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Amazon has just dropped prices across the board on various Apple iPad models for Black Friday , including the best deal we've ever seen on the new 2024 Apple iPad Pro. Right now the 11" model costs $849 (normally $999) and the 13" model costs $1099 (normally $1299). The new iPad Pro boasts a couple of significant upgrades over its predecessor, including a powerful M4 chip and, for the first time ever, a tandem OLED display. Black Friday iPad Pro Deals In our 2024 iPad Pro 11" M4 review , Jacqueline Thomas wrote, "For creative professionals, the 2024 iPad Pro is the most powerful tablet on the market and is going to shine if your work revolves around a touchscreen. For the rest of us, though, the iPad Pro is simply the most beautiful display you'll find in a tablet, with hardware that's powerful enough to be a top-end device for years to come." The 2024 iPad Pro is the best tablet on the market, iOS or otherwise, thanks to the new M4 processor which is both powerful and power efficient. Compared to the previous generation iPad M2, it performs about 20% better. However, the biggest update of the iPad Pro is not the M4 chip, but instead the tandem OLED panel which hadn't previously been seen on an Apple product. Tandem OLED is better than traditional OLED in two ways: (1) it's far brighter and (2) it's less prone to burn-in. If you're wondering why this technology hasn't found its way into TVs, the answer is simply because it's not cost effective at larger sizes. The iPad can get away with it because the 11" screen is much smaller, but that's also a major reason why the iPad Pro is priced considerably higher than the other iPads in Apple's 2024 lineup. More Apple iPad Deals for Black Friday If you're looking for other Apple devices, check out our Apple Black Friday hub with deals on AirPods, Watches, and more. Should You Wait Until Black Friday? Black Friday is the best opportunity to score some great deals on electronics, and Apple products are no exception. You might be wondering just how low these prices can go. Although we have no direct feedback from Apple themselves, we have years of our own historical price trends to back up our predictions. At this point, Black Friday is close enough that there's certainly no harm waiting. We might see as much as a $50 or even $100 price drop on the more expensive models like the iPad Air or iPad Pro. The iPad and iPad Mini might drop another $20 at most if retailers are feeling generous. If Amazon isn't your preferred vendor (or if it runs out of stock), I expect these deals to be available at Best Buy and Walmart as well. The Apple Store will also host its own Black Friday Sale, although these deals usually aren't nearly as good. Looking for more iPad resources? If you're not sure which iPad is best for you, we have an iPad guide which details which iPad is ideal for which use case. If you intend want to get an iPad for schoolwork, we have an iPad guide for students as well. If you're looking for options outside of iOS, check out the best Android tablets of 2024. Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
South Korean law enforcement officials have requested a court warrant to detain impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol. They are investigating whether his short-lived martial law decree earlier this month amounted to rebellion. The Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials, which is leading a joint investigation with police and military authorities into the power grab that lasted only a few hours, confirmed it requested the warrant on Monday. Investigators plan to question Mr Yoon on charges of abuse of authority and orchestrating a rebellion. Mr Yoon has dodged several requests by the joint investigation team and public prosecutors to appear for questioning and has also blocked searches of his offices. It is not clear whether the court will grant the warrant or whether Mr Yoon can be compelled to appear for questioning. Under the country’s laws, locations potentially linked to military secrets cannot be seized or searched without the consent of the person in charge and it is unlikely Mr Yoon will voluntarily leave his residence if he faces detainment. Mr Yoon’s presidential powers were suspended after the National Assembly voted to impeach him on December 14 over his imposition of martial law that lasted only hours but has triggered weeks of political turmoil, halted high-level diplomacy and rattled financial markets. His fate lies with the Constitutional Court, which has begun deliberations on whether to uphold the impeachment and formally remove Mr Yoon from office or reinstate him. Mr Yoon has defended the martial law decree as a necessary act of governance, describing it as a warning against the liberal opposition Democratic Party, which has been bogging down his agenda with its majority in the parliament. Parliament voted last week to also impeach Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who had assumed the role of acting president after Mr Yoon’s powers were suspended, over his reluctance to fill three Constitutional Court vacancies ahead of the court’s review of Mr Yoon’s case. The country’s new interim leader is Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok, who is also finance minister.
