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Former Facebook executive pleads guilty to stealing $4 million from company

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:23:00 GMT

By Olivia LaBorde | CNNAn Atlanta woman pleaded guilty to stealing more than $4 million from Facebook while she was an executive at the company.Barbara Furlow-Smiles attends the 2020 Sisters’ Awards at Skirball Cultural Center in March 2020 in Los Angeles, California.(Robin L Marshall/Getty Images) Barbara Furlow-Smiles who worked as a lead strategist, global head of employee resource groups and diversity engagement at Facebook, Inc., now known as Meta, from about January 2017 to September 2021 according to U.S. Attorney Northern District of Georgia Ryan K. Buchanan’s Office.“This defendant abused a position of trust as a global diversity executive for Facebook to defraud the company of millions of dollars, ignoring the insidious consequences of undermining the importance of her DEI mission,” said Buchanan in a statement.According to the US Attorney, Furlow-Smiles used her Facebook expense account to live a luxurious lifestyle in California and Georgia.Furlow-Smiles fraud...

Navy officer released from Japanese prison booked into California federal prison

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:23:00 GMT

By Jake Tapper and Jennifer Hansler | CNNUS Navy officer Lt. Ridge Alkonis, who was jailed in Japan for negligent driving that resulted in the death of two people, has been booked into a federal prison in Los Angeles following his transfer to the US, according to a family spokesperson and the Federal Bureau of Prisons.“We can confirm Ridge Alkonis is in the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) Los Angeles,” a BOP spokesperson told CNN.A family spokesperson, Jonathan Franks, said in a statement that “Lt. Alkonis is now housed in a notorious federal lockup in Los Angeles, and BOP tells us it will take up to 90 days to approve Brittany and the kids to visit him. We believe the BOP can and should release Ridge immediately – it is outrageous he is spending the night in jail.”The BOP spokesperson said the bureau had nothing to add when asked by CNN when Alkonis’ family might be able to visit him.Earlier Thursday, the Alkonis family said...

Coastal Commission slams a group of Santa Cruz County homeowners with $4.7 million in penalties

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:23:00 GMT

SANTA CRUZ — The California Coastal Commission issued more than $4.7 million in fines Thursday against a group of beachfront homeowners in Aptos in what is the highest penalty the agency has levied in Santa Cruz County history.“I do think the penalties are a little light given the intensity of the restriction, of the violations,” said Commissioner Donne Brownsey shortly before the vote after the commissioner had spent more than two hours on the agenda item. “It’s sad, I think, that this particular area – which is (a) very beautiful beachfront – kind of looks like a crime scene now.”All five enforcement actions from the commission, a combination of cease-and-desist orders and penalties, were agreed to unanimously among its 12 voting members.The fees were handed to the Rio Del Mar Beach Island Homeowners Association and its 27 members owning a row of properties along Beach Drive as well as Gaurav Singh and Sonal Puri, who own a home at 202 Beach Drive, where the pathway in question be...

2 attacks launched from rebel-held Yemen strike container ships in vital Red Sea corridor

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:23:00 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A ballistic missile fired from rebel-held territory in Yemen slammed into a cargo ship Friday in the Red Sea near the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait, following another attack only hours earlier that struck a separate vessel, authorities said. The missile attack on the MSC Palatium III and the earlier assault on the Al Jasrah escalate a maritime campaign attributed to the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. The attacks also endanger ships traveling through a vital corridor for cargo and energy shipments for both Europe and Asia from the Suez Canal out to the Indian Ocean.The Houthis say their attacks aim to end the pounding Israeli air-and-ground offensive targeting the Gaza Strip amid that country’s war on Hamas. However, the links to the ships targeted in the rebel assaults have grown more tenuous as the attacks continue. A U.S. defense official and the private intelligence firm Ambrey said the MSC Palatium III, a Liberian-flagged contain...

