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How To Get Your Share: Facebook Users Can Now Apply For Part Of $725M Settlement How To Get Your Share: Facebook Users Can Now Apply For Part Of $725M Settlement
How To Get Your Share: Facebook Users Can Now Apply For Part Of $725M Settlement Many Facebook users may soon have some money headed their way. Those who had an active account on Facebook anytime between May 2007 and December 2022 can now apply to receive a share of parent company Meta's $725 million settlement. The lawsuit alleged that Facebook permitted the former United Kingdom-based political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica to access about 87 million users' personal information during the 2016 presidential campaign. Facebook users during that time frame can apply for the funds online now or by mailing their forms by Friday, Aug. 25. The claim form and general …

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by Joe Lombardi
Police & Fire
Threat Leads To 'Hold In Place' For Hudson Valley High School Threat Leads To 'Hold In Place' For Hudson Valley High School
Threat Leads To 'Hold In Place' For Hudson Valley High School Students at a Hudson Valley high school were held in the auditorium or on buses following a rumor that potentially threatening information was posted online. The incident took place in Dutchess County at the Roy C Ketcham High School at 99 Myers Corners Road in Wappingers Falls. According to Superintendent Dr. Dwight Bonk, of the Wappinger Central School District, administration officials were made aware of a rumor that a student was posting potentially threatening information on social media.  Administrators, along with the School Resource Officer and other officers from the Dutchess…

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by Kathy Reakes
Police & Fire
Teen Gang Assault: 5 Suspects Accused Of Repeatedly Beating 16-Year-Old In Hudson Valley Teen Gang Assault: 5 Suspects Accused Of Repeatedly Beating 16-Year-Old In Hudson Valley
Teen Gang Assault: 5 Suspects Accused Of Repeatedly Beating 16-Year-Old In Hudson Valley Five Hudson Valley teens have been charged with allegedly repeatedly beating a 16-year-old causing bleeding from his mouth and nose. The incident took place in Ulster County near the entrance to the Berme Road Park in Ellenville. After the teen was able to break away and run, the five continued to follow him as he fled the park and beat him again at two other locations including at 244 Canal St., said Chief Phillip Mattracion, of the Ellenville Police. Two Good Samaritans stopped and screamed at the attackers, who then fled the scene. The two helpers then transported the victim to get help…

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by Kathy Reakes
Police & Fire
YouTube Takes Down 'Violent, Graphic' Video Posted By Police Department In Westchester YouTube Takes Down 'Violent, Graphic' Video Posted By Police Department In Westchester
YouTube Takes Down 'Violent, Graphic' Video Posted By Police Department In Westchester A police department in Westchester ran into trouble with YouTube after the company removed a video posted by officers that they deemed was too violent.  The video-sharing website sent an email to Yonkers Police on Sunday, March 12 notifying them that it had removed a video posted by the department in 2021 that was in violation of YouTube's violent or graphic content policy.  The email, which was shared by the department on social media, said the video that had been removed had been titled "Yonkers Police arrest, charge 14 gang members in violent North Broadway assault" and that it had brok…

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by Ben Crnic
Schools
Students At HS In Hudson Valley Impersonated Administrators, Police In Racist Videos, BOE Says Students At HS In Hudson Valley Impersonated Administrators, Police In Racist Videos, BOE Says
Students At HS In Hudson Valley Impersonated Administrators, Police In Racist Videos, BOE Says Several students at a high school in the Hudson Valley used artificial intelligence to impersonate both school district administrators and police in racist videos on social media, officials said. The videos were created by students in Putnam County who go to Carmel High School, the Carmel Central School District's Board of Education announced on Wednesday afternoon, Feb. 15.  Both Carmel Central School District administrators and members of the Putnam County Sheriff's Office were impersonated in the videos, which contained inappropriate and racist content and were posted on TikTok…

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by Ben Crnic
News
IP Address Led Cops To Accused Child Rapist From Capital Region IP Address Led Cops To Accused Child Rapist From Capital Region
IP Address Led Cops To Accused Child Rapist From Capital Region An accused child rapist from the region on the run from police was finally tracked down with the help of technology, authorities said. Columbia County resident, Jamel Brandow, age 40, of Hudson, was arrested on a bench warrant Tuesday, Feb. 7, following a joint investigation by the Hudson Police Department and the US Marshal’s New York/New Jersey Regional Task Force. Brandow had been on the run since December 2021, when he failed to appear in Columbia County Court on four counts of first-degree rape: intercourse with person less than 11 years old, according to police. Detectives eventually…

