By WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is suing Zillow and Redfin, accusing the real estate companies of entering what the regulator says is an illegal deal to suppress competition in online rental advertising.

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In a lawsuit filed on Tuesday, the FTC alleges that this agreement started in February — when Zillow paid Redfin $100 million. In exchange for that and other compensation, the commission said, Redfin agreed to end contracts with advertising partners, stop competing ads for multifamily properties for up to nine years and serve as a syndicator of Zillow listings on its own sites.

Redfin also fired hundreds of employees shortly after the announcement of this plan, Tuesday’s complaint notes, alleging that the company also helped Zillow hire “its pick” of these workers.

“Zillow paid millions of dollars to eliminate Redfin as an independent competitor in an already concentrated advertising market — one that’s critical for renters, property managers, and the health of the overall U.S. housing market,” Daniel Guarnera, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition, said in a statement Tuesday.

Guarnera added that Zillow and Redfin’s actions were a violation of federal antitrust laws. The Commission argues that the companies’ “unlawful scheme” maybe reduce incentives for further competition, and could lead to higher prices and fewer choices for multifamily rental advertising customers.

In a statement, a Zillow spokesperson maintained that its “listing syndication with Redfin benefits both renters and property managers” — adding that it had “expanded renters’ access to multifamily listings.” The Seattle-based company said the agreement was “pro-competitive and pro-consumer.”

FILE – A Redfin “for sale” sign stands in front of a house on Oct. 28, 2020, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)

A spokesperson for Redfin, which was acquired by Detroit-based mortgage giant Rocket Companies earlier this year, added that the company “strongly disagrees with the FTC’s allegations” and was confident about prevailing in court. Redfin reiterated the Zillow partnership had given its users access to more rental listings and advertising customers access to more renters — noting that by the end of 2024, the company had determined that its own number of advertising customers “couldn’t justify the cost of maintaining our rentals sales force.”

The FTC still maintains that the agreement isn’t the partnership Redfin and Zillow say it is. The Commission, which authorized filing Tuesday’s complaint in a 3-0 vote, is seeking to get the companies to end this deal, in addition to other relief from the court — such as potential divestiture of assets or business reconstruction “to restore the competition.”

NEW YORK (AP) — OpenAI is turning ChatGPT into a virtual merchant that can help sell goods for Etsy and Shopify as the artificial intelligence company looks for new revenue in online commerce.

ChatGPT users can now buy directly from Etsy sellers while interacting with the chatbot and will soon be able to do the same with Shopify sellers.

Competing with the likes of Amazon and Google for purchase fees from digital shopping could be a new source of money for OpenAI. The company hasn’t made a profit and has relied on investors to back the costs of building and running its powerful AI systems.

OpenAI said it is working with payments company Stripe on the technical standards that will enable purchases through the “Instant Checkout” system.

A number of payment companies have been working with AI developers on so-called AI agents that, given a credit card, could find and make purchases on a shopper’s behalf.

FILE – Chat GPT’s landing page is seen on a computer screen, Aug. 4, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato, file)

OpenAI said ChatGPT won’t favor these items in its product results.

“When ranking multiple merchants that sell the same product, ChatGPT considers factors like availability, price, quality, whether a merchant is the primary seller, and whether Instant Checkout is enabled, to optimize the user experience,” the company said in a statement.

A one-time Hudson, Wis., elementary school teacher has admitted to sexual conduct with one of her fifth-grade students last year and faces up to 18 years in prison at sentencing.

Madison Lynn Bergmann (Courtesy of the St. Croix County Sheriff’s Office)

Madison Lynn Bergmann, 25, of Lake Elmo, entered guilty pleas Monday in St. Croix County District County to one count of child enticement with sexual contact and two counts of sexual misconduct by school staff.

The May 2024 criminal complaint accused Bergmann of kissing the 11-year-old boy on the mouth and touching his leg in her classroom at Rivercrest Elementary School.

