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2 SoCal suspects accused of stealing millions through ‘grandparent scams’

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 18:49:01 GMT

Two L.A. County residents are accused of stealing over $2 million through “grandparent scams."The suspects were identified as James Wesley Jackson III, aka “Imperial,” 42, and Christopher Fagon, 45, who used several aliases, mostly variations of “Christopher Broker," according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.“Grandparent scams” typically involve convincing elderly victims to send money to help their relatives. Oftentimes, the victims are told their grandchildren are in legal trouble.Victims are told to send the money to bank accounts, business entities and addresses provided by the scammers through interstate wires and cashier’s checks, according to court documents.The stolen money is then handled by “money mules” who allow their addresses or bank accounts to be used to receive or negotiate cashier’s checks.Fagon was allegedly a manager of money mules, including Jackson, who then recruited his own money mules, officials said. Fagon is accused of creating businesses and opening bank ac...

Photos: Holiday celebrations in the San Francisco Bay Area

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 18:49:01 GMT

Related ArticlesLatest Headlines | Photos: Parishioners celebrate the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe Latest Headlines | Should there be a mandatory retirement age from concerts for over-the-hill rock stars? Latest Headlines | Security guard slain at Oakland convenience store is remembered; suspect still sought Latest Headlines | A holiday weekend getaway to Sausalito Latest Headlines | Photos: SantaCon fills San Francisco’s Union Square for 28th annual event Meet and greets with Santa Claus. Menorah and tree lightings. Grinch sightings and ugly sweaters.Winter holiday celebrations in the Bay Area offer a visual feast unlike anywhere else. From a choir of sixth graders singing at San Jose’s annual Christmas in the Park to throngs of visitors strolling Thompson Lane in the 85th year of Alameda’s holiday lights spectacle, our photographers captured the spirit of the season in action ac...

San Francisco's viral 'couch coyote' prefers Sam Altman's mansion

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 18:49:01 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- A cute coyote made headlines this fall when it was caught on camera enjoying a nap in one San Francisco home's pristine backyard. The young male "couch coyote" spent a quiet November morning snoozing on an outdoor couch until an animal control officer encouraged him to move on. A new article by Time magazine revealed that the viral photographs were shot in the backyard of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's mansion.The article celebrated Altman as 2023's "CEO of the Year." Altman told Time that his firing and re-hiring at OpenAI did not rattle him enough to lose any sleep over. But the wild coyote does when it scratches on his backdoor.(Photo courtesy of San Francisco Animal Care and Control)"What keeps him up at night these days is something far more prosaic: an urban coyote that has colonized the grounds of his $27 million home in San Francisco," Time wrote. The OpenAI CEO said he thinks the coyote is "very cute," but also "very annoying at night."OpenAI CEO Sam Altma...

Man arrested for pulling gun during road rage incident

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 18:49:01 GMT

(KRON) -- California Highway Patrol officers arrested a man over the weekend for allegedly pulling a gun on another driver during a road rage incident, officials said.On Dec. 9, a man in a white Mercedes Benz SUV brandished a gun at the occupant of another car in Oakland. Officers were able to catch the suspect and recover the gun from his car.He was arrested on felony charges related to brandishing a deadly weapon.Another victim's truck was recently shot twice during a road rage-related incident in Castro Valley. The suspect has not been caught but was said to have been driving a white or light-colored sedan, according to the Alameda County Sheriff's Office.

DeSantis goes after Trump on abortion, COVID-19 and the border wall in an Iowa town hall

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 18:49:01 GMT

Donald Trump “flip-flipped” on abortion, overreached in response to COVID-19 and failed to uphold his campaign pledge to get Mexico to pay for a wall on the southern U.S. border, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday in Iowa.DeSantis, who is in a distant second place behind Trump in most national polls in the battle for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, stepped up his case against the former president during a CNN town hall in Des Moines five weeks before the state’s first-in-the-nation caucuses.He zeroed in on abortion in a state where evangelical voters form the backbone of the GOP, contrasting Trump’s recent skepticism about strict anti-abortion laws with his earlier comments about protecting the sanctity of life. “You should be consistent in your beliefs, especially on something that’s very fundamental, and he has not been consistent,” DeSantis said. “And there’s a lot of voters in Iowa who really care about this, who need to know how he’s changed his pos...