US and Israel discuss when to scale back Gaza combat but agree fight will take months, envoy says

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:23:00 GMT

Smoke rises following an Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Friday, Dec. 15, 2023. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)(AP/Leo Correa) Smoke rises following an Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Friday, Dec. 15, 2023. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)(AP/Leo Correa) RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — The United States agrees with Israel that the fight against Hamas will take months, but officials are discussing the timetable for scaling back from high-intensity combat to more precise ways of targeting the militant group’s leaders, a top U.S. envoy said Friday amid growing American unease about the mounting death toll in Gaza.U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan planne...

Darden Restaurants: Fiscal Q2 Earnings Snapshot

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:23:00 GMT

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Darden Restaurants Inc. (DRI) on Friday reported fiscal second-quarter net income of $212.1 million.On a per-share basis, the Orlando, Florida-based company said it had net income of $1.76. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs and to account for discontinued operations, came to $1.84 per share.The results surpassed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 14 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.71 per share.The owner of Olive Garden and other chain restaurants posted revenue of $2.73 billion in the period, which did not meet Street forecasts. Twelve analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $2.74 billion.Darden Restaurants expects full-year earnings in the range of $8.75 to $8.90 per share, with revenue expected to be $11.5 billion._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on DRI at ...

More than 100 injured in a Beijing rail collision as heavy snow hits the Chinese capital

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:23:00 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Two subway trains collided in heavy snow in Beijing, sending 515 people to the hospital, including 102 with broken bones, authorities said Friday.The accident occurred Thursday evening in Beijing’s mountainous west on an above-ground portion of the sprawling subway system’s Changping line. Slippery tracks prompted automatic braking on the leading train. A train following from behind was on a descending section and went into a skid and was unable to brake in time, the city transport authority said in a statement Friday on its social media account. Emergency medical personnel, police and transport authorities responded, and all passengers were evacuated by about 11 p.m., it said. Twenty-five passengers were under observation and 67 remained hospitalized Friday morning, the authority said. Unusually heavy snow that began falling Wednesday has prompted the suspension of some train operations and school closures. Alerts remain in place for icy roads, extreme cold and furth...

Sauber team name returns to F1 grid for 2024 season after Alfa Romeo departs as sponsor

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:23:00 GMT

HINWIL, Switzerland (AP) — The Sauber team name will be back on the Formula One grid for the 2024 season after former sponsor Alfa Romeo left.The 2024 entry list published Friday by the FIA lists the Swiss team as Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber, incorporating the names of gambling sponsor Stake and streaming service Kick. The car chassis driven by Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu will officially be called a Kick Sauber C44.Both were already among the team’s sponsors last year. Kick branding replaced Stake at races in some countries which restrict gambling advertising.Sauber has been in F1 since 1993, though it raced as BMW Sauber from 2006 through 2010 and under the Alfa Romeo name from 2019. Alfa Romeo has left as the Sauber team prepares to become the factory team for car manufacturer Audi from the 2026 season.___AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racingSource

US official says a second cargo ship has been struck by a ballistic missile fired from rebel-held Yemen

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:23:00 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — US official says a second cargo ship has been struck by a ballistic missile fired from rebel-held Yemen.Source

Colorado's Ice Castles announces 2023 opening date

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:23:00 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — After a two-year hiatus, Ice Castles is officially opening for the 2023-2024 season in a few days.One of Colorado's most popular frozen attractions will open to the public in Cripple Creek at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 19.Thanks to some cold temperatures in Teller County, Ice Castles can open earlier than its anticipated January opening date. Just in time for the holidays.“We’re excited to finally announce our opening day in Colorado,” said Ice Castles CEO Kyle Standifird, “Mother Nature has been good to us this season, and we’re excited to welcome guests to Ice Castles over the holiday break.” Dogs in Colorado are some of the most spoiled in the US, Forbes Advisor says Ice Castles was originally in Dillon but had to close for the 2021-2022 seasons due to renovations at the Town Park.Guests who venture to Cripple Creek will be treated to a winter wonderland with ice slides, caverns, archways, fountains and crawl tunnels that were created by 20 ice artisans. Ice Castle...