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ByBernardCondon The Associated Press NEW YORK Hackers call- ing themselves Guardians of Peace made ominous threats Tuesday against movie theaters showing Sony Pictures' film "The In- terview" that referenced the terrorist attacks of Septem- ber 11, 2001. The group also released a trove of data files: what they called the beginning of a "Christmas gift." But GOP, as the group is known, in- cluded a message warn- ing that people should stay away from places where "The Interview" will be shown, including the up- coming premiere. Referencing 9/11, it urged people to leave their homes if located near theaters showing the film. "The Interview" is a comedy in which Seth Ro- gen and James Franco star as television journalists in- volved in a CIA plot to assas- sinate North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Its New York premiere is scheduled for Thursday at Manhattan's Landmark Sunshine, and is expected to hit theaters na- tionwide on Christmas Day. It premiered in Los Angeles last week. Rogen and Franco pulled out of media ap- pearances Tuesday, can- celing a planned New York Q&A event to be streamed by Buzzfeed. After avoiding the media last week as the hacking scandal unfolded, the two stars had appeared Monday on "Good Morn- ing America" and Rogen guested on "The Colbert Report." A representative for Ro- gen said he had no com- ment. A spokeswoman for Franco didn't immediately respond to queries Tuesday. Patrick Corcoran, spokes- man for the National Asso- ciation of Theater Owners, wouldn't comment on the threats. In a statement, the FBI said it is aware of the threats and "continues to work collaboratively with our partners to investigate this matter." It declined to comment on whether North Korea or another country was be- hind the attack. Specula- tion about a North Korean link to the Sony hacking has centered on that coun- try's angry denunciation of the film. Over the summer, North Korea warned that the film's release would be an "act of war that we will never tolerate." It said the U.S. will face "merciless" re- taliation. In their warning Tues- day, the hackers suggested Sony employees make con- tact via several disposable email addresses ending in yopmail.com. Frenchman Frederic Le- roy, who started up the yopmail site in 2004, was surprised to learn the Sony hackers were using yopmail addresses. He said there was no way he could iden- tify the users. "I cannot see the identi- ties of people using the ad- dress ... there is no name, no first name," he said in a phone interview with The Associated Press. He said yopmail is used around the world but there are "hundreds and hun- dreds" of other disposable email sites. Leroy, who lives in Barr, outside Strasbourg in east- ern France, said he heard about the Sony hackers yesterday on the radio but knows nothing more. He said he has not been con- tacted by any authorities. Since Sony Pictures was hacked by GOP late last month in one of the largest data breaches ever against an American company, ev- erything from financial fig- ures to salacious emails be- tween top Sony executives have been dumped online. Separately Tuesday, two former employees of Sony Pictures Entertainment sued the Culver City, Cali- fornia company for not pre- venting hackers from steal- ing nearly 50,000 social se- curity numbers, salary details and other personal information from current and former workers. The federal suit alleges that emails and other in- formation leaked by the hackers show that Sony's information-technology de- partment and its top law- yer believed its security system was vulnerable to attack, but that company did not act on those warn- ings. GUARDIANS OF PEACE So ny h ac ke rs re fe re nc e Se pt . 11 i n th re at s By Brandon Bailey The Associated Press OAKLAND After just a few hours of deliberation, a jury in California found in favor of Apple on Tuesday in a billion-dollar class-action lawsuit over the price of its iPod music players. The eight-member jury in U.S. District Court re- jected a claim by attorneys for consumers and iPod re- sellers, who argued that Ap- ple's use of restrictive soft- ware amounted to anticom- petitive behavior aimed at freezing out competing makers of portable music players. Apple had argued that the software provided nec- essary security protection and was part of a larger package of features that made its iPods and iTunes music store popular with consumers. Apple applauded the ver- dict in a statement: "We created iPod and iTunes to give our customers the world's best way to listen to music. Every time we've updated those products — and every Apple product over the years — we've done it to make the user experi- ence even better." Attorneys for the plain- tiffs said they plan to ap- peal. "We're glad we got this to the jury," said attorney Bonny Sweeney, who had argued on behalf of the estimated 8 million con- sumers who purchased iP- ods from 2006 to 2009. But she asserted that a ruling by Judge Yvonne Gonza- lez Rogers in Oakland kept the jury from considering the full effect of the iTunes software update that was the focus of the trial. The case was filed nearly ten years ago and dates to a time when anti-piracy soft- ware prevented iPods from playing songs downloaded from competing online out- lets. Apple phased out the restrictive software sev- eral years ago, and the ju- ry's decision has no effect on the company's current practices. But the plain- tiffs argued that the soft- ware locked people into using iPods and allowed Apple to overcharge for the devices. Plaintiffs were seeking $350 mil- lion in damages, which could have been tripled if the jury found Apple vio- lated antitrust laws. While disputing the plaintiffs' calculations, Ap- ple also argued that the iTunes software update was a legitimate product im- provement, with a variety of consumer-friendly features. Rogers told the jurors that legitimate improvements are allowed under antitrust law, regardless of their ef- fect on competitors. MUSIC PLAYERS Ap pl e wi ns c la ss -a ct io n iP od l aw su it ; at to rn ey s sa y th ey 'l l ap pe al NICKUT—THEASSOCIATEDPRESSFILE Cars enter Sony Pictures Entertainment headquarters in Culver City. Hackers calling themselves Guardians of Peace on Tuesday released another round of data leaks, including ominous threats against the premiere of Sony Pictures' film "The Interview." PAUL SAKUMA — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE A man wears an Apple iPod Shuffle at an Apple store in Palo Alto. The Associated Press IRVINE A research firm says California home prices cooled last month as lack of affordability and inventory kept potential buyers on the sidelines. CoreLogic DataQuick said Tuesday that the me- dian sales price for new and existing houses and condo- miniums was $381,000 in November, barely changed from 382,000 in Octo- ber and up 6 percent from $360,000 a year earlier. It's the lowest annual percent- age increase since March 2012. Sales were down 12 per- cent from a year earlier to nearly 30,000 homes. It is the lowest November sales tally in seven years. The San Francisco Bay area's median sales price was $601,000. CALIFORNIA Home prices cool in November Tehama Estates Theareas#1SeniorHousingProvider SeniorRetirementApartments findusonFacebook 750DavidAvenue,RedBluff 527-9193 www.tehamaestatesretirement.com Do you know a senior that has been displaced from their home by the flooding? During this difficult time, Tehama Estates wishes to help any senior in need of tempo- rary housing by offering furnished shelter, hot meals and other services for a modest cost. Pleasecallorstopbyformoreinformation | NEWS | REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2014 8 A