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by Michael Mashburn
Schools
'Diverse' Snowman Post Lands NY School District In Hot Water 'Diverse' Snowman Post Lands NY School District In Hot Water
'Diverse' Snowman Post Lands NY School District In Hot Water A school district in New York is apologizing after a Facebook post about a snowman sparked allegations of racism. In a now-deleted post on Tuesday, Jan. 31, Greene County’s Coxsackie-Athens Central School District included a photo of three students standing next to a noticeably dirty snowman. The caption reads, “Today’s CE Fourth Grade Playground Fun! This snowman is just as diverse as our students!” The Coxsackie-Athens Central School District apologized over a Facebook post about a "diverse" snowman that sparked allegations of racism.Coxsackie-Athens Central School District It didn’…

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by Michael Mashburn
News
Westchester Sex Offender Shares Child Porn On Social Media, Gets Years In Prison Westchester Sex Offender Shares Child Porn On Social Media, Gets Years In Prison
Westchester Sex Offender Shares Child Porn On Social Media, Gets Years In Prison An already-registered sex offender from Westchester County was sentenced to years in prison for sharing child pornography on social media.  Yonkers resident Demetrious Kotopoulos, age 41, was sentenced to three to six years in state prison for sharing and possessing child pornography, Westchester County District Attorney Miriam Rocah announced on Tuesday, Jan. 31.  Kotopoulos, who was already on probation for a prior sex offense conviction, uploaded a file of a nude child engaged in sexual conduct to the social media messaging platform Discord on two occasions between March 2…

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by Ben Crnic
News
Hudson Valley Youth Being Extorted On Social Media, Police Say Hudson Valley Youth Being Extorted On Social Media, Police Say
Hudson Valley Youth Being Extorted On Social Media, Police Say Police in the Hudson Valley are warning parents of a group that is targeting youth on social media for suggestive photos and then blackmailing them for cash.  The Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office reports the investigation into multiple cases of local youths being extorted via social media over the past week, said Capt. John Watterson of the Dutchess County Sheriff's Office.  Watterson said the extortion begins when the perpetrator befriends the child posing as someone their age on social media, then at some point asks the child to share explicit photos of themselves…

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by Kathy Reakes
News
Nextdoor App's 'Unauthorized' Letters To Neighbors Irk NY Woman Nextdoor App's 'Unauthorized' Letters To Neighbors Irk NY Woman
Nextdoor App's 'Unauthorized' Letters To Neighbors Irk NY Woman A New York woman is none too happy with the social media site Nextdoor after claiming the company “hacked” her name to advertise its services. Columbia County resident Celeste Alexander, of Ghent, recently discovered that Nextdoor has been sending out letters to her neighbors, inviting them to join the site, according to a post in the Facebook group Chatham New York Community Board. The letters appear to come directly from Alexander and are signed, “Your neighbor, Celeste Alexander.” They also mention what street she lives on. “I did not send letters and I didn’t authorize the use of m…

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by Michael Mashburn
News
Here's Why Hudson Valley's Own Jimmy Fallon Is Taking Time To Show He's Not Dead Here's Why Hudson Valley's Own Jimmy Fallon Is Taking Time To Show He's Not Dead
Here's Why Hudson Valley's Own Jimmy Fallon Is Taking Time To Show He's Not Dead Jimmy Fallon is alive and well, despite what you may have seen on Twitter. Alarm bells rippled across the social media platform on Tuesday, Nov. 15, after the hashtag #RIPJimmyFallon began trending, leading many to believe the 48-year-old Tonight Show host and former Saturday Night Live cast member had died. Naturally, the hoax hashtag spread like wildfire on Twitter. Perhaps nobody was more shocked about the purported death than Fallon himself, a Hudson Valley native who grew up in Ulster County, in Saugerties, and was, by all accounts, very much still alive. At 9:34 p.m., Fallon poste…

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by Michael Mashburn
News
Hudson Valley Man Charged With Giving Indecent Material To Minors, Police Say Hudson Valley Man Charged With Giving Indecent Material To Minors, Police Say
Hudson Valley Man Charged With Giving Indecent Material To Minors, Police Say A Hudson Valley man has been charged with the dissemination of indecent material to minors following a lengthy investigation, according to police. Dutchess County resident Hayez D. Prelich, age 25 of Pine Plains, was arrested on Wednesday, Nov.2, in New York City. According to Dutchess County Sheriff's Capt. John Watterson, early in 2022 Prelich was charged with disseminating indecent material to minors, a felony, by the Sheriff’s Office Detective Bureau.  After being charged Prelich failed to appear for his court appearances, after which a warrant was issued for his ar…

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by Kathy Reakes