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Trump charged with 34 felony counts in hush money scheme

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:32 GMT

By MICHAEL R. SISAK, ERIC TUCKER, JENNIFER PELTZ and WILL WEISSERT (Associated Press)NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump conspired to illegally influence the 2016 election through a series of hush money payments designed to silence claims that he feared would be harmful to his candidacy, New York prosecutors said Tuesday in unsealing a historic 34-count felony indictment.The charges arose from a series of checks that Trump or his company wrote during the presidential campaign to his lawyer and fixer for his role in making a payment to a porn actor who alleged an extramarital sexual encounter with Trump years earlier.The payments were part of “an unlawful plan to identify and suppress negative information that could have undermined his campaign for president,” Assistant District Attorney Christopher Conroy said in court. They were made to “protect his candidacy,” Conroy added.The arraignment in Manhattan, though largely procedural in nature, was nonetheless the...

JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon says bank rules need update after SVB fail

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:32 GMT

NEW YORK  — JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said the U.S. and the banking industry should amend regulations following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank last month, saying that the financial system needs to be adjusted so that one bank’s failure does not “cause undue panic and financial harm.”The comments, made in Dimon’s letter to JPMorgan Chase shareholders Tuesday, were his first since the two banks failed. Dimon, the chairman and chief executive of the nation’s largest bank, is a veteran of the 2008 financial crisis, and one of the last senior executives remaining at a Wall Street firm since the industry nearly collapsed 15 years ago.Dimon said in his letter there was plenty of blame to go around for Silicon Valley Bank’s failure. The bank’s management poorly handled the bank’s interest rate risk by buying low interest government bonds and mortgages, leaving it too exposed to the Federal Reserve’s rising interest...

IRS leader promises faster, easier tax filing process

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:32 GMT

WASHINGTON — New IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel delivered a tax-season pledge Tuesday that the agency will use an $80 billion infusion of cash to become faster, more tech-savvy and provide “real-world improvements” to taxpayers.Werfel, as he was ceremonially sworn in on Tuesday, said he would release a Strategic Operating Plan later this week laying out how the agency will use the money approved in last year’s Inflation Reduction Act.“This is our moment in history to transform the IRS,” said Werfel, who began working at the agency in mid-March.“We have a great deal of work ahead of us to ensure a more modern and high-performing IRS that provides world-class services to taxpayers,” he said.Some of the planned improvements include hiring more people to end long call wait times, additional locations for IRS staff to provide in-person service and expanded online accounts, so taxpayers and professionals will be able to address tax issues through e...

Aztecs return to San Diego after historic season

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:32 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego State men's basketball team returned home Tuesday afternoon after their historic season came to an end Monday in Houston.The Aztecs fell 76-59 to UConn in the NCAA National Championship game.It was the furthest the program had ever advanced in the tournament.Watch the team's homecoming in the video player above.

Highest-rated things to do in San Diego, according to Tripadvisor

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:32 GMT

Stacker compiled a list of the highest rated things to do in San Diego on Tripadvisor. Tripadvisor rankings factor in the average rating and number of reviews.#30. USS Midway Museum- Rating: 5.0 / 5 (25,371)- Type of activity: Speciality Museums- Address: 910 N Harbor Drive, San Diego, CA 92101-5811- Read more on Tripadvisor#29. San Diego Zoo- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (28,837)- Type of activity: Zoos- Address: 2929 Zoo Drive Balboa Park, San Diego, CA 92101- Read more on Tripadvisor#28. Balboa Park- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (13,023)- Type of activity: Parks • Gardens- Address: 1549 El Prado, San Diego, CA 92101-1660- Read more on Tripadvisor#27. La Jolla Cove- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (13,672)- Type of activity: Beaches • Parks- Address: 1100 Coast Blvd, La Jolla, San Diego, CA 92037-3600- Read more on Tripadvisor#26. Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (3,786)- Type of activity: State Parks • Nature & Wildlife Areas- Address: 12600 N Torrey Pines Rd, San Diego, CA 92037- Read more on Trip...