Fabbri and Raymond score in 3rd period as Red Wings beat Blues 6-4

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 18:49:01 GMT

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Robby Fabbri and Lucas Raymond scored in the third period to lift the Detroit Red Wings over the scuffling St. Louis Blues 6-4 on Tuesday night.Moritz Seider, Jake Walman, Jonatan Berggren and Michael Rasmussen also had goals for the Red Wings, who were 0-2-1 in their previous three games. Kevin Hayes scored twice for the Blues, who also got goals from Marco Scandella and Brandon Saad. St. Louis has lost a season-high four straight, and five of six.Raymond tied it 4-all with a power-play goal 48 seconds into the third. Fabbri put the Red Wings up 5-4 at 6:38 when he scored against his former team. Rasmussen added an empty-net goal at 18:21.Ville Husso (9-4-2) stopped 33 shots in his first game against the Blues since they traded him to Detroit for a third-round draft pick in July 2022.Jordan Binnington made 26 saves and fell to 8-9-1. St. Louis used three second-period goals to go ahead 4-3.Hayes scored twice 31 seconds apart, giving the Blues a 3-2 lead. He scored ...

Jets’ defense was thrilled to see Zach Wilson ‘cookin’ like that’ in the quarterback’s return

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 18:49:01 GMT

EAST HANOVER, N.J. (AP) — Zach Wilson played with confidence and command last Sunday for the New York Jets. And his teammates on defense loved every minute of it.Wilson bounced back from a two-game benching to have arguably the best performance of his nearly three-year career, going 27 of 35 for 301 yards while setting career highs with a 75% completion rate and a 117.9 passer rating in the Jets’ 30-6 romp over the Houston Texans.“When we’re out there and we see Zach cookin’ like that, we’re smiling and our hearts are so big smiling for Zach because we know what he’s been through,” said defensive lineman Solomon Thomas, who helped the team host a shopping spree for 25 students from Brooklyn Community Services’ Jets Academy on Tuesday night.“We know all the stuff he’s had to endure and we know the player that he is,” Thomas added. “We know the throws he can make, we know the talent he has. And for him to just go show everyone who he is — because that’s who Zach is, he can...

Carter and Guentzel score twice, Penguins end month-long power-play skid in 4-2 win over Arizona

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 18:49:01 GMT

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Penguins hope the end of one streak marks the beginning of another.Jeff Carter and Jake Guentzel both scored twice and Pittsburgh’s beleaguered power play snapped an 0-for-37 drought in a 4-2 win over Arizona on Tuesday night.Guentzel scored the Penguins’ first power-play goal in 31 days when he beat Carter Ingram just over a minute into the game. Carter’s deflection in front 4:32 into the third with Pittsburgh on the man advantage gave the Penguins the lead for good and — perhaps more importantly — will allow them to finally move on.“Hopefully we don’t have to talk about it anymore,” said Carter, who also had the 20th short-handed goal of his 19-year career in the first period.There was only tepid applause when the Penguins went on the power play 48 seconds in. It grew considerably louder moments later when Guentzel took a pass from behind the net by Sidney Crosby and beat Ingram from in close 1:12 into the game for Pittsburgh̵...

Jonas Aidoo dominates inside as No. 12 Tennessee beats Georgia Southern 74-56

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 18:49:01 GMT

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Jonas Aidoo had 29 points and 11 rebounds, and No. 12 Tennessee beat Southern 74-56 on Tuesday night.The winless Eagles (0-10) had no answer for the 6-foot-11 Aidoo, who also had two steals and two blocks. Aidoo scored the first 10 points of the game and had 21 by halftime as Tennessee led 49-21. He finished as the only double-digit scorer for the Volunteers (7-3).Derrick Harris came off the bench to score all but two of his 13 points in the second half for Georgia Southern.NO. 21 DUKE 89, HOFSTRA 68DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Kyle Filipowski had 28 points, 12 rebounds and a career-best eight assists as Duke beat Hofstra.The 7-foot preseason Associated Press All-American made four 3-pointers and blocked three shots for the Blue Devils (7-3). Duke shot 55%, made 11 of 22 3-pointers and had four players in double figures. Jeremy Roach scored 19 points.Darlinstone Dubar scored 24 points and hit seven 3s to lead the Pride (6-4). Hofstra shot 50% but committed 14 turnover...

Reynolds’ 31, Jones’ game-winner lead Green Bay past UIC, 70-68

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 18:49:01 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — Noah Reynolds scored 31 points and Elijah Jones tipped in the game-winning shot with 0.5 seconds left to give Green Bay a 70-68 victory over UIC on Tuesday night.Reynolds drove the lane and then shot an off-balanced jumper that rimmed out, but Jones was underneath for the putback. Reynolds also contributed three steals and three assists for the Phoenix (5-6). David Douglas Jr. scored 14 points while going 4 of 9 from the floor, including 3 for 6 from 3-point range. Jones had 10 points and finished 4 of 7 from the floor.Toby Okani led the Flames (6-4) with 15 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks. Isaiah Rivera added 13 points for UIC. Jaden Brownell also had 12 points.___The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.Source