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From revisiting the political scandal that sparked a cultural reckoning in Canberra to a rich-lister’s unravelling, there were no shortage of court battles being waged — or defended — by the top end of town in 2024. We revisit some of the cases that dominated headlines and left us shocked, perplexed, and — at times — even entertained. Brittany Higgins defended a defamation action launched by Senator Linda Reynolds. Credit: Composite image/Holly Thompson Villain or victim? Reynolds v Higgins It was a story of an alleged rape in the halls of Parliament House and a covert political cover-up, and like all “fairytales”, it needed a villain. That was how WA Senator Linda Reynolds’ lawyer Martin Bennett began the five-week-long trial in her defamation suit against former staffer Brittany Higgins and her husband David Sharaz, the most high-profile case to go before WA’s civil courts in 2024. The former defence minister sued Higgins over social media posts accusing her of mishandling the former staffer’s alleged rape by Bruce Lehrmann in March 2019 — a claim that was later aired by the media and created a storm that led to Reynolds’ political demise. Loading Higgins fiercely defended the action on the basis her posts were true, but opted against taking the stand at the eleventh hour amid concerns for her health. The trial, which the pair mortgaged and sold their homes to pursue, pored over the events of 2019 in excruciating detail, dragged in high-profile figures — from former prime minister Scott Morrison to broadcaster Peta Credlin — and threw private texts into the public arena we imagine the parties would have preferred to remain private. It also spawned fresh evidence Reynolds now wants to use as a weapon in her bid to have Higgins’ $2.4 million compensation claim probed by the corruption watchdog. Lehrmann has maintained his innocence since his 2022 criminal trial was aborted due to juror misconduct, but a Federal Court judgment found, on the balance of probabilities, that he did rape Higgins. Lehrmann is now appealing that ruling. Justice Paul Tottle is expected to hand down a judgment in the court row in the New Year, but we suspect there won’t be any winners in this saga. Western Australia’s mining dynasty, of which the nation’s richest person Gina Rinehart is the most famous member, was embroiled in a court fight over the rights to the Hope Downs projects in the state’s iron-rich Pilbara region. Credit: Marija Ercegovac Gina Rinehart: 1, Bianca and John: 0 The high-stakes clash over the Hope Downs iron ore project , which pitted Australia’s richest person Gina Rinehart against two mining dynasties and her eldest children, occupied two floors of the Supreme Court for more than six months in 2023. And yet still, there was unfinished business in the battle for the multibillion-dollar asset. The case made headlines again in April, when Rinehart’s eldest children lost an eleventh-hour bid for 82 top secret documents their billionaire mother claimed were protected by legal privilege. The pair, who have been locked in a bitter battle with their mother over mining assets left behind by their pioneer grandfather Lang Hancock, believed the files might aid their pursuit for ownership of Rinehart-led Hancock Prospecting’s sprawling mining tenements in the state’s north-west. But Justice Natalie Whitby ruled the pair had insufficient evidence, lashing the handling of the case and its burden on the public justice system after revealing the court book spanned 6000 pages. “To say that the resources dedicated to these privilege claims was grossly disproportionate to the issues in the dispute is an understatement,” she wrote. Ouch... We’re still awaiting a judgment from Justice Jennifer Smith on the broader row. We hope Justice Smith is not spending the whole festive season “in the area of or contiguous to” her desk and what we imagine is a very lengthy draft judgment. Beleaguered Mineral Resources boss takes on media to keep court row quiet He gained a reputation as the uninhibited billionaire mining boss behind Mineral Resources’ meteoric rise, but it would be what Chris Ellison kept hidden that would be his downfall. Depressed lithium prices, sweeping cost cuts and a debt-laden balance sheet saw Ellison declare it the “shittiest time” to be a managing director in one newspaper interview. Loading Just a few months later, he would announce plans to vacate the top job, undone by an exposé in the Australian Financial Review detailing his involvement in an alleged decade-long tax evasion scheme. But as shareholders were demanding answers and the corporate regulator was beginning its own probe, Ellison’s lawyers were busy fighting to keep the media from undoing sweeping gag orders over documents filed in his now-settled row with a former contracts boss. The documents