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FTX founder Sam-Bankman-Fried convicted of defrauding cryptocurrency customers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:27:21 GMT

By LARRY NEUMEISTER (Associated Press)NEW YORK (AP) — FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s spectacular rise and fall in the cryptocurrency industry — a journey that included his testimony before Congress, a Super Bowl advertisement and dreams of a future run for president — hit a new bottom Thursday when a New York jury convicted him of fraud in a scheme that cheated customers and investors of at least $10 billion.After the monthlong trial, jurors rejected Bankman-Fried’s claim during four days on the witness stand in Manhattan federal court that he never committed fraud or meant to cheat customers before FTX, once the world’s second-largest crypto exchange, collapsed into bankruptcy a year ago.“His crimes caught up to him. His crimes have been exposed,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon told the jury of the onetime billionaire just before they were read the law by Judge Lewis A. Kaplan and began deliberations. Sassoon said Bankman-F...

Man killed, 1-year-old boy suffers fatal injuries in Montana shooting, suspects identified

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:27:21 GMT

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A man was shot to death and a 1-year-old boy suffered fatal injuries after gunfire was sprayed into a residence in Montana’s largest city. Several suspects have been identified as the investigation continues, Billings Police said Thursday.Wednesday’s shooting, coming just four days after a Rocky Mountain College football player was shot and killed near campus, led police Chief Rich St. John and other officials to hold a news conference to talk about the city’s increasing gun violence and gang activity. They asked residents to do their part to help prevent crime — including securing their firearms.“We’re seeing 14- to 24-year-old young males who don’t know how to problem-solve without gun violence,” St. John said. On Wednesday, neighbors reported the occupants of a pickup truck fired multiple rounds into a residence before speeding away, St. John said. Responding officers found a 31-year-old man dead lying on top of the boy, who was unresponsi...

House GOP targets IRS in bill to provide emergency aid to Israel

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:27:21 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans went after the IRS — long a GOP whipping child — when they decided that emergency aid for Israel should be coupled with cuts elsewhere in the budget.The aid bill that passed the House on Thursday — unlikely to be approved by the Democratic-controlled Senate — would cut $14 billion from the nation’s tax collector in exchange for providing assistance to Israel. President Joe Biden has said he would veto the bill if it reaches his desk.The IRS cutback would cost taxpayers billions of dollars, not save money, according to independent budget analysts.A Congressional Budget Office analysis released this week states that the move would decrease revenues by $26.8 billion over the 2024 to 2033 period, resulting in a net increase in the deficit of $12.5 billion. That’s because it would take away money that the agency dedicated to auditing the wealthy, which brings in far more than it costs. “All of those funds go to increased scrutiny on tax eva...

3 former New Mexico State basketball violated school sexual harassment policies, according to report

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:27:21 GMT

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — Three former New Mexico State men’s basketball players violated school sexual harassment policies, according to an investigation conducted by an independent contractor hired by the university to review sexual harassment allegations, a local newspaper reported.The Las Cruces Sun-News reported Wednesday that it obtained a copy of the investigation report completed for the university’s Office of Institutional Equity. According to the report, the three players violated school Title IX policies regarding sexual harassment, fondling and conduct resulting in a hostile environment and interferes with a victim’s academic or work performance. The former players and other parties have a right to appeal the determination. It was not immediately clear Thursday if any appeals had been filed.The independent contractor wrote in the notice of determination that the former players’ conduct would have warranted expulsion had they still be subject to NMSU jurisdictio...

Oregon man sentenced for LGBTQ+ hate crimes in Idaho, including trying to hit people with car

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:27:21 GMT

BOISE, Idaho. (AP) — An Oregon man who pleaded guilty in connection with LGBTQ+ hate crimes, including trying to hit people with a car in Idaho last year, has been sentenced to just over three years in prison. Matthew Lehigh was sentenced Thursday to 37 months followed by three years of supervised release and he must pay restitution, according to the U.S. Justice Department. Lehigh, 32, previously pleaded guilty to two felony charges of violating the Hate Crimes Prevention Act as part of a plea agreement. Last October, Lehigh punched and threatened a transgender librarian in Boise before trying to run over a library security guard with his vehicle, according to court documents. Days later, he saw two women he “assumed, based on their appearance and dress” were lesbians, documents said. Lehigh shouted threats and slurs at them and accelerated his car toward them. The women jumped out of the way and Lehigh’s vehicle hit the car belonging to one of the women, documents said.The Justice...

