so, if it doesn't blow up on ascent,” Musk tweeted at the time.

Where Is Musk’s Tesla Roadster Now?​

The all-electric Roadster was Tesla’s first car, produced from 2008 until 2012, with the delayed second-generation version of the vehicle yet to materialize. If you want to track the trajectory of Musk’s red ride, you can do it via whereisroadster.com. Earlier Tuesday, the site’s creator, programmer Ben Pearson, shared on X that the Roadster was 1.64 astronomical units from the sun, 2.57 AU from Earth and 3.16 AU from Mars. Fortunately, Pearson did not mistake the car for an asteroid.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/leslie...-musks-tesla-roadster-cruising-through-space/
Click to expand...

Tax dollars hard at work
 
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Local news reported that contractors tried to use cables to make the tower fall on a nearby grassy area. Instead, the tower twisted the wrong way and it fell toward residences.
Video at link
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/water-tower-narrowly-misses-house-001641281.html


Partner Sean Polachek said they were out at the site at 7 a.m. Tuesday and there were issues with the cables.

They originally tried to use cables to make it fall on a grassy area on the west side of the street, in between the Missouri Model Railroad Museum and the homes.

Instead, the tower twisted the wrong way and the legs buckled, causing it to fall toward the homes.

"If this tower was structurally sound, even slightly, that would not have happened," Polacheck said.
Click to expand...


You were contracted to do this because the tower was deemed structurally unsound.

They received nine contracting bids from companies across the region ranging from $40,000 to $402,000.

Gannon said Independence leaders picked Cornelius Wrecking at the lowest bid of $40,000.
Click to expand...


[the manager of a nearby property (NOT Polacheck); photo shows just how close this was to destroying people's homes, and whatever was inside]

2F62%2F9c33af99425c8cf454bbb72fef0e%2Fdale-shipman.jpg



Being the best is not easy.

Cornelius Wrecking provides complete demolition services for all types of demolition. Demolition projects we complete include Interior and exterior demolition, excavating projects for commercial, residential, and industrial properties.

Being the best is not easy, but our focus on safety, efficiency, and integrity allows Cornelius Wrecking to be the premier demolition and excavating company in Northwest Missouri.
Click to expand...
 
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