were central to the two-year court row MinRes, Ellison and self-proclaimed whistleblower Steven Pigozzo had been fighting on several fronts until inking a peace deal in July — which featured explosive allegations of misconduct. While a string of Pigozzo’s claims had been republished by the media, much of the case had been covered by suppression orders which were broadened when both parties asked that more than 16 legal documents be permanently removed from the case file. “The non-publication orders are sought to fortify matters raised previously about allegations that were not just irrelevant but scandalous,” Ellison’s lawyer told the court. WA Health, scientist ink top-secret stem cell patent peace deal She was the face of Royal Perth Hospital’s state-of-the-art cellular therapy facility, the Perth scientist behind a medical invention that saw her wheeled out by the health department’s publicity team to showcase its life-changing research. That was until the day of Dr Marian Sturm’s retirement in 2021, when the health service dragged her to court demanding compensation and that the licence agreement for the invention be torn up. The three-year medicine ownership battle came to an abrupt end in March after the East Metropolitan Health Service and Sturm’s company Isopogen inked a top-secret peace deal. The lawsuit centred around intellectual property rights to an improved method of manufacturing mesenchymal stromal cells used to treat inflammatory illnesses, which Sturm developed in 2007 and registered in her name and that of her capital-raising vehicle Isopogen. Sturm’s relationship with the EMHS soured amid claims she had breached her contract by asserting ownership over the medicine, which saw Isopogen, two former employees, the state’s own patents attorneys and its insurer embroiled in a bitter legal pursuit with the health service. The parties claimed they had reached a mutually acceptable, confidential settlement which provided a comprehensive framework for “an ongoing relationship”. A spokesperson for the health service told this masthead that gag order extended to how much this three-year sparring match cost the taxpayer. How convenient. Loading Vegan activist Tash Peterson, partner cop $280k bill in defamation row She’s not quite the “top end of town”, but we couldn’t take a look back at the biggest civil cases of 2024 without referencing the whopping damages bill handed to Perth’s most prominent animal rights activist. In November, Tash Peterson and her partner were ordered to pay $280,000 in damages to the owners of a Perth veterinary clinic for defamation after a bizarre dispute in 2021. The dispute, which was later circulated on social media, was sparked after Peterson and Jack Higgs spotted two cockatiels in a large cage at the front of Dr Kay McIntosh and Andrew McIntosh’s Bicton Veterinary Clinic. What unfolded was a bizarre tirade in which Peterson accused the clinic of “advertising animal slavery” — despite neither of the birds being able to survive in the wild — and of eating their own patients. Peterson and Higgs had claimed their tirade was justified as honest opinion, defending the content on the basis it was substantially true and a matter of public interest. But the part of the trial that managed to capture the most attention were revelations about just how deep Peterson’s pockets were, with the V-Gan Booty Pty Ltd entity behind her burgeoning OnlyFans account generating more than $380,000 in earnings in 2022 alone. We suspect this won’t be the last we see of Peterson. Get alerts on breaking news as happens. Sign up for our Breaking News Alert . Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. License this article Courts Perth Jesinta Burton – is a journalist with WAtoday, specialising in civil courts, business and urban development. Connect via Twitter or email . Most Viewed in National LoadingSTATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — In honor of those who have died, here is a compilation of obituaries posted on SILive . Viewing times and guest books can be seen here . Robert John (Bob) Moloughney, 82, a devoted husband, father, grandfather and uncle, died Saturday, Nov. 23 on Staten Island. The Jersey City native was married to his wife of 57 years, Kathy Murphy Moloughney. Bob graduated from Snyder High School in Jersey City and furthered his education at the Mechanics Institute in New York City, reads his obituary. “He dedicated 40 years of his career to Con Edison, where he retired as an Operating Supervisor in 2004. Bob was well-liked and respected by his colleagues and friends,” says his obituary, which can be read on SILive.com. RECOMMENDED • silive .com Staten Island obituaries for Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024 Nov. 23, 2024, 8:15 a.m. Staten Island bishop closes church doors to organizers of new, inclusive St. Patrick’s Parade Nov. 22, 2024, 5:30 a.m. Robert William Bennett, 72, a loving husband, father, grandfather and brother, passed away Nov. 17. Read the full obituary on SILive . Charlotte Byrne, 85, of Westerleigh, a loving mother, grandmother