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Sam Bankman-Fried should be jailed until trial, prosecutor says, citing bail violations

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:54 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Sam Bankman-Fried should be immediately jailed, a prosecutor told a federal judge on Wednesday, saying the FTX founder violated his bail conditions by sharing information with a reporter designed to harass a key witness against him.Judge Lewis A. Kaplan didn’t immediately decide whether to put the cryptocurrency entrepreneur behind bars, instead giving his lawyers and prosecutors several days to submit written arguments and more information. “I am certainly very mindful of his First Amendment rights, and I am very mindful of the government’s interest here, which I take very seriously,” Kaplan said. “And I say to the defendant, Mr. Bankman-Fried: You better take it seriously, too.”Prosecutors have concluded there’s no set of bail conditions that would ensure Bankman-Fried wouldn’t try to tamper with or influence witnesses, Assistant U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon said.She said Bankman-Fried should be jailed because he shared personal writings a...

Are you a Facebook user? You have one month left to apply for a share of this $725M settlement

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:54 GMT

U.S. Facebook users have one more month to apply for their share of a $725 million privacy settlement that parent company Meta agreed to pay late last year.Meta is paying to settle a lawsuit alleging the world’s largest social media platform allowed millions of its users’ personal information to be fed to Cambridge Analytica, a firm that supported Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.Anyone in the U.S. who has had a Facebook account at any time between May 24, 2007, and December 22, 2022, is eligible to receive a payment. To apply for the settlement, users can fill out a form and submit it online, or print it out and mail it. The deadline is August 25.It’s not clear how much money individual users will receive. The larger the number of people submitting valid claims, the smaller each payment will be since the money has to be divided among them. The case sprang from 2018 revelations that Cambridge Analytica, a firm with ties to Trump political strategist Steve Bannon, had paid a...

Toronto police launch illegal gun awareness campaign amid recent spate of gun violence

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:54 GMT

It’s been hours since a police dog was killed in the line of duty, days since the mother of a 29-year-old shooting victim emotionally pleaded for change and just weeks since two young girls lost their mother when she was struck and killed by a stray bullet.Those are just some of the ways gun violence has recently manifested itself in Toronto, robbing families and communities.And now Toronto police have launched a new campaign to take illegal guns off the street while urging others to come forward and share what they know.The campaign will raise awareness about the deadly impact of illegal firearms and share with residents how to anonymously report information to Toronto Crime Stoppers.“The impacts of gun violence are horrific for the victims and traumatize the respective families in the communities in which they live, often leading to intergenerational trauma. The impacts are devastating for years after the shootings,” said Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw.“...

Shoal Lake 40 files lawsuit against federal government, Winnipeg over water diversion

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:54 GMT

WINNIPEG — An Anishinaabe community in northwestern Ontario is suing the federal government and the City of Winnipeg, claiming it hasn’t been compensated for a diversion to supply Manitoba’s capitalwith clean water a century ago that resulted in it being cut off from road access.Shoal Lake 40 First Nation, which sits on the Ontario-Manitoba boundary, filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the two levels of government in Ontario’s Kenora Superior Court of Justice. The suit alleges the federal government and the City of Winnipeg have not properly compensated the First Nation for “injurious affection or interference with its reserve lands” since a diversion system was created in 1915 for the city to use water from Shoal Lake.“They forced us into this location, removed us from our traditional lands just to access clean drinking water,” Shoal Lake 40 First Nation Chief Kevin Redsky said in a phone interview. “Canada allowed that to happen. They al...

‘Stranger Things’ star Millie Bobby Brown added to the Fan Expo Canada lineup

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:54 GMT

TORONTO — “Stranger Things” star Millie Bobby Brown has been added to the Fan Expo Canada lineup.The four-day pop culture convention says the actress will be on hand for autographs, photos and a panel.Brown joins recently announced guests including “Cobra Kai” stars Ralph Macchio and William Zabka, Ming-Na Wen of “The Book of Boba Fett” and “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” and Stephen Amell of “Arrow” and “The Flash.”The guest list grows amid dual Hollywood strikes by unionized actors and writers that have shuttered sets and some red carpets.Screen Actors Guild strike rules demand members refrainfrompromoting work completed under TV and theatrical contracts, including at conventions and fan expos.Fan Expo Canada’s tribute to genre fare and fandoms runs Aug. 24 to 27 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.The all-ages event is billed as the largest comics, sci-fi, horror, anime, and gaming event in Canada and the third-largest pop culture event in North America.This report by Th...