Death of former governor’s aide brings FBI manhunt to end

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:32 GMT

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — The three-week manhunt for a former top aide to Maryland’s governor ended in his death after public corruption charges jeopardized his career and ultimately sent him on the run from federal agents when he skipped a court appearance last month. Following numerous twists and turns, the case against Roy McGrath ended Monday night when FBI agents confronted the fugitive outside Knoxville, Tennessee. McGrath, who had served as former Gov. Larry Hogan’s chief of staff, died in the hospital after being wounded by gunfire. As the criminal investigation and prosecution dragged on for years, McGrath consistently maintained his innocence and was adamant about going to trial in hopes of clearing his name, according to his lawyer, Joseph Murtha. But when the March 13 trial date arrived, McGrath surprised his attorney by failing to appear at the U.S. District Court in Baltimore.“We were moving forward and preparing for trial, but you never know what’s going on in someone’s m...

Most Canadians got more from carbon-price rebates than they spent in 2021: report

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:32 GMT

OTTAWA — Most of the Canadians who paid the national carbon price in 2021 got far more back than they paid, a newly released annual report on pollution pricing says.Based on the numbers in the report, the average amount that people paid in the four provinces where the carbon price applied that year was $555. The average rebate was $804.“Numbers still show that as of now, most Canadians get more back from pollution pricing than what they pay,” Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said in an interview.Every province must have the same price levied on greenhouse gas-emitting fuels, but only Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario used the federal system that year. Yukon and Nunavut also pay the federal carbon price, but those revenues are returned to the territorial governments directly, not as rebates to households. Northwest Territories and the other provinces opted for their own programs.Those that use the federal system receive a rebate. The system is designed so ...

‘At a crossroad’: Canada’s police chiefs request urgent meeting with premiers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:32 GMT

WINNIPEG — The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police has requested an urgent meeting with Canada’s premiers to discuss bail reform and the recent killings of officers.In a letter dated Monday to Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson, association president Danny Smyth said there has been a link in the rise of violence by people released on bail since federal legislation changes were brought in four years ago. Stefanson is the chair of the Council of the Federation that constitutes all of the premiers in Canada“Over the last four years, we can track distinct spikes in the numbers of people released on bail and incidences of violent offences committed by those on bail,” said Smyth in the letter.Smyth, who is also Winnipeg’s chief of police, said that an increase in drug, gang and gun violence has escalated the danger of the profession, noting that eight officers have been killed in the line of duty in the last six months.“The number of murders of police of...

Rally calls for end to Safe Third Country agreement after tragic death of 8 migrants

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:32 GMT

The faces of some of the migrants that have died trying to cross into the United States were plastered on the Federal Public Safety Minister’s office during an emergency rally Wednesday. It comes after eight migrants were killed trying to cross from Canada into the United States last week. Demonstrators called on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to grant full and permanent status to all migrants and undocumented persons in Canada.“As he promised, so that the deaths will stop,” said Syed Hussain, the Executive Director for the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change.The eight migrants killed last Thursday when their boat capsized in Quebec on the way to the U.S. have been identified as two families of four: The Chaudari family of India and the Iordache family of Romania.“They were facing deportation and two infants, under the age of three, have drowned to death because of the decisions made by Prime Minister Trudeau,” said Hussein. The Iordache family had been ...

Puerto Rico, USVI to receive $108M to upgrade water systems

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:32 GMT

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday that Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands will receive a total of nearly $108 million to improve drinking water infrastructure across the U.S. territories.Puerto Rico is slated to get $62 million and the U.S. Virgin Islands nearly $46 million.The money is part of a push by the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden to improve drinking water systems and remove lead pipes. Federal officials said Congress appropriated an additional $6 billion for water projects in U.S. states and territories as part of the $550 billion Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that Biden signed in November 2021.Officials said the money will target disadvantaged communities. Puerto Rico, an island of 3.2 million people,d has a 46% poverty rate. The U.S. Virgin Islands, a three-island territory of 87,000 people, has a poverty rate of nearly 20%. The Associated Press