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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (March 29, 2019)
A9 THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, MARCH 29, 2019 US charges Facebook with high-tech housing discrimination HUD Secretary Ben Car- son said. “Using a com- puter to limit a person’s housing choices can be just as discriminatory as slamming a door in some- one’s face.” In a statement, Face- book expressed surprise over the charges, saying it has been working with HUD to address its con- cerns and has taken steps to prevent discrimina- tion, including eliminat- ing thousands of ad-tar- geting options last year that could be misused by advertisers. Just last week, Face- book agreed to overhaul its targeting system and abandon some of the prac- tices singled out by HUD to prevent discrimination, not just in housing listings but in credit and employ- ment ads as well. The move was part of a settle- ment with the American Civil Liberties Union and other activists. “We’re disappointed by today’s developments, but we’ll continue working with civil rights experts By MAE ANDERSON and BARBARA ORTUTAY Associated Press AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta Trevor Oliver accepts the Medal of Honor from President Donald Trump, presented to his father, Army Staff Sgt. Travis Atkins. Iraq war hero’s family accepts Medal of Honor By DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press WASHINGTON — The son of an Army staff ser- geant awarded a posthu- mous Medal of Honor by President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he wants his father to be remembered as the best parent and best soldier anyone could ever ask for. And that’s exactly how Travis Atkins will be remembered, Trump assured Atkins’ son, Trevor Oliver. “You can’t get better than the Congressional Medal of Honor. You just can’t,” Trump explained. The medal is the nation’s highest military honor for bravery against an enemy, and Trump had just pre- sented the eighth one of his presidency to Trevor Atkins. Atkins, 31, of Bozeman, Montana, died in June 2007 while trying to subdue a sus- pected Iraqi insurgent in a town near Baghdad. After realizing the man was trying to detonate a sui- cide vest, Atkins wrapped his body around the man and threw him to the ground, away from three of his sol- diers who were nearby. Atkins, who was on his sec- ond tour of duty in Iraq and leading a 15-soldier squad after he had become “bored” with civilian life, was killed instantly. At a somber White House ceremony, Trump said Atkins had called his son days before that fateful June day to wish the boy a happy 11th birthday. Neither knew it would be the last time they’d speak, Trump said, adding that Oliver has always known that his father sacrifi ced himself for his country. Invited by Trump to address the audience, which included the three surviving soldiers, Oliver said he takes “a lot of pride” in the Medal of Honor. He described the moment as “surreal” and something he could not put into words. Atkins had been awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, which was upgraded to a Medal of Honor after a Defense Department review. After the ceremony, two Republican members of Montana’s congressional delegation — Sen. Steve Daines and Rep. Greg Gian- forte — announced that they introduced legislation Wednesday to put Atkins’ name on a Veterans Affairs clinic in Bozeman. Trump can choose to rec- ognize individuals for a vari- ety of contributions to soci- ety, including the arts and science. But the Medal of Honor, which is instigated by the military itself through a nomination and lengthy review process that does not involve the president, is the public award ceremony Trump prefers to host. The White House said Trump is like most Ameri- cans and feels honored any time he hears about or meets someone who is willing to lay down their life for some- one else’s. The president also feels a sense of pride in hav- ing the opportunity to recog- nize such bravery by award- ing the Medal of Honor. CONSTRUCTION STARTING NEW YORK — The federal government charged Facebook with high-tech housing dis- crimination Thursday for allegedly allowing land- lords and real estate bro- kers to systematically exclude groups such as non-Christians, immi- grants and minorities from seeing ads for houses and apartments. The civil charges fi led by the Department of Housing and Urban Development could cost the social network mil- lions of dollars in penal- ties. But more than that, they strike at the heart of Facebook’s business model — its vaunted abil- ity to deliver ads with sur- gical precision to certain groups of people and not others. “Facebook is dis- criminating against peo- ple based upon who they are and where they live,” on these issues,” the com- pany said. The HUD charges were seen as a possible pre- lude to a wider regula- tory crackdown on the digital advertising indus- try, which is dominated by Facebook and Goo- gle. And the case was yet another blow to Facebook, which has come under siege from lawmakers, regulators and activists and is under investigation in the U.S. and Europe over its data and privacy practices. HUD spokesman Brian Sullivan said the agency has reached out to Goo- gle and Twitter to “better understand their advertis- ing practices.” But he said neither is currently under investigation. Twitter says it doesn’t allow dis- criminatory advertising, while Google says its pol- icies prohibit targeting ads based on sensitive catego- ries such as race, ethnicity and religious beliefs. Google, in particular, has ad-targeting options similar to Facebook’s. The U.S. Navy INVITES YOU TO PARTICIPATE in the Northwest Training and Testing Supplemental EIS/OEIS Public Involvement Process The U.S. Navy has prepared a Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement/Overseas Environmental Impact Statement (EIS/OEIS) to reassess the potential environmental impacts associated with conducting proposed ongoing and future training and testing activities within the Northwest Training and Testing (NWTT) Study Area beyond 2020. Public Involvement Open House Public Meetings: 5 to 8 p.m. The Navy welcomes substantive comments on the Draft Supplemental EIS/OEIS. Comments may be submitted at the public meetings, online at www.NWTTEIS.com, or by mail to: Naval Facilities Engineering Command Northwest Attention: NWTT Supplemental EIS/OEIS Project Manager 3730 N. Charles Porter Ave., Building 385 Oak Harbor, WA 98278-3500 Comments must be postmarked or received online by May 28, 2019, for consideration in the Final Supplemental EIS/OEIS. Arrive and submit comments anytime during the open house. No presentation or formal oral comment session will be conducted. Monday, April 29, 2019 Astoria High School Student Commons 1001 W. Marine Drive Astoria, Ore. Tuesday, April 30, 2019 Newport Performing Arts Center Lobby 777 W. Olive St. Newport, Ore. Individuals requiring reasonable accommodations, please contact Julianne Stanford, Public Affairs Officer, at 360-396-1630 or julianne.stanford@navy.mil. The draft supplement is available online at www.NWTTEIS.com or at the following public libraries in Oregon: Astoria Public Library; Driftwood Public Library; Newport Public Library; Oregon State University, Guin Library Hatfield Marine Science Center; and Tillamook Main Library. Additional public meetings will be held in Washington, Northern California, and southeastern Alaska. Farm and garden supplies for pet owners, hobby farmers & serious gardeners EXPECT DELAYS & LANE CLOSURES Fruit Trees & Roses 3, 2019 Valid until April 1 % OFF 20 BRIM’S T EA has GR ! TREATS “Flock Talk” April 18, 6:00pm Learn from the eggsperts How to raise a healthy flock! FREE - FAMILY FRIENDLY SPECIAL ORDERS welcome! CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY FOR 2+ YEARS PLAN AHEAD & KNOW BEFORE YOU GO! F enCing d Vote T BE en S Center Gard Sign up to receive construction updates direct! 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