NYC plans to set up a shelter for 1,000 migrants in the parking lot of a psychiatric hospital

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:54 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City will set up a shelter for up to 1,000 migrants in the parking lot of a state psychiatric hospital as thousands of asylum seekers continue to arrive in the city weekly, officials said Wednesday.The new emergency relief center at the Creedmoor Psychiatric Hospital in the Queens borough of New York will house adult men who are asylum seekers and will offer services including meals and medical care, the officials said.“This center will provide not just a place to stay but also critical services to support these individuals on their journey,” Emergency Management Commissioner Zach Iscol said at a City Hall news conference.New York state will provide the space at the 300-acre (121-hectare) Creedmoor facility and will reimburse the city for setting the migrant center up and staffing it, Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Anne Williams-Isom said.There are currently more than 56,000 migrants in New York’s care, with more people arriving daily, offi...

2 shot, 1 killed in West Englewood armed robbery

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:54 GMT

CHICAGO — A double shooting amid an armed robbery on Chicago's South Side has left one man dead and another injured, police said Tuesday. Two armed suspects approached the victims in the 7000 block of S. Laflin Street in West Englewood around 10:40 a.m. and demanded their property, police said. Woman, 69, killed in Uptown hit-and-run Though the victims complied, one of the suspects opened fire in their direction.As a result, both victims — a 57-year-old male and a 51-year-old male — were shot. The 57-year-old was shot in the abdomen. He was rushed to Advocate Christ Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.The 51-year-old was shot in the right leg. He drove himself to Advocate Christ Medical Center, where he was stabilized. CPD: 19-year-old shot and killed in North Lawndale, ID’d The offenders fled the scene and no one is in custody. Anyone with information may leave an anonymous tip at cpdtip.com.

Rob Manfred will continue as MLB commissioner for a few more years

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:54 GMT

NEW YORK — There is going to be no change in leadership for Major League Baseball for the foreseeable future. While some changes he's made sometimes upset the fans, Rob Manfred continues to have the faith of the owners in the league. On Wednesday, his contract was officially extended by the MLB owners, keeping him in the top spot until January 25, 2029. This means that he'll be the commissioner when the latest Collective Bargaining Agreement expires on December 1, 2026. Manfred was first elected commissioner in August 2014, officially taking over in January 2015 after previously serving as MLB's chief operating officer. Joining the league in 1998, Manfred was also an executive vice president, overseeing labor relations, economics, and legal affairs."It is an honor to serve the best game in the world and to continue the pursuit of strengthening our sport on and off the field," said Manfred in a statement released by MLB. "This season our players are displaying the most vibrant versio...

Plan for trail that connects multiple cities moves forward in Williamson County

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:54 GMT

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — The Williamson County Commissioner's Court approved hiring an architecture group to design and engineer a trail that will connect multiple cities across the county. Williamson County opens its largest park near Liberty Hill At the commissioner court's meeting Tuesday morning, leaders approved Halff Associates to design the project.According to the meeting's agenda, the Southwest Regional Trail will connect to the Brushy Creek Regional Trail. The project would essentially connect communities from Georgetown all the way to Hutto with a walking and biking path.The cost of the project is $493,630, part of which could potentially be paid for with a bond election later this year, said Precinct 3 Commissioner Valerie Covey.

Is the government concealing proof of UFOs? UT scientist says it's unlikely

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:54 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Three former military officials testified before the House Oversight subcommittee Wednesday, saying that the United States Government is concealing evidence of Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon, also known as UAP or more commonly UFO. Whistleblower tells Congress the US is concealing ‘multi-decade’ program that captures UFOs Retired Maj. David Grusch testified the U.S. has a longstanding program that conceals and reverse engineers UFOs. The pentagon has rejected Grusch's claims, according to the Associated Press. Wednesday's hearing was part of a push for more transparency and research into UAPs. "What they're really talking about is that they want to see what are actually the communication channels going on. Because currently they have this concern, that there's actually an incredible amount of evidence out there," said Michael Endl, an associate professor for astronomy and physics at Austin Community College and a lecturer with the University of Texas.Endl teaches ...