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9ybet Bluesky, the X alternative, says it has ‘quadrupled’ its moderation teamhas expanded its moderation team as curious social media users, many of whom are seeking an alternative to , flock to the app. The official account for Bluesky's Trust & Safety team published a thread on Friday that shared details about its impersonation policy. The company said the policy has been updated to be more "aggressive," adding that "impersonation and handle-squatting accounts will be removed." "We have also quadrupled the size of our moderation team, in part to action impersonation reports more quickly. We still have a large backlog of moderation reports due to the influx of new users as we shared previously, though we are making progress," a post read. The company said that satire, fan, and parody accounts are allowed on Bluesky, but they must label themselves as such in the display name and bio for transparency. Identity churning — or changing an account's identity to mislead users — is prohibited on the app. "If you set up an impersonation account just to gain followers and switch to a different identity that is no longer impersonation to keep that account, your account will be removed," a post read. Bluesky also responded to users who have asked for more concrete verification methods. "We also hear your feedback: users want more ways to verify their identity beyond domain verification," a post read. "We're exploring additional options to enhance account verification, and we hope to share more shortly." Representatives for Bluesky did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider. Bluesky began as a Twitter project in 2019 but has gained traction recently as some social media users due to concerns over . X's approach to moderation faced criticism when Musk took control in 2022. After his arrival, Musk laid off content moderators and staffers on the moderation team. However, X's head of business operations told Bloomberg in January that it planned to hire 100 employees tasked with content moderation and build a in Austin. While Bluesky is still chasing X's success, it could challenge , Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg's own Twitter knockoff. Bluesky announced in October that it had over 13 million users. One month later, told Business Insider that it had "blown past" its user growth projects and had surpassed 21 million users. The COO said the company had to acquire more servers to keep operations running smoothly. Read the original article onJ&K govt refutes claim about cancellation of BPL ration cards

A political storm erupted within the National Conference as a protest led by MP Aga Ruhullah Mehdi over reservation policies sparked a war of words among party leaders. The aftermath of his bold demonstration has left the party deeply divided, with sharp exchanges now taking center stage. National Conference legislator Salman Sagar, speaking at the party’s headquarters in Srinagar, distanced the NC from Ruhulah’s actions, emphasizing that the protest was neither organized nor supported by the party. “It was not a protest of the National Conference. Not a single leader from NC participated,” Sagar stated, accusing Ruhullah of acting independently. Sagar described Ruhullah’s participation as a breach of party discipline and a damaging act, calling the protest “drama and theatrics” orchestrated by detractors to tarnish the party’s image. He reassured that the NC remains committed to resolving the reservation issue under Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s leadership and expressed support for the affected students. Salman said that the party only organises protests after instructions from senior leaders such as Dr Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah, or after directives from the general secretary’s office. “Such protests are not organised independently by individuals. They must be authorised by the party leadership. What happened yesterday was entirely an individual action and not a National Conference event,” he said. “It was a gathering of our adversaries, of our enemies. Unfortunately, one of our MPs was present there, giving them an opportunity to exploit the situation,” Salman said, adding that such actions inadvertently strengthen the position of political rivals like the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He also took a dig at political opportunism, stating that the protest gave a platform to individuals who have no real stake in the issue. “People with no mandate, those who have been rejected by the public with barely 200 votes, were speaking on behalf of thousands or even millions. This kind of behavior undermines genuine efforts,” Salman said. “Who are you sitting with? With our enemies, who look for opportunities to turn our good work into a disadvantage,” he said. Salman expressed concern about the damage such actions could inflict on the party’s credibility and unity. “The National Conference is a very large party, and small incidents or dirty politics won’t affect us. But actions like these create unnecessary internal strife. We have faith that under Omar Abdullah’s leadership, the aspirations of the open merit category will be addressed through the reservation policy,” he said. Salman also questioned the role of those who organised and participated in the protest. “If genuine stakeholders had been engaged, it would have been meaningful. But this was clearly about internal issues and political point-scoring,” he said. The