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Oakland Mayor Thao may get a salary raise

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:14 GMT

(KRON) -- Oakland's mayor has served the city for less than a year, but the city council is already considering giving her a big pay raise. At Tuesday's Oakland City Council meeting, councilmembers will mull over a proposal to give Mayor Sheng Thao a $70,000 raise -- on top of her $226,557 annual salary. Thao is eligible for the salary boost under the city's charter. City councilman Noel Gallo said he plans to vote "no," citing the city's looming budget deficit. "We have a projected $360 million deficit that I am trying to make up for in the following year. As it is right now, she is making over $200,000 per year. She just got elected. (Thao) hasn't demonstrated in terms of her capacity yet. