Category: Local news

Business Local news

Apple’s $250 million class-action settlement paves way for payouts to iPhone owners

Signage at an Apple Store in San Francisco (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

(NEW YORK) — Apple has agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit for $250 million after the tech giant was accused of marketing Apple Intelligence technologies that “did not exist” yet, according to a Tuesday court filing.

The settlement paves the way for payouts of up to $95 for iPhone users who purchased eligible devices between June 10, 2024, and March 29, 2025.

Plaintiffs in the suit asked a judge on Tuesday to approve the settlement, which they described as “within the range of what is fair, reasonable, and adequate,” according to the filing.

The settlement will provide class members up to $95 per device, “depending on claim volume and other factors,” the filing states.

The lawsuit, which was originally filed in March 2025, alleged the iPhone manufacturer “violated consumer protection laws when it advertised its new generation of iPhones as a breakthrough in artificial intelligence (‘AI’), including significant enhancements to Siri, iPhone’s digital assistant,” according to Tuesday’s court filing.

The lawsuit itself specifically accused Apple of introducing Enhanced Siri capabilities — such as AI-powered digital assistant recollection and calendar reminders — even though they “did not exist or were materially misrepresented.”

The plaintiffs also alleged Apple “saturated the market with deceptive ads” promoting that technology, which were “viewed widely by the Public” online and in ad spots during major broadcast events. They alleged that promotion led consumers to buy iPhones due to the perception that Siri had some of those enhanced AI features.

According to Tuesday’s settlement document, Apple has “maintained that its ads were not misleading because it disclosed from the outset the Apple Intelligence features would be delivered over time and continue to evolve.”

The company also “maintained that it successfully delivered more than 20 Apple Intelligence features” and argued that “consumers purchase new iPhones for any number of reasons that have nothing to do with Enhanced Siri features,” the settlement document states.

An Apple spokesperson confirmed the settlement in a statement to ABC News on Wednesday.

“Since the launch of Apple Intelligence, we have introduced dozens of features across many languages that are integrated across Apple’s platforms, relevant to what users do every day, and built with privacy protections at every step,” the spokesperson said. “These include Visual Intelligence, Live Translation, Writing Tools, Genmoji, Clean Up and many more.”

They added, “Apple has reached a settlement to resolve claims related to the availability of two additional features. We resolved this matter to stay focused on doing what we do best, delivering the most innovative products and services to our users.”

The settlement payout applies to a list of iPhone 15 and 16 devices, including the iPhone 16, iPhone 16e, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 16 Pro Max, iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 15 Pro Max, according to Tuesday’s filing.

The document notes there are approximately 37 million eligible devices.

The settlement will apply to those who purchased the eligible devices and “who reside in the United States and purchased an Eligible Device in the United States for purposes other than resale,” according to the document.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Local news National

Ted Turner, cable television pioneer and CNN founder, dies at 87

Turner Enterprises CEO Ted Turner address the Newsmaker Luncheon on renewable and alternative energy at the National Press Club April 19, 2011 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

(NEW YORK) — Ted Turner, the television and media mogul who launched CNN — the first 24-hour cable news network — and a roster of successful TV and entertainment brands, died on Wednesday, according to the network. He was 87.

“Ted was an intensely involved and committed leader, intrepid, fearless and always willing to back a hunch and trust his own judgement,” according to a statement from Mark Thompson, the chairman and CEO of CNN Worldwide. “He was and always will be the presiding spirit of CNN. Ted is the giant on whose shoulders we stand, and we will all take a moment today to recognize him and his impact on our lives and our world.”

“On behalf of the Turner family, it is with great sadness that we announce the passing of philanthropist, environmentalist and cable pioneer Ted Turner who died peacefully today at age 87, surrounded by his family,” a statement from Turner Enterprises said.

The company added, “He charmed people he met with his warmth and general lack of conceit, despite his many successes and celebrity – an attribute made apparent in his response to anyone who addressed him as “Mr. Turner” – he’d always reply, “Call me Ted!”

A private family service is planned and a public memorial will be held at a later date, Turner Enterprises said.

Turner announced in 2018 he was battling the progressive brain disorder Lewy body dementia, acknowledging issues with his memory.