controversy deepened with Aga Ruhullah’s post on X formerly Twitter), where he shared Malcolm X’s quote contrasting the “House Negro” and the “Field Negro,” seemingly portraying himself as the latter. The post read, in part, “Back during slavery... you still have house Negroes and field Negroes. I’m a field Negro,” which many interpreted as a rebuke to his critics. Omar Abdullah’s post on X, after meeting a delegation of representatives on Monday, also hinted at his disapproval of Aga Ruhullah’s involvement in the demonstration. “Today I met the representatives of the Open Merit Students Association. The beauty of democracy is the right to be heard & dialogue in a spirit of mutual cooperation. I have made certain requests of them & given them a number of assurances,” he wrote, adding that this this channel of communication will remain open without any ‘intermediaries’ or ‘hangers-on’. The tweet, while making a commitment to resolving the students’ concerns, appeared to be a subtle critique of Ruhullah’s role in organizing the protest, signaling possible friction within the party. Omar Abdullah also tweeted lines from Rudyard Kipling’s poem ‘If,’ apparently emphasizing composure and resilience in the face of blame and criticism, signalling an apparent attempt to downplay the tensions. However, Ruhullah’s Malcolm X reference took a more confrontational tone. By aligning himself with the “field Negro,” Malcolm X’s metaphor for those resisting oppression, Ruhullah drew a clear line between himself and what he implied were “house Negroes”—a term historically associated with those complicit in maintaining oppressive systems. Political observers have noted the potency of Ruhullah’s rhetoric in challenging both internal and external critics. “He is positioning himself as a voice of the oppressed, refusing to back down despite mounting pressure,” one analyst said. While the post drew attention, its timing raised questions, with some viewing it as a bold stance against the establishment and others criticizing it as divisive rhetoric. The incident highlighted internal divisions within the NC, with Sagar openly denouncing Ruhullah and expressing disappointment over the setback to the party’s image. Political analysts say as the debate continues, the focus shifts to how the National Conference and its leadership address both the internal dissent and the broader challenges surrounding reservation reforms. Congress leader and MLA Dooru, Ghulam Ahmad Mir, added to the criticism, terming Ruhullah’s demonstration a “camera show.” Speaking at a press conference, Mir criticized Ruhullah for staging a protest instead of directly engaging with the Chief Minister. “He could have walked into the Chief Minister’s office, which was minutes away, and discussed the issue seriously. Instead, he opted for a spectacle,” Mir said, accusing the MP of seeking media attention rather than meaningful dialogue.

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Google's search business is all about distribution. The DOJ wants to take this away, and it's freaking investors out.Holly Hill residents will pay $1 a month more for garbage collection in 2025, but Mayor Billy Chavis said the increase would have been even higher if the town had kept its current provider. The town council awarded the solid waste disposal franchise to the lowest bidder – Capital Waste Services – during a three-minute special called meeting on Monday, Dec. 16. Republic Services fulfilled its contractual obligations during its five-year contract with Holly Hill, which expires on Dec. 31, Chavis said in an interview. But the contract – which pre-dates Chavis’ term as mayor – had some gaps, particularly with regard to yard debris pickup, Chavis said. So, when Holly Hill invited companies to submit proposals for 2025 and beyond, the town attorney rewrote portions of the contract. For instance, the vendor is now required to use a grapple truck to collect yard debris. Local news has never been this personal. Free to download. Subscribers enjoy unlimited access. “It’s a better agreement,” Chavis said. “It’s a more even-keeled contract. And now we know that, for the next two years, the rate is locked in.” The rate is $21 a month for residential yard debris pickup each Tuesday and residential garbage pickup each Wednesday in calendar years 2025 and 2026. If both parties agree, the contract is renewable for one, two, or three additional years. Price increases, if any, will be limited to the Consumer Price Index, Chavis said. The franchise also gives CWS the exclusive right to provide commercial solid waste collection services in Holly Hill. That change was desired because the “limited amount of commercial cans” created a disproportional amount of work at the town hall, Chavis said. More information for customers will be posted on the town’s official website and Facebook page, the mayor said. CWS is based in Columbia. It identifies itself as the largest provider of residential solid waste collection services in South Carolina. CWS acquired Orangeburg-based SC Waste on Jan. 12, 2024. CWS performs various operations in portions of six Southeastern states, including garbage collection at more than 90,000 residences and almost 10,000 businesses and government offices, according to the company’s website. The Holly Hill Town Council’s next monthly meeting is scheduled for Monday, Jan. 6, 2025, at 6:30 p.m. in the governmental complex on Old State Road. Call 803-496-3330 for more information. Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter.

