AP News in Brief 12-23-17

Suit: Apple slowed iPhones, forcing owners to buy new ones

CHICAGO — IPhone owners from several states sued Apple Inc. for not disclosing sooner that it issued software updates deliberately slowing older-model phones so aging batteries lasted longer, saying Apple’s silence led them to wrongly conclude that their only option was to buy newer, pricier iPhones.

The allegations were in a lawsuit filed Thursday in Chicago federal court on behalf of five iPhone owners from Illinois, Ohio, Indiana and North Carolina, all of whom say they never would have bought new iPhones had Apple told them that simply replacing the batteries would have sped up their old ones. The suit alleges Apple violated consumer fraud laws.

A similar lawsuit was filed Thursday in Los Angeles. Both suits came a day after Apple confirmed what high-tech sleuths outside the company already observed: The company had deployed software to slow some phones. Apple said it was intended as a fix to deal with degraded lithium-ion batteries that could otherwise suddenly die.

“Our goal is to deliver the best experience for customers, which includes overall performance and prolonging the life of their devices,” an Apple statement said. It said it released the fix for iPhone 6, iPhone 6s and iPhone SE and later extended it to iPhone 7. Apple didn’t respond to a message Friday seeking comment.

The Chicago lawsuit suggests Apple’s motive may have been sinister, though it offers no evidence in the filing.

Miss America suspends CEO in email flap; more are on the way

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — The Miss America Organization suspended its CEO on Friday, less than 24 hours after leaked emails surfaced showing him and others disparaging the appearance, intellect and sex lives of former Miss Americas.

Sam Haskell said he will abide by the suspension, even while decrying the Huffington Post story on Thursday, which publicized the emails, as “unkind and untrue.”

“My mistake is a mistake of words,” Haskell wrote in a statement issued Friday night, shortly after the board suspended him indefinitely while it investigates the situation. “Much of what was reported is dishonest, deceptive, and despicable.

“The story is so unkind and untrue, and hurts me, my family, and the stewardship of this nonprofit,” he wrote. “Those who know my heart know that this is not indicative of my character, nor is it indicative of my business acumen.”

Yashar Ali, who wrote the Huffington Post article, defended its accuracy Friday night, saying he was given the emails by two sources “who felt that Mr. Haskell’s behavior was egregious.” Ali said he now plans to publish all the emails he received in a future story.

Tribe will move from shrinking island to farm in Louisiana

NEW ORLEANS — Louisiana officials have chosen a sugar cane farm as the next home for residents of a tiny, shrinking island — a move funded with a 2016 federal grant awarded to help relocate communities fleeing the effects of climate change.

Dozens of Isle de Jean Charles residents are to be relocated about 40 miles to the northwest, in Terrebonne Parish.

The state is negotiating to purchase the 515-acre tract, which is closer to stores, schools and health care — and which is less flood-prone than the island, which has been battered by hurricanes and tropical storms.

Louisiana’s Office of Community Development expects to finalize the purchase in the coming weeks.

“Everybody seems to think it’ll be a pretty quick property negotiation,” said Mathew Sanders, the community development office’s resilience program manager.

NASA astronaut, first to fly untethered in space, dies at 80

HOUSTON — NASA astronaut Bruce McCandless, the first person to fly freely and untethered in space, has died. He was 80.

He was famously photographed in 1984 flying with a hefty spacewalker’s jetpack, alone in the cosmic blackness above a blue Earth. He traveled more than 300 feet away from the space shuttle Challenger during the spacewalk.

“The iconic photo of Bruce soaring effortlessly in space has inspired generations of Americans to believe that there is no limit to the human potential,” Sen. John McCain said in a statement. The Arizona Republican and McCandless were classmates at the U.S. Naval Academy.

NASA’s Johnson Space Center said Friday that McCandless died Thursday in California. No cause of death was given.

More than 4 in 5 enrolled in ‘Obamacare’ are in Trump states

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans in states that Donald Trump carried in his march to the White House account for more than 4 in 5 of those signed up for coverage under the health care law the president still wants to take down.

