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California man, 2 others charged with running sex ring that catered to elected officials, other wealthy clients

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:01:49 GMT

BOSTON — Three people have been charged with running a sophisticated commercial sex ring in Massachusetts and eastern Virginia that catered to well-connected clients such as elected officials and military officers, federal prosecutors said on Wednesday.Women were featured on websites that falsely claimed to advertise nude Asian models for professional photography, and high-end apartments with monthly rents as high as $3,660 were used as brothels, prosecutors say. Another website allowed clients to rate the women, prosecutors say.“This commercial sex ring was built on secrecy and exclusivity, catering to a wealthy and well-connected clientele, and business was booming, until today,” Levy said.Authorities have not named the people believed to have bought services through the ring, and none of them have been charged. But Acting Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Josh Levy stressed that the investigation is in the early stages, and said that prosecutors are committed to holding accountable bot...

Tech and biotech firms slash hundreds of Bay Area jobs as layoffs widen

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:01:49 GMT

SUNNYVALE — Tech and biotech companies have disclosed decisions to slash hundreds of jobs in the Bay Area in a fresh batch of staffing cutbacks that suggest the layoffs in the two industries have yet to run their course.Juniper Networks, Zymergen and Gilead Sciences have decided to eliminate a combined 251 jobs in the Bay Area, according to official notices that the companies sent to the state’s labor agency.Here are the details for the job cuts and locations of the reductions that the companies have revealed, as specified in WARN letters sent to the state Employment Development Department:— Juniper Networks, 108 job cuts in Sunnyvale. The tech company, which makes networking products, expects the layoffs to be effective on Dec. 4.— Zymergen, 101 layoffs in Emeryville. The biotech firm said its staffing reductions would begin around Dec. 18 and be completed around February 2 of next year.— Gilead Sciences, 42 staff cutbacks in Foster City. The job cuts ...

Pac-12 legal affairs: Lawsuit against NCAA looms as ‘Pac-2’ consider rebuilding plans

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:01:49 GMT

The legal fight for control of the Pac-12 takes a critical turn early next week. Will Washington State and Oregon State be deemed the sole members of the conference’s governing board? Will the 10 departing schools retain their votes and defy the two left behind?The outcome of a preliminary injunction hearing in Whitman County (Wash.) will help define the next move for all 12 schools and potentially determine the fate of tens of millions of dollars in Pac-12 assets.But a court decision last week in Northern California added clarity to the other side of the ledger. The Pac-12 brand itself might morph into a massive liability.U.S. District Court Judge Claudia Wilken’s ruling in an antitrust case pushed the NCAA closer to paying billions of dollars in damages.Specifically, Wilken granted class-action status to a three-level lawsuit aimed at compensating thousands of former college athletes for the use of their name, image and likeness.The so-called House lawsuit, named after former Ariz...

What to watch for when Ivanka Trump testifies in the Trump Org. fraud trial

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:01:49 GMT

New York (CNN) — Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump is testifying Wednesday in the former president’s civil fraud trial as the final witness for the New York attorney general’s office.While Ivanka Trump is no longer a defendant in Attorney General Letitia James’ case after an appellate court removed her as a defendant earlier this year, she is still likely to be pressed about her role securing financing for properties when she worked at the Trump Organization, as well as the valuation of an apartment she leased in one of her father’s Manhattan buildings.Her testimony comes after her father’s Monday appearance on the witness stand, in which the former president badgered the judge and the attorney general with political attacks that frequently irked Judge Arthur Engoron.There may not be as many fireworks with Ivanka Trump’s appearance Wednesday, but there has been plenty of dr...

2nd teen arrested in connection to SJ hit-and-run that killed pregnant woman and baby

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:01:49 GMT

(KRON) -- A second 15-year-old boy was arrested on Nov. 2 in connection to a hit-and-run that killed a pregnant woman and her baby in late October, the San Jose Police Department announced on Wednesday.The arrest comes after another 15-year-old boy was arrested on Oct. 28 in connection to the deadly crash that occurred on the night of Oct. 24. Both suspects were booked into Santa Clara County Juvenile Hall following their arrests, San Jose police said in a brief statement.At 8:42 p.m. on Oct. 24, a stolen 2013 white Hyundai sedan with two suspects inside crashed into the victim’s 2008 black Nissan sedan at the intersection of Winfield Boulevard and Blossom Hill Road. The two suspects fled immediately after the collision, police said. Amtrak train collides with SUV at Jack London Square The victim, later identified as April Marie Zoglauer, 21, of San Jose, was pronounced dead at a local hospital.Zoglauer’s unborn child was delivered through an emergency surgery but succumbed to the...