More and more, according to the data, tax revenue from state-sanctioned gambling — from Keno and scratch tickets to casinos and sports betting — is becoming more valuable to the state’s budget than the other so-called “sin taxes.” For the state fiscal year 2024, all the games and gambling under the auspices of the N.H. Lottery Commission outperformed tobacco and liquor tax revenue ... by a lot. Lottery Commission-generated revenue was $43 million over budget in the fiscal year that ended on June 30. Meanwhile, tax revenue from liquor sales was $9 million under budget and tax revenue from tobacco sales was $24 million under budget. Sin taxes derive revenues from items that society might deem as potentially harmful. In New Hampshire, sin tax revenue comes from tobacco, alcohol and gambling. There’ll be a fourth if policymakers ever come to terms with legalizing marijuana. According to Phil Sletten, research director at the N.H. Fiscal Policy Institute, the Lottery Commission as a percentage is the state’s fastest growing source of tax revenue. “Long term, we’ve seen some really substantial trends in Lottery Commission revenues. Between state fiscal years 2017 and 2023, profits transferred from the Lottery Commission constituted the fastest growing major source of revenue for the general fund and the Education Trust Fund,” said Sletten. “When I say fastest growing, I mean in percentage terms,” he added. “While business tax revenues nearly doubled in this time period and resulted in more growth in total dollars, Lottery Commission profits to the Education Trust Fund were about 161 percent higher in state fiscal year 2023 than they were in state fiscal year 2017, and I’m using 2023 because those are the most recent audited numbers.” According to unaudited fiscal year 2024 numbers, about $3.32 billion in revenue came into the general and education funds. That’s about 4 percent over plan and 3.5 percent more than FY 2023. As a percentage of the whole, business taxes generated about $1.2 billion, or 36.7 percent of all revenue. Sin taxes on tobacco, liquor, beer and gaming generated a total of $516.4 million, or 15.5 percent of the whole. Sin taxes in FY 2024 outperformed state property taxes ($363.8 million, 10.9 percent of the whole) and Meals and Rentals Tax ($328.1 million, 9.9 percent of the whole). Of the sin taxes, only the Lottery Commission reported positive results against the previous fiscal year — up 7.3 percent, while revenue from the tobacco tax was down 12.8 percent, liquor was down 10.9 percent, and beer tax was down 6.2 percent. The Lottery Commission reported a banner revenue year in FY 2024. And, if current trends hold true, another might be in the offing for FY 2025, which comes to a close on June 30, 2025. Gambling a big player State budget writers are keeping a close eye on all revenue sources as they begin to assemble the FY 2026 budget. The new budget year starts on July 1, 2025. Gambling revenue could be a big player in the budget. The revenue report for October, for example, showed Lottery Commission revenue of $19 million, 13.1 percent above what was projected. “Revenue generated through the Lottery Commission was a large contributor to October’s overall surplus relative to the State Revenue Plan,” the Fiscal Policy Institute said in its analysis of the October numbers. While the Lottery Commission was above plan, tobacco was $10.2 million behind and liquor was $4.9 million behind plan, according to the October report. At the close of FY 2024, the New Hampshire Lottery reported in excess of $631 million in total sales, marking a nearly 5 percent or $29 million increase over FY 2023. With a portion of that revenue going toward the state’s public schools, the Lottery Commission generated an all-time high of $200.7 million in revenue supporting education, reflecting a nearly 7 percent or $13 million year-over-year increase. The N.H. Lottery Commission manages all lottery operations in the state, including scratch games, N.H. Powerball, N.H. Mega Millions, Tri-State Megabucks, Tri-State Pick3/Pick4 Daily Numbers games, Gimme 5, Fast Play games, Lucky For Life, KENO 603 and iLottery. The Commission also regulates charitable gaming, including Bingo, Lucky 7 and games of chance (poker, craps, roulette), along with simulcast racing, fantasy sports and sports wagering. “Our goal is always to maximize revenue for New Hampshire schools, while providing our players with fun and entertaining games. We certainly hit the mark this year,” Charlie McIntyre, Lottery Commission executive director, said in August with the release of the FY 2024 revenue data. “With the introduction of exciting new games, record high numbers from Tri-State Megabucks, new sports betting opportunities and more, we are confident 2025 will be even more successful.” With the professional and college football season well underway, Commission officials are putting their money down on an even better year, especially when it comes to sports betting, which became legal in the state in 2019. In the first two weeks of the season, New Hampshire players had wagered more than $13 million on NFL games alone. It marks a $1.7 million increase in total wagering compared to the first two weeks of last year’s NFL season. The state contracted with DraftKings to handle its sportsbook wagering through its app and live at four locations in the Granite State: the Brook in Seabrook, Revo Casino in Dover, Revo Casino in Manchester and Gate City Casino in Nashua. “Each year, football continues to be one of our biggest sports betting drivers. With an ever-expanding lineup of betting options for our players, the N.H. Lottery and DraftKings are confident that momentum will continue throughout this season,” said McIntyre. Betting it all Digging into the Lottery’s FY 2024 numbers (as yet unaudited), the gross revenue was $633,716,687 from the games such as KENO, Powerball, Mega Millions, Megabucks and the rest. There was a total of $413,815,869 in prizes awarded. So, for every dollar spent on Lottery games, the average win was about 65 cents. Separately, sports betting earned the state a total of $33.65 million in FY 2024. The total “handle” bet by players was $753 million, with players wagering more than $661.4 million through the DraftKings online sportsbook and nearly $91.6 million at New Hampshire’s retail sportsbooks. The