An Associated Press analysis of new figures from the government found that 7.3 million of the 8.8 million consumers signed up so far for next year come from states Trump won in the 2016 presidential election. The four states with the highest number of sign-ups — Florida, Texas, North Carolina and Georgia, accounting for nearly 3.9 million customers — were all Trump states.

“There’s politics, and then there’s taking care of yourself and your family,” said analyst Chris Sloan of the consulting firm Avalere Health. “You can have political views about a program like the Affordable Care Act, but when you get an opportunity to get subsidized health insurance for you and your family … politics is a distant consideration.”

AP’s analysis found that 11 states beat 2017’s enrollment figures. Of them, eight —Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming— went for Trump, who posted double-digit victories in all but Iowa.

To be sure, Trump states are also home to many people who voted for Democrat Hillary Clinton. But the AP’s analysis points to a pattern of benefits from the health law in states the president won. The premium dollars have economic ripple effects, reimbursing hospitals and doctors for services that might otherwise have gone unpaid and written off as bad debt. Also, people with health insurance are better able to manage chronic medical problems, remaining productive, tax-paying members of society.

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Bitcoin goes on wild ride and it may only get crazier

NEW YORK (AP) — What’s a bitcoin worth? Lately nobody knows for sure, but after a wild ride on Friday, it’s worth a good deal less than it was Thursday.

After losses over the last few days, the digital currency fell as much as 30 percent overnight in Asia, and the action became so frenzied that the website Coinbase suspended trading. It later made up much of that ground, and slumped 9.5 percent to $14,042 Friday, according to the tracking site CoinDesk.

Experts are warning that bitcoin is a bubble about to burst, but things might get crazier before it does: A lot of people have heard of bitcoin by now, but very few people own it.

“Bubbles burst when the last buyers are in,” said Brett Ewing, chief market strategist for First Franklin. “Who are the last buyers? The general public, unfortunately.”

Ewing said 40 percent of bitcoin belongs to just 1,000 people, and hedge funds and other major investors are going to start buying it soon. But those funds may buy bitcoin and also protect themselves by placing bets that it will fall. Retail investors may just buy it only to see it fall.

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Expanded child tax credit may not be as generous as it seems

The expansion of a child tax credit helped seal Congress’ approval of the Republican tax overhaul. Sen. Marco Rubio had insisted that House-Senate negotiators allow low-income households to claim more of the child credit. And the final bill did so.

So do poor families stand to benefit? Maybe. It depends on their circumstances.

The child credit is designed to help working families offset some of the cost of raising children. Under current law, the credit lets households reduce their taxes by up to $1,000 for each child under their care. The tax overhaul doubled that credit to $2,000.

It also made more of the credit refundable. That means that if the credit lowers a family’s tax liability below zero, they can still receive the balance of the credit in the form of a tax refund. And more people will now be eligible to claim the credit because the income level at which it phases out has been raised.

On the surface, this sounds like happy news for American families. Yet tax experts say the expanded child credit will actually provide little relief for some of the lowest-income families.

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APNewsBreak: Carey returns to ‘New Year’s Rockin’ Eve’

NEW YORK (AP) — Mariah Carey is determined to have a better New Year’s Eve than in 2016 — she is returning to “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest” after last year’s debacle.

The Grammy-winning singer’s live performance in Times Square on New Year’s Eve 2016 was marked by problems. She was visibly upset and at points stopped singing, despite a pre-recorded track playing in the background. The performance went viral for all the wrong reasons.

Afterward, Carey posted a meme of herself on social media with the message “(expletive happens).” But it also led to a public spat between the best-selling singer and dick clark productions as to who was at fault, with Carey’s camp charging sabotage with technical glitches, including faulty ear piece, and dick clark productions denying the claims and charging she hadn’t rehearsed enough.

Now, both sides have kissed and made up.

“We can all agree that last year didn’t go exactly as planned and we are thrilled to move forward together to provide America with an incredible night of music and celebration on Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2018,” a joint statement released to The Associated Press said. “See you in Times Square!”