Born in Cincinnati, Robert Edward Turner III was raised in Savannah, Georgia. He attended Brown University briefly before leaving the university and joining the U.S. Coastal Guard Reserve during the Vietnam War.

Turner began his career as an executive at his father’s advertising business, Turner Advertising Company. Following the death of his father, he became president and chief executive of the company and turned the firm into a global enterprise.

He entered the television business in the early 1970’s when he acquired an Atlanta UHF station, WJRJ, and renamed it WTCG. The station originated the “superstation” concept, transmitting via satellite to cable systems across the country. Later renamed TBS, the station became a precedent for the modern basic cable station.

On June 1, 1980, Turner Broadcasting System launched CNN, the first 24-hour cable news network. In his launch speech at the network’s Atlanta headquarters in June 1980, he expressed hope that CNN’s national and international coverage would “bring together in brotherhood and kindness and friendship and in peace the people of this nation and this world.”

CNN quickly made its mark covering major news events such as the 1982 Lebanon War and the 1986 Challenger explosion as they happened.

A chain of successful cable television brands followed for Turner, including CNN International, Cartoon Network, TNT and Turner Classic Movies. Turner Broadcasting later acquired the film studios Castle Rock Entertainment and New Line Cinema.

Turner’s company also expanded into sports starting in the late 1970s, acquiring the MLB’s Atlanta Braves and the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks. The Hawks won three division titles under the company’s ownership. The Braves won the 1995 World Series.

In 1988, Turner ventured into the professional wrestling business, purchasing Jim Crockett Promotions and renaming it as World Championship Wrestling (WCW). The company served as the main competitor to Vince McMahon’s World Wrestling Federation (WWF) over the next decade. WCW was purchased by McMahon’s company in 2001.

In October 1996, Turner Broadcasting merged with Time Warner Inc., and in 2001, Time Warner merged with AOL to create AOL Time Warner.

Turner also made his mark as a philanthropist. In 1990, he founded Turner Foundation which supports efforts for improving air and water quality, developing initiatives to protect the climate and maintaining wildlife habitat protection, among other initiatives. The Turner Foundation says it has given more than $380 million to hundreds of organizations since its founding.

In 1997, Turner announced a historic pledge of up to $1 billion to the United Nations and the following year, he created the United Nations Foundation (UNF). The organization supports the goals and objectives of the United Nations to promote “a more peaceful, prosperous and just world.”

Speaking to ABC’s “This Week” in 2012, he described his interest in supporting U.N. efforts.

“Everybody needs help sometime, no matter how rich and powerful you are,” he said. “I did not know for sure when I started that it was going to work…there were a lot of things that weren’t getting done, that are getting done now, done a lot more quickly.”

He added, “Saving the world is a hard job.”

Turner also launched the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), a think tank he co-chaired with former Sen. Sam Nunn of Georgia that seeks to reduce “nuclear and biological threats imperiling humanity.”

He was the recipient of numerous awards, including Time Magazine’s 1991 “Man of the Year,” the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences’ Lifetime Achievement Award, the Audubon Medal from the Audubon Society, and the Edward R. Murrow Award for Lifetime Achievement in Communication. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2004.

Turner was married three times, including to actress Jane Fonda from 1991 to 2001. He is survived by five children, fourteen grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Health Local news

After nearly 1,000 cases, here’s how South Carolina officials beat back a measles outbreak

A sign outside a mobile clinic offering measles and flu vaccinations on February 6, 2026 in Spartanburg, South Carolina. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

(NEW YORK) — A few months ago, a measles outbreak seemed poised to overwhelm the northern region of South Carolina.

More than 100 infections were being reported every week, with the total eventually surpassing that of last year’s record-setting outbreak in Texas.

However, after six months and nearly 1,000 cases, the outbreak took a dramatic turn in the right direction.

Over the weekend, the South Carolina Department of Public Health said no new cases had been confirmed for 42 days, leading to an announcement on Monday that the outbreak is officially over.

Public health experts told ABC News that the combination of a strong vaccination push, people following isolation and quarantine orders and an awareness campaign helped beat back the disease.