Man found after being reported missing by Sonoma County Sheriff's Office

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:01:49 GMT

(KRON) -- The Sonoma County Sheriff's Office said a 79-year-old man reported missing Tuesday has been "located safe and sound" in an update on Wednesday.The man was described as standing 6 feet 7 inches and weighing 220 pounds with brown hair. He also suffers from dementia. He was last seen wearing a brown sweater, black pants and black braces on his feet, the sheriff's office said. He was in the area of Sonoma/Schellville when he was last heard from.

Oregon Police Obsessively Spied on Activists for Years, Even After Pipeline Fight Ended

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:01:49 GMT

Protesters opposed to the Jordan Cove Pipeline project in Coos Bay, Ore., stage a sit-in at the office of then-Gov. Kate Brown on Feb. 20, 2020.Photo: Andrew Selsky/AP PhotoThe activists of Siskiyou Rising Tide are not new to being watched. Founded in 2016 under the name Southern Oregon Rising Tide, the direct action climate justice group was a key player in the yearslong battle to stop the Jordan Cove Energy Project, a 229-mile natural gas pipeline that threatened to be the largest single emitter of greenhouse gasses in Oregon.Alongside a coalition of environmental and Indigenous groups, Siskiyou Rising Tide faced major police counterinsurgency efforts, including aggressive monitoring funded by Pembina Pipeline Corporation, the Canadian fossil fuel company behind the project. But a dense web of interagency and corporate surveillance was unable to curtail the Jordan Cove opposition: In a rare victory for the climate movement, Pembina canceled the project in 2021.A new trove of inte...

Al Jazeera Censors Video of Critic Who Said Saudi-Israel Normalization Would Be “Suicide” for MBS

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:01:49 GMT

Al Jazeera English quietly removed an episode of its current affairs show from YouTube, in which one guest said it would be political “suicide” for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to normalize relations with Israel amid its war on Gaza. “He would not probably survive as the future king of Saudi Arabia, if he goes ahead and normalizes in this context of war,” said Madawi Al-Rasheed, a visiting professor at the London School of Economics’ Middle East Center, during an interview last week on Al Jazeera English’s “UpFront.” She was invited onto the show, hosted by Marc Lamont Hill, to discuss the risks of escalation in the Middle East amid Israel’s ongoing siege and bombing campaign of Gaza. Al Jazeera English posted the episode online and promoted it on social media, directing users to watch it on YouTube (such tweets are still live). The YouTube link, however, no longer works; the video is marked as “unavailable” and “private.” The episode no longer ...

En Colombia, detienen a tres personas por fraude en visas para EEUU

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:01:49 GMT

BOGOTÁ, Colombia — Las autoridades colombianas capturaron y procesaron a tres personas señaladas de participar en una banda dedicada al tráfico de migrantes y al fraude de documentos para obtener visas de Estados Unidos.La Fiscalía señaló este miércoles en un comunicado que los capturados serían integrantes de la banda “Los Hunters”, dedicados a falsificar historias clínicas y otros documentos que simulaban enfermedades de alto costo que requerían un tratamiento médico urgente en Estados Unidos y así lograr adelantar citas en la embajada americana que estaban agendadas para 2027.El fraude de documentos, por un costo de hasta 3,000 dólares, incluía extractos bancarios y certificaciones financieras que hacían creer que los solicitantes de visa tenían la capacidad económica necesaria para financiar su tratamiento médico, lo que habría “inducido en error a los funcionarios de la embajada de Estados Unidos en Colombia, que aprobaban las visas”, detalló la Fiscalía. Desde cu...

GOP’s David Owen wins Virginia legislative race over Democratic opponent who livestreamed sex videos

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:01:49 GMT

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Republican David Owen defeated Democrat Susanna Gibson in a Virginia House of Delegates race that drew attention after revelations that Gibson engaged in sex acts with her husband on a pornographic website.Gibson ran against Owen in one of the state’s most competitive districts after all 100 seats in the House of Delegates were redrawn to conform with the 2020 Census. Many political scientists said Gibson’s chances in Tuesday’s election were doomed after news outlets reported in September about Gibson’s participation in livestreamed sex, which included soliciting payments from viewers in exchange for specific acts.But Gibson, a nurse practitioner, refused to withdraw from the race, and accused Republicans of dirty politics for exposing her conduct. She largely ignored the allegations and, like other Democrats statewide, focused on abortion rights. Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin has been seeking a ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, with exc...