and aunt, passed away Nov. 16. Born in Polizzi Generosa, Italy, she came to Staten Island as a teenager and graduated from St. John Villa Academy. She met her husband, Gerald Byrne, at the Staten Island Catholic Club. She loved being surrounded by people and activities, planning and hosting parties and outings. She was an active participant in political, social and civic affairs and contributed greatly to the Staten Island community. Read the full obituary on SILive . Longtime Rosebank resident Elizabeth (Eileen) Ferrie passed away on Nov. 19 after a short illness. Born in Brooklyn, she moved to the “Warren Manor” section of Staten Island as a young girl. She began working at the bakery in the Staten Island Ferry Terminal before its destruction by fire. Over the years, she lent her skills to Richmond Dry Goods and Engles Clothing, both in Stapleton, as well as Charles Weland and General Hardware in Manhattan. From there, she worked at JC Penney’s, EJ Korvettes and Joseph Pisarri on Staten Island. Her expertise also found a place at General Heating and AC, Artcraft Fence and ABC Service Station. She concluded her fulfilling career as the medical records secretary at the Nina Eaton Center of United Cerebral Palsy of New York State, where her dedication left a lasting impact. Read the full obituary on SILive .City survives another year in oblivion
Donald Trump has a chance to become a true education presidentOnline predators are becoming increasingly resourceful in trolling media platforms where children gravitate, prompting an explosion in police case loads, says an officer who works for the RCMP Integrated Child Exploitation Unit in British Columbia. Data shows the problem spiked during COVID-19 when children began spending more time online — but rates did not wane as police anticipated after lockdowns ended. In B.C., they soared, more than tripling from 2021 to 2023. Australia is banning social media for those under 16. Is it a solution for Canada? Const. Solana Pare is now warning that child exploitation is likely here to stay, as a technological race between police and predators gains momentum. "Technology is becoming more and more available, and online platforms and social media sites are being used by children younger and younger, which provides an opportunity for predators to connect with them," Pare said in an interview. WATCH | Police urge parents to discuss online safety with their kids: Parents should talk to their kids early and often about online safety, RCMP say 6 months ago Duration 3:18 Police have seen a dramatic increase in online sextortion reports. Younger men and teens are being targeted, prompting the RCMP to raise the alarm. Numbers jumping nationally Police say child exploitation cases in B.C. went from about 4,600 in 2021 to 9,600 in 2022 to 15,920 reports last year. The upwards trend was seen nationally, too. Statistics Canada says the rate of online child sexual exploitation reported to police rose by 58 per cent from 2019 to 2022, and police data shows cases have continued to go up. 2 Canadian families join American parents in lawsuit against social media giants The RCMP's National Child Exploitation Crime Centre reported that from April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024, it received 118,162 reports of suspected online child sexual exploitation offences — a 15 per cent increase compared with the previous year. Online child sexual exploitation, Pare explained, includes offences such as sextortion, child luring and the creation or distribution of sexually explicit images of a minor. "We don't see these types of reports going away," Pare said. "We only see them increasing because the use of electronic devices and social media, and kids being online earlier and earlier is becoming more common. There's going to be more opportunity for predators to target children online." Monique St. Germain, general counsel for the Canadian Centre for Child Protection, said the most common type of child luring is communicating with a youth online in order get them to produce sexual abuse material. She said "the pandemic accelerated those types of cases, and it hasn't slowed down." "The tools (Canadian authorities) have to deal with this type of behaviour are inadequate for the scope and the scale of what's going on," she said. Rise of 'sextortion' Online exploitation gained international attention in 2015 in the case of Port Coquitlam, B.C., teenager, Amanda Todd, who died by suicide after being blackmailed and harassed online by a man for years, starting when she was 12. The month before the 15-year-old died, she uploaded a nine-minute video using a series of flash cards detailing the abuse she experienced by the stranger and how it had affected her life. It's been viewed millions of times. Carol Todd holds a photograph of her late daughter Amanda Todd signed by U.S. singer Demi Lovato with the words 'Stay Strong' in Port Coquitlam, B.C., on Oct. 5, 2013. