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The death of an older Arizona woman when her electricity was cut during a heat spell five years ago spurred changes in shutoff rules PHOENIX -- Stephanie Pullman died on a sweltering Arizona day after her electricity was cut off because of a $51 debt. Five years later, the 72-year-old's story remains at the heart of efforts to prevent others in Arizona from having their power cut off, leaving them without life-saving air conditioning in temperatures that have topped 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43 degrees Celsius) on every day this month. “Stephanie Pullman was the face of the fight that helped put the disconnect rules in place for the big, regulated utilities in Arizona,” said Stacey Champion, an advocate who pushed for new regulations. “But we need more.” Arizona Public Service, known as APS, disconnected Pullman's power in September 2018 at a time when outside temperatures in her retirement community west of Phoenix reached 107 degrees Fahrenheit (41.6 Celsius). Just days befo...

Royal accounts show that a change in monarchs, double-digit inflation and ongoing costs of renovating Buckingham Palace contributed to a 5% increase in publicly funded spending by Britain’s royals LONDON -- A change in monarchs, double-digit i NFL ation and ongoing costs to renovate Buckingham Palace contributed to a 5% increase in public ly funded spending by Britain's royal s, according to accounts published Thursday. The palace's annual Sovereign Grant report showed that net spending was up 107.5 million pounds ($135 million) in the past year. It also said that King Charles III was behind a “concerted effort” by royal staff to turn down the heating at Buckingham Palace and other royal homes during the winter to cut emissions and costs. Temperatures were set at 19 degrees Celsius (66 degrees Fahrenheit) — and a few degrees lower when rooms were empty, officials said. The report also confirmed that Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, have vacated their former home of Frogmor...

Meta is rolling out a new paid verification subscription service called Meta Verified, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced in an Instagram update Sunday. For $A17.45 a month on the web and $A21.80 a month on iOS, users on Meta’s Instagram and Facebook platforms will be able to submit their government ID and get a blue verification badge. The service will be introduced in Australia and New Zealand this week, and more countries will follow, Zuckerberg said. Watch the latest News on Channel 7 or stream for free on 7plus >> “This new feature is about increasing authenticity and security across our services,” Zuckerberg wrote. Meta has historically granted verification to notable users such as politicians, executives, members of the press and organisations to signal their legitimacy. The company’s new subscription service is similar to Twitter’s revamped service called Twitter Blue, which also grants users a verification badge if they pay a monthly fee. Twitter launched its updated Twitt...