Ontario hospitals say data has been published following ransomware attack last week

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:27:21 GMT

Five Ontario hospitals affected by a recent ransomware attack, along with their shared IT provider, say data in connection to the cyberattack has been published.The attack caused an outage of some online services at Bluewater Health, Chatham-Kent Health Alliance, Erie Shores HealthCare, Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare and Windsor Regional Hospital on Oct. 23.In a joint statement, the hospitals and TransForm, a non-profit group tasked with overseeing the hospitals’ IT systems, say they are investigating to determine exactly what data has been released.  The group says the ransomware attack affected operations as well as certain patient, employee and professional staff data – noting any individuals whose data was affected will be promptly notified.It also says that it decided, after advice from experts, that it would not yield to ransom demands.The group says it will continue working closely with law enforcement including local police departments, Ontario Provincial Police, Interpol ...

Homicide victim identified in Mississauga shooting

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:27:21 GMT

Peel Regional Police have identified a 49-year-old man fatally shot in Mississauga last weekend in what investigators believe was a targeted incident.Authorities were called to the area of Goreway and Morningstar drives shortly after midnight on Sunday, October 29.Officers located a man with gunshot wounds, and he was later pronounced dead at the scene.Police are investigating the shooting as targeted, noting there is no threat to the public.The victim was identified as 49-year-old Alton Fisher of Peterborough, Ont.There is no suspect information at this time, and police said the investigation is ongoing.

Charlize Theron encourages people to find ways to help through philanthropy at Town & Country summit

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:27:21 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Charlize Theron remembers the moment her role in philanthropy clicked into place.The Oscar-winning actress had been talking with community leaders in her homeland of South Africa about how they could tackle the AIDS epidemic there. “We heard them say, ‘We know what to do, but we just need the resources to do it,’” Theron said Thursday at the Town & Country Philanthropy Summit in Manhattan. “And I thought, ‘Oh, wait, I can do that.’”As a result, she created the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project in 2007 to fund community leaders in South Africa who were already working on the AIDS epidemic and then expanded to gender equity issues. “Our philosophy is always listen and they’ll tell us what we need to do and then we help with that,” Theron told The Associated Press in an interview backstage before her appearance at the summit.It’s a strategy that resonated throughout the Town & Country Philanthropy Summit, which celebrated its 10th anniversary Thursda...

Minnesota appeals court protects felon voting rights after finding a pro-Trump judge overstepped

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:27:21 GMT

A Minnesota appeals court on Thursday stepped in to protect voting rights recently granted to felons under a new law, undoing a pro-Trump judge’s effort to strip two convicts of their right to vote. The Minnesota Court of Appeals found Mille Lacs County District Judge Matthew Quinn had no authority to find the new law unconstitutional, Minnesota Public Radio reported.The law, which took effect in July, says people with felony convictions regain the right to vote after they have completed any prison term.Quinn had said the law was unconstitutional in a pair of October orders in which he sentenced two offenders to probation, but warned them they are not eligible to vote or register to vote — even though the law says they are. It was an unusual step because nobody involved in those cases ever asked him to rule on the constitutionality of the law.In his orders, Quinn concluded the Legislature’s passage of the law did not constitute the kind of “affirmative act” he said was needed ...

Vancouver magic mushroom stores raided by police are reopening

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:27:21 GMT

VANCOUVER — One of three magic mushroom stores that were raided by Vancouver police this week has already reopened, and the owner says his other two are restocking and will be back in business on Friday.The Vancouver Police Department says it executed search warrants at the stores on Wednesday in an investigation into the sale of illegal psychedelic drugs, with officers seizing “a variety of controlled substances.”The stores owned by Dana Larsen are located on East Hastings Street, West Broadway Avenue, and Granville Street.Larsen says the East Hastings store has already opened, with the other two to follow, and he’ll “try to be better prepared” if police visit again.Larsen says Wednesday’s raids were unexpected, and he was held by police for seven hours before being released with no charges and no conditions. A storefront poster Larsen shared on social media says police seized all the stores’ mushrooms, LSD, coca leaf, other drugs and money...