Granite State’s 12 charitable gaming establishments generated an additional $36.7 million in revenue in support of local charities in FY 2024 and $29.2 million for New Hampshire’s public schools. These casinos are licensed to donate a portion of daily proceeds to local nonprofit organizations. For Sletten, the long-term prognosis for Lottery Commission revenue is better than Liquor Commission revenue in the sale of liquor, wine, beer and tobacco products (including e-cigarettes and vape products). “We at least know that Liquor Commission revenues are not growing to nearly the same degree that Lottery Commission revenues are and with tobacco tax revenues, those are expected to be in long-term decline,” said Sletten. In the last few years, the best year for Liquor Commission revenue was FY 2021 when revenue peaked at $252.8 million; liquor/wine tax revenue was $230.8 and beer tax revenue was $13.7 million. FY 2022 saw Liquor Commission revenue drop to $241.3 million, then drop further to $235.5 in FY 2023. So is it a good bet for New Hampshire to be dependent on the gambling sin tax? Sletten sees both sides. “There could be a different direction or a different trend in lottery revenues that could serve to provide diversity to revenue streams that the state has that may be less tied directly to economic fortunes,” said Sletten. He cited a scenario where economic conditions might not favor the meals and rooms tax or business profits tax but might favor gaming. He also acknowledges the cost of gambling addiction. “Gambling addiction may generate cost to society, including both economic and social costs. Some key research suggests that the negative effects of gambling and gambling addiction may fall disproportionate on people with lower incomes,” said Sletten. “These relationships are likely complex, and causality may be difficult to determine in all cases, but it suggests that negative impacts may be disproportionate on those who can least absorb them, and that can affect the broader economy, as well as individual household budgets.” A Pew Charitable Trust report from 2018 entitled “Are Sin Taxes Healthy for State Budgets?” had two pieces of advice: 1) “Sin taxes are a useful tool for supporting public health objectives and can be effective in raising revenue in the short term,” and “2) States should carefully assess the sustainability of these revenue sources in the long term, especially for funding ongoing budget commitments, to avoid structural budget challenges.” A research paper published in June posits the notion that the growth of sports betting has had a particularly negative effect on economically vulnerable households. “Gambling Away Stability: Sports Betting’s Impact on Vulnerable Households” argues that, “despite being marketed as a form of entertainment, the industry’s profitability suggests that the typical bettor faces negative expected returns.” As a result, it said, the betting behavior displaces more favorable economic habits such as saving money and paying down credit card debt. “These effects concentrate among financially constrained households, as credit card debt increases, available credit decreases and overdraft frequency rises,” it said. What does the Lottery Commission’s executive director think of gambling as a state policy to generate revenue? “I always joke: I don’t make policy; I’m the instrument of policy,” said McIntyre. His job is to make it all work. “One of the reasons to do this is because, like, for example, sports betting, was to bring an illegal activity to be legal, to be well regulated, add the consumer protections,” said McIntyre. “If you have a problem with our platform of DraftKings, you can call me directly, and I’ll follow up and we’ll investigate, whereas you don’t have the luxury of that in the illegal market or your friend’s card game in his basement,” he added. “Yes, I believe it’s being done safely. As for if it’s a good idea, that’s a policy decision that the government, i.e. the Legislature, the governor make that.” The N.H. Council for Responsible Gambling was established through the 2019 legislation legalizing sports betting in the Granite State and is tasked with education, prevention and treatment related to gambling disorders in New Hampshire. It used $290,000 from the state to contract with the Council on Problem Gambling to build training and clinical capacity, and to facilitate outreach and awareness activities. That funding ran out at the end of FY23 and has not been renewed. The growth of gambling addiction issues are growing as opportunities to gamble are growing, according to Ed Talbot. “There’s more calls each year,” said Talbot. The organization mans a 24/7 hotline: 603-724-1605. As advertising for gambling has increased, particularly by DraftKings for sports betting, Talbot is seeing more issues with a younger generation. “One alarming statistic I just saw is the highest percentage of people indicating a potential problem is the 17 to 24 (age group), and I think a lot of that is based on the advertising that’s going on, especially around sports gambling,” said Talbot. “To me, that just says there’s going with the next generation, the problem is going to be more so.” In addition to counseling services and treatment recommendations for gambling addiction, Talbot said he wants the council to advocate for stronger self-exclusion, where gamblers who believe that they have a problem can voluntarily bar themselves from entering one or more gambling venues to prevent them from gambling. In New Hampshire, according to Talbot, that has to be done in person, at each establishment the individual wants to be excluded from. He said other states — Pennsylvania, for example — make it much easier through an online process. Talbot is unsure about future direct state funding for the Council on Problem Gambling. “Fiscal Year 2024 we’ve been on our own, and fiscal year 2025 unless we get some supplemental funding, we’ll be on our own again,” he said. Ironically, Talbot said the council feels it has to participate in casino nights in order to raise operating funds. “We have participated in charity gaming, which is not something we would like to do,” said Talbot, “but we’re a nonprofit, and we have taken advantage of that and gotten anywhere between $25,000 and $30,000 a year out of that.”

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