
Ephrata FBLA brings home 14 titles, 28 state qualifiers
"Well, I'm really proud of the fact that we had more regional champions this year than we did last year," FBLA Lead Advisor Scott Sanberg said. "Then I'm also proud that everybody we took qualified in one category or another."
The competitions cover a range of skills depending on the topics students are competing in according to Sanberg. Some of the competitions are tests students take; others are a bit more intricate.
"The competitions vary," Sandberg said. "We have role-play events where students will pick their event. One could be a sales presentation, where they don't really know what they're walking into ... They get a topic (like they're) a car salesman, and they get 20 minutes to prepare, and they try to sell someone a car. Every event is different, though."
Sandberg said they have done better in recent years and last year they took 10 students to nationals and 31 students to state. The year before, two students went to nationals and 21 students to state.
"We've noticed significant improvements over the last three years," Sandberg said. "We've noticed a significant growth in our students."
This year Sandberg said he is optimistic they will have more students competing in the nationals, especially because they did well in the recent competition.
"After feeling really good, we got our scores back today, and based on our scores and how we did, I'm feeling pretty confident that we'll probably have even more national participants this year," Sandberg said.
Champs:
Addy Jo West — first place word processing
Aryz Navarro — first place graphic design (team event with Baylie Broesch and Dayana Nolosco Gomez)
Baylie Broesch — first place in graphic design (team event with Aryz Navarro and Dayana Nolosco Gomez)
Calvin Becker — first place introduction to information technology, first place in network infrastructure and fourth place in cybersecurity
Dawson Davis — first place financial math, first place introduction to financial math, first place personal finance and first place securities and investments
Dayana Nolasco Gomez — first in computer application, fifth place in cybersecurity and first place in graphic design (team event with Baylie Broesch and Aryz Navarro)
Micah Sandberg — first place computer problem solving
Uriel Bustos — first place introduction to programming
Placers:
Caylee Mattson — second in business ethics
Regan Shannon — sixth place business law, fifth place introduction to business communications, fourth place introduction to business communications, fourth place introduction to FBLA and sixth place for journalism
Dayana Nolasco Gomez — fifth place in cybersecurity
Calvin Becker — fourth place in cybersecurity
Leslie Balbuena — fourth place health care administration, second place visual design and third place graphic design
Landon Coe — sixth place in help desk, second place personal finance, second place visual design and third place graphic design
Conner Leasher — sixth place in introduction to FBLA
Chales Poirrier Lundquist — sixth place in introduction to public speaking and fifth place in social media strategies
Paisley Ribble — fifth place for social media strategies
Avery Gault — sixth place for visual design
Kate Maedke — sixth place for both visual design and graphic design
Romeo Arreola Morales — fourth place in visual design
Kassandra Estrada Rangel — fourth place in visual design
Dayana Cartagena Ortega — sixth place in graphic design
Monty Muir — fourth place in impromptu speaking
Alexandria Drake — sixth place in the job interview
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Yahoo
17-07-2025
- Yahoo
Meta investors, Zuckerberg reach settlement to end $8 billion trial over Facebook privacy violations
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Forbes
16-07-2025
- Forbes
Meta Privacy Lawsuit: What To Know About $8 Billion Trial Against Zuckerberg Over Cambridge Analytica
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The lawsuit additionally names two former White House chiefs of staff as defendants based on their roles on Facebook's board: Erskine Bowles, who served during Bill Clinton's presidency, and former chief of staff to President Joe Biden, Jeff Zients, who served on the board prior to his role at the White House. $8 billion. That's how much the shareholders are asking for the defendants to pay in damages, which they said reflects the amount Facebook had to pay in costs as a result of the leaders' allegedly unlawful activities. What Else Does The Lawsuit Allege? The shareholders bringing the suit make a number of allegations suggesting the defendants in the case knew that they were not in compliance with their privacy obligations. Facebook allegedly moved a notice to users that their privacy could be shared with third-party apps to be more noticeable after reaching the consent order with the FTC, for instance, only to then move it back to the less-prominent place it was in before the order, allegedly with Zuckerberg's knowledge. Facebook's privacy head Yul Kwon also allegedly warned Zuckerberg and Sandberg in 2015 that the company was not doing enough to address privacy concerns, warning Facebook's 'privacy program was disorganized and under-resourced' and the company hadn't properly 'prioritized' privacy concerns, which was causing a 'colossal problem.' Zuckerberg and Sandberg allegedly didn't implement Kwon's suggestions for the improving privacy infrastructure until after Cambridge Analytica, however, and Kwon testified the company may have avoided that scandal had they heeded his advice. The plaintiffs also take issue with Facebook's board of directors approving a $5 billion settlement with the FTC in 2019, arguing they paid a higher-than-required rate in order to protect Zuckerberg and shield him from legal liability. The lawsuit separately details Zuckerberg selling approximately $5 billion in Facebook stock in 2018, which the plaintiffs allege he did because he knew about the company's non-compliance with its privacy obligations. What Do The Defendants Argue? The defendants strongly deny any claims of wrongdoing, alleging in a court filing the plaintiffs do not have any evidence to back up their claims of officials acting unlawfully and, 'To the contrary, the evidence will show that under the board's leadership, Facebook worked effectively to comply with the 2012 order.' 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Cambridge Analytica was a voter-profiling company that obtained data from Facebook users through Cambridge University professor Dr. Aleksandr Kogan, who created a quiz on Facebook that was used to harvest data about users who opted into it and, by extension, their friends. That data was then shared with Cambridge Analytica, and The New York Times and The Intercept reported the firm used that data and other records to create 'psychographic profiles' for approximately 30 million people—despite only some 270,000 actually opting into using Kogan's app. Cambridge Analytica, which had ties to Trump adviser Steve Bannon, then used that data to work on various political campaigns in the ensuing years, including Brexit, the 2014 U.S. midterms and the 2016 presidential election, in which President Donald Trump's campaign and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, worked with the firm, according to the Times. The news of Cambridge Analytica's use of such vast Facebook data was first reported by The Guardian in 2015, which alleged Cruz was using the data. Further reports by The Guardian and The New York Times in 2018 then detailed the wider scope of the firm's work, thanks to a whistleblower exposing the firm. Those reports set off a series of investigations and legal actions, including the shareholder lawsuit. Facebook and Zuckerberg apologized for their role in the scandal after it came to light and imposed new privacy controls, and Zuckerberg testified to Congress, admitting the company 'didn't do enough to prevent these tools from being used for harm' and saying about the data breach, 'It was my mistake, and I'm sorry. I started Facebook, I run it, and I'm responsible for what happens here.' Cambridge Analytica filed for bankruptcy in 2018, and in addition to the $5 billion fine from the FTC, Facebook has also faced consequences for the scandal including paying a $100 million fine from the Securities and Exchange Commission, a $725 million legal settlement and a £500,000 (approximately $645,000) fine from the U.K. Information Commissioner's Office. Further Reading Meta ex-COO Sandberg sanctioned in investor lawsuit for deleting emails (Reuters) Meta Trial Over Cambridge Analytica Scandal Tests Chancery Court (Bloomberg) As Facebook Raised a Privacy Wall, It Carved an Opening for Tech Giants (New York Times)


Business Insider
09-07-2025
- Business Insider
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