Several charges were dismissed as part of a plea deal she reached with prosecutors: one count each of first-degree child sexual assault of a child under age 13; use of a computer to commit a child sex crime; exposing a child to harmful descriptions; a third count of child enticement; and three additional counts of sexual conduct by a school staffer.

Bergmann’s $25,000 bond was revoked at the plea hearing and she was taken back into custody for sentencing, which is scheduled for Dec. 22.

Erica Ellenwood, deputy assistant district attorney, said Tuesday the child enticement charge carries up to 15 years of initial confinement and 10 years of extended supervision, while the other two charges each carry up to one and a half years.

Bergmann’s attorney, Joe Tamburino, declined to comment on the case Tuesday.

Bergmann is one of two former Rivercrest teachers facing sex crimes.

In August, Abigail Michelle Faust, 24, of Hudson, was charged in St. Croix County Circuit Court with sexual misconduct by school staff and other charges, alleging she also kissed a fifth-grade boy last year in her classroom at the end of a school day. She’s also accused of failing to report Bergmann’s sexual abuse of her student.

Last month, Faust was charged with various criminal counts in both St. Croix and Washington counties for allegedly sexually assaulting a Washington County 15-year-old boy while working as his family’s nanny.

Faust’s cases are ongoing.

Boy’s dad found text messages

According to the criminal complaint against Bergmann:

The illicit conduct was first discovered in April 2024 through several text messages between Bergmann and the boy. In a letter police then found in the boy’s desk, Bergmann told him, “I love you so much it hurts,” the complaint says.

The boy’s mother discovered Bergmann talking to her son on the phone, then emailed Bergmann, telling her to stop contacting the boy outside of school. The mother took the boy’s phone and gave it to his father, who found the text messages and notified the school.

Several printed screenshots of text messages between the boy and Bergmann were given to police. In one text, Bergmann wrote that she “wanted to just grab your face and push you to the floor and make out with you.” In another text, the teacher told the boy how she “almost kissed you when you were on the ground today but I got distracted by your stomach,” the complaint says.

In an interview Wednesday at the school, Bergmann said she spoke with the boy over the phone four or five times. She said that she had been invited to go snowboarding at Afton Alps with the boy and his family and she exchanged phone numbers with him in case they became separated.

When Bergmann was asked if there had been any text messages exchanged between her and the boy, she requested a lawyer.

Police found in Bergmann’s backpack a folder with the boy’s name on it and several handwritten notes. “In her notes she tells him that she loves him, wants to kiss him, he turns her on, and that she is obsessed with him,” the complaint says.

The boy told police they communicated almost daily.

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The boy said Bergmann had touched his hand, shin and thigh while he sat next to her desk during independent reading time and that “he did not believe any of the other kids would see it happening,” the complaint says.

The boy then told police Bergmann told him to stay after class and that she approached him and kissed him on the mouth. He said that Bergmann had kissed him several times in the classroom after school or during lunch, according to the complaint.

Bergmann started teaching for the Hudson School District in fall 2022. In an email to parents after her arrest, Superintendent Nick Ouellette called the allegations “gut wrenching” and added, “I want you to know the School District is taking this very seriously.”

A man is in custody after officials with White Bear Lake Area High School say he enrolled as a student using a fake identity.

“We received reports that an individual enrolled at WBLAHS was over the age of 21 and promptly started an investigation,” according to an email White Bear Lake Area Schools High School Principal Russell Reetz sent to parents. “Upon our initial investigation, we have determined that while enrolling this individual we followed our enrollment process, which is as rigorous as state law allows. The individual appears to have provided fraudulent documentation and a false identity to enroll.”

School officials investigated after they received reports of a person over 21 years of age having enrolled.

“The individual in question is currently in police custody and is not allowed on any district property,” according to Reetz’s email. They added that they are continuing to investigate the matter and are working with White Bear Lake police, which is also looking into the incident.

“Please rest assured that the safety and well-being of all students is our top priority,” Reetz said. “I am grateful to the staff members, families and students who saw something and decided to report it. These reports led to our investigation. We take all concerns seriously, and appropriate steps are taken any time there is a potential threat to student safety.”

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