“Measles vaccinations [were] the most effective single containment tool,” Dr. James Harber, an internal medicine physician with Spartanburg Regional Medical Center, told ABC News. “And then to identify the index cases and their exposures and enforcing quarantine, and there’s that integrated public health and private sector collaboration. Those are the keys.”

Vaccination push

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) currently recommends people receive two doses of the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine — the first at ages 12 to 15 months and the second between 4 and 6 years old.

One dose is 93% effective, and two doses are 97% effective against measles, according to the CDC.

In Spartanburg County — the epicenter of the outbreak in northwestern South Carolina — 88.9% of students had the required immunizations needed to attend school, among the lowest in the state, according to state health department data.

This is lower than the 95% threshold needed to achieve herd immunity.

In the wider Upstate region of South Carolina, some pockets have much lower vaccination rates. State data shows that, for the 2025-2026 school year, one elementary and middle school only had 17% of students with the required immunizations.

Of the 997 cases during the outbreak, 932 were among unvaccinated individuals who were mostly under the age of 17, state data shows. Experts told ABC News that a vaccination campaign helped play a big role in reigning in cases.

“We believe vaccination is one of the primary reasons this outbreak came to an end,” Dr. Brannon Traxler, deputy director of health promotion and services and chief medical officer at the state health department, told ABC News. “Thousands of people got vaccinated. An additional 3,788 doses of MMR were administered in Spartanburg County during the six months of the outbreak compared to the previous year.”

Traxler said that 15,000 additional doses were administered in the Upstate counties over this period competed to the year prior.

She added that January and February were record months for MMR vaccination in the state.

The health department does not track vaccine exemptions at the individual level, but Spartanburg Regional Medical Center’s Harber believes some vaccine-hesitant parents were encouraged to vaccinate their children — even those with previous exemptions on file — as the outbreak grew and their kids were exposed to the virus.

“I think the numbers … speak to the idea that that definitely happened,” he said. “Parents and/or young people who have historically requested and been granted exemptions and not been vaccinated saw what was happening within the community and then changed their minds.”

People following isolation, quarantine orders

South Carolina health authorities first confirmed the outbreak on Oct. 2, 2025, after eight cases were recorded in the Upstate region.

Most cases were recorded in Spartanburg County, with some confirmed in neighboring Anderson, Cherokee, Greenville and Pickens counties.

Only two other counties that didn’t border the epicenter saw measles cases: Lancaster County in the north central area and Sumter County in the central area.

Harber said that people generally followed health officials’ orders about quarantine and isolation, which helped keep the outbreak under control

“I think that’s probably the second most important part, the very aggressive quarantine and exposure control when index cases were identified,” he said. “They were very quickly provided with information around isolation and what they needed to do — staying away from others and to help prevent that spread.”

Harber said more than 2,000 quarantine orders were issued and almost 900 students stayed home when they tested positive across 33 schools in the Upstate region.

“That rapid identification and isolation of the suspected cases .. once they were confirmed really helped to prevent that secondary spread that is such a big problem because of how contagious [measles] really is,” he said. “So, we really had great compliance especially within families and that really helped shorten transmission window based on all the data we have.”

Awareness campaigns

Traxler said the state health department conducted wide-range outreach in Spartanburg County and surrounding areas to “educate the public about the facts regarding measles and the outbreak as well as to encourage people to consider being vaccinated to get long-term protection against the virus.”

She noted that the department communicated with schools, churches, community-based organizations, community leaders, local health care professionals and other organizations.

Traxler added that the health department offered vaccinations at mobile health units at libraries, churches and other locations, where workers also distributed educational materials.

Ukrainian and Russian-speaking communities in South Carolina were hard hit by measles during the outbreak, and so the health department translated measles fact sheets and vaccine information into Ukrainian and Russian, as well as Spanish, Traxler said.

However, just because the outbreak is over doesn’t mean the work is done, she added.

Other states are continuing to see measles cases and the U.S. is currently at risk of losing its elimination status, which it earned in 2000. Measles would once again be considered endemic or constantly circulating.

“The outbreak is over, but our work to understand and prevent measles is not. Large outbreaks of measles, and other infectious diseases, can be prevented entirely when vaccine coverage in the population is very high,” Traxler said.

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