MasterCard stops allowing charges for Backpage.com sex ads

By Mary Wisniewski CHICAGO (Reuters) – MasterCard said on Tuesday that its credit cards can no longer be used to pay for ads on the Backpage.com website, following a request from a Chicago law enforcement official who said the site is used by sex traffickers. Cook County Sheriff Thomas Dart said that so-called “escort” ads on Backpage.com and similar sites make up the foundation of the sex trafficking industry, which preys on the young and vulnerable. “Backpage has significantly lowered the barrier to entry for would-be traffickers,” said Dart, adding he will reveal details of a larger initiative against Backpage at a news conference on Wednesday

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United Airlines apologizes to Muslim chaplain for soda incident

By Barbara Goldberg NEW YORK (Reuters) – United Airlines apologized on Wednesday to a Muslim chaplain who said she was denied an unopened can of soda on an affiliated U.S. domestic flight by an attendant who said it could be used as a weapon. United launched an investigation after Northwestern University associate chaplain Tahera Ahmad complained about the incident last week aboard a flight from Chicago to Washington that was operated by Shuttle America for United.

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Muslim woman says she faced discrimination on United-linked flight

(Reuters) – A social media campaign gained strength on Monday for a Muslim chaplain at Northwestern University who said she was denied an unopened can of soda on a United Airlines-affiliated carrier after a flight attendant told her it could be used as a weapon. Referring to the incident last week, Tahera Ahmad said in a Facebook post the flight attendant had discriminated against her and that she was the subject of anti-Islamic hatred by other passengers on the flight from Chicago to Washington. Bob Birge, a spokesman for Republic Airways Holdings, which operated the Shuttle America flight on behalf of United, told cable news channel CNN on Monday that the airline’s beverage policy does not prohibit serving unopened cans to passengers.

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With ads, FINRA hopes BrokerCheck becomes go-to site, like Yelp

With a new ad campaign, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority hopes its BrokerCheck website will become a customer’s first stop, like Yelp for diners or Angie’s List for home owners, before they invest with a financial adviser. The Wall Street watchdog, known as FINRA, launched the campaign Monday with 15-second commercials depicting people making big decisions without doing their homework, in a bid to promote its years-old website that provides free information about brokers’ employment history, credentials and customer complaints.

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Exclusive: Microsoft has no plans to pursue Salesforce – sources

Microsoft Corp currently is not weighing an offer for Salesforce.com Inc , two people familiar with the matter said on Thursday, dampening speculation that Microsoft could be drawn into bidding for the cloud software company. Bloomberg News, citing people with knowledge of the matter, reported earlier this week that Microsoft was evaluating a bid for Salesforce after the latter was approached by another unnamed would-be buyer. Microsoft considers Salesforce's current market valuation expensive, one of the people said

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Target agrees to pay $10 million to settle lawsuit from data breach

Target Corp has agreed to pay $10 million in a proposed settlement of a class-action lawsuit related to a huge 2013 data breach that consumers say compromised their personal financial information, court documents show.

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