Facebook sued for monopoly

Facebook, the world’s biggest and most powerful social media operation, is being sued by the federal government and 40 states alleging an illegal monopoly.

The Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday announced that by buying up rival companies Facebook was acting in restraint of trade and would be sued. Regulators in 40 states pursue separate legal action with a similar purpose, according to The New York Times.

The triggering events appear to be Facebook’s acqusition of Instagram ($1 billion in 2012) and WhatsApp ($19 billion in 2014), which officials allege eliminate competition. Facebook has several hundred million users and has an estimated worth of over $800 billion.

Conservative and liberals have expressed concern over the power and influence of technological titans such as Facebook, Google, Amazon, Apple and Microsoft.

The News: Corona virus spike across the USA

• Coronavirus cases continued to spike across the United States on Wednesday, adding around 200,000 cases, according to United Press International. John Hopkins University reported 215,000 cases on Tuesday with over 2,500 deaths. Over 3,000 deaths were reported on Wednesday
• President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he would ask the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn election results in four “battleground” states won by Joe Biden in November. Without producing evidence of fraud, the legal action bases its case on political polling, which indicates that many Americans doubt the outcome of the election, with objections centering on mail-in voting.
• Wall Street took a bearish tumble on Wednesday, with all three major stock indexes dropping. The Dow Jones Average was down 105.07 points and the S&P 500 fell by 29.42 points. The Nasdaq sunk the most, losing 243.82.

The Weather: The OC will be coolish

The West Orange County area will see typical autumn weather the rest of this week and into the weekend, according to the National Weather Service.  Skies will be somewhat cloudy through Friday, turning to mostly sunny by Saturday. Highs will be in the low- to mid-60s, warming to 71 on Sunday. Overnight lows are forecast for the 40s. In the coastal area, a high surf advisory will be in place through Thursday. Highs will range in the low 60s to high 50s during the day. Overnight highs will go from 51 to 47.

Sports: King James crowned by SI

LeBron James, who not only won NBA titles with three different teams but was also a prominent advocate for racial justice, was named Sports Illustrated’s Sportsman of the Year. He has championship rings with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat and the Los Angeles Lakers, the last coming this year. The NBA, by the way, will start its 2020-21 season on Dec. 22.