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press) Dutch national Aydin Coban was extradited to Canada for trial and, in October 2022, he was convicted of charges including the extortion and harassment of Todd. Since then, the term "sextortion" has made its way into the vernacular as more cases come to light. Data Online child sexual exploitation is now at epidemic levels and that has police concerned Among them was Carson Cleland, a 12-year-old Prince George, B.C., boy who died by suicide in October 2023 after falling victim to the crime. In New Brunswick that same month, 16-year-old William Doiron took his own life after falling victim to a global sextortion scheme. WATCH | New Brunswick teen's death part of growing sextortion problem: How a tragic N.B. sextortion case is part of a global trend 11 months ago Duration 3:12 William Doiron took his own life in 2022 after facing threats that his explicit images would be shared online if he didn't pay a ransom. His mother is speaking out to try to bring awareness to the growing issue of sextortion. Mounties across Canada have issued news releases warning of increased cases in their communities, noting that the consequences for the victims can include self-harm and suicide. St. Germain said technology, such as artificial intelligence, is also becoming more user-friendly. "The existence of that technology and its ease of use and ready accessibility is a problem, and it is going to be an increasingly large problem as we move forward," she said. Liberals split online harms bill to postpone debate over policing hate speech Pare said police are also adapting to technological advancements in order to keep up with the ever-changing online landscape. "Police are constantly obtaining training on digital technologies to increase our knowledge and understanding of all the intricacies involving their use and how to capture any digital evidence," she said. Pare said the true rates of the crime are impossible to determine, but pointed to increased social awareness and legislation across North America around mandatory reporting of child abuse material from social media companies as a potential reason for the increase. It's not going undetected any longer, she said. "Additionally, there's been a lot of use in artificial intelligence to detect child exploitation materials within those platforms." Pare said "it's up to each individual platform" to ensure there is no child sexual abuse material on their sites or apps. "With mandatory reporting, it's putting the onus back on the electronic service providers to ensure they have measures in place to prevent this from happening, and if it is happening that it is being reported," she said. "That being said, there are times when things don't get located." Dutch man who sexually extorted B.C. teen Amanda Todd given 6-year sentence in Netherlands That is why the Canadian Centre for Child Protection has been advocating for the adoption of the Online Harms Bill that the federal government introduced in February, St. Germain said. "It's shocking that up until now, we've relied on companies to self regulate, meaning we've just relied on them to do the right thing," she said. "What we are seeing in terms of the number of offences and in terms of all the harm that is happening in society as a result of online platforms is completely tied to the decision not to regulate. We need to have rules in any sector, and this sector is no different." Canada 'really behind' The Online Harms Bill covers seven types of harms, from non-consensual sharing of intimate images to content that can be used to bully a child. Earlier this month, Justice Minister Arif Virani announced the Liberal government will split the bill into two parts: dealing with keeping children safe online, and combating predators and issues related to revenge pornography. "We are putting our emphasis and prioritization and our time and efforts on the first portion of the bill," Virani told reporters on Dec. 5. Social media companies can't be let 'off the hook' over deadly sextortion of kids, B.C. premier says Such measures would include a new Digital Safety Commission of Canada, which would compel social media companies to outline how they plan to reduce the risks their platforms pose to users, particularly minors. It would have the power to levy fines and evaluate companies' digital safety plans. St. Germain said such a split "makes sense," noting that most objections to the bill are related to changes to the Criminal Code and not measures around curbing harms to children. "There obviously are differences of opinion in terms of what is the best way forward, and what kind of regulatory approach makes sense, and who should the regulator be, but there does seem to be consensus on the idea that we need to do more in terms of protecting children online," she said, adding that the organization is still in support of the second half of the bill. She said the United Kingdom previously passed its own Online Safety Act that will come into effect in 2025, which includes requiring social media firms to protect children from content such as self-harm material, pornography and violent content. Failure to do so will result in fines. "Canada is really behind," she said. "The amount of information that has come out of the U.K., the amount of time and care and attention that their legislatures have paid to this issue is really quite remarkable, and we really hope that Canada steps up and does something for Canadian children soon." Provinces putting in their own measures In the absence of national legislation, provinces have filled the void. In January, B.C. enacted the Intimate Images Protection Act, providing a path for victims to have online photos, videos or deep fakes expeditiously removed. Individuals are fined up to $500 per day and websites up to $5,000 a day if they don't comply with orders to stop distributing images that are posted without consent. First orders issued under B.C.'s new intimate images act B.C.'s Ministry of Attorney General said that as of Dec. 11, the Civil Resolution Tribunal had received a total of 199 disputes under the Intimate Images Protection Act. It said the Intimate Images Protection Service had served more than 240 clients impacted by the non-consensual distribution of intimate images, adding that four awards of $5,000 each and one for $3,000 had been supplied as of mid-December. B.C. attorney general advises social media, adult-content sites to comply with intimate images act Nova Scotia, Manitoba, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Alberta and Saskatchewan have also enacted legislation targeting unauthorized distribution of intimate images. St. Germain said the use of provincial powers is also necessary, but it's not enough. "A piece of provincial legislation is going to be very difficult to be effective against multiple actors in multiple countries," she said, noting that online crime is borderless. "We need something bigger — more comprehensive. We need to use all tools in the tool box."
WASHINGTON (AP) — A machinists strike. Another safety problem involving its troubled top-selling airliner. A plunging stock price. 2024 was already a dispiriting year for Boeing, the American aviation giant. But when one of the company's jets crash-landed in South Korea on Sunday, killing all but two of the 181 people on board, it brought to a close an especially unfortunate year for Boeing. The cause of the crash remains under investigation, and aviation experts were quick to distinguish Sunday's incident from the company’s earlier safety problems. Alan Price, a former chief pilot at Delta Air Lines who is now a consultant, said it would be inappropriate to link the incident Sunday to two fatal crashes involving Boeing’s troubled 737 Max jetliner in 2018 and 2019. In January this year, a door plug blew off a 737 Max while it was in flight, raising more questions about the plane. The Boeing 737-800 that crash-landed in Korea, Price noted, is “a very proven airplane. "It’s different from the Max ...It’s a very safe airplane.’’ For decades, Boeing has maintained a role as one of the giants of American manufacturing. But the the past year's repeated troubles have been damaging. The company's stock price is down more than 30% in 2024. The company's reputation for safety was especially tarnished by the 737 Max crashes, which occurred off the coast of Indonesia and in Ethiopia less than five months apart in 2018 and 2019 and left a combined 346 people dead. In the five years since then, Boeing has lost more than $23 billion. And it has fallen behind its European rival, Airbus, in selling and delivering new planes. Last fall, 33,000 Boeing machinists went on strike, crippling the production of the 737 Max, the company's bestseller, the 777 airliner and 767 cargo plane. The walkout lasted seven weeks, until members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers agreed to an offer that included 38% pay raises over four years. In January, a door plug blew off a 737 Max during an Alaska Airlines flight. Federal regulators responded by imposing limits on Boeing aircraft production that they said would remain in place until they felt confident about manufacturing safety at the company. In July, Boeing agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud for deceiving the Federal Aviation Administration regulators who approved the 737 Max. Acting on Boeing’s incomplete disclosures, the FAA approved minimal, computer-based training instead of more intensive training in flight simulators. Simulator training would have increased the cost for airlines to operate the Max and might have pushed some to buy planes from Airbus instead. (Prosecutors said they lacked evidence to argue that Boeing’s deception had played a role in the crashes.) But the plea deal was rejected this month by a federal judge in Texas, Reed O’Connor , who decided that diversity, inclusion and equity or DEI policies in the government and at Boeing could result in race being a factor in choosing an official to oversee Boeing’s compliance with the agreement. Boeing has sought to change its culture. Under intense pressure over safety issues, David Calhoun departed as CEO in August. Since January, 70,000 Boeing employees have participated in meetings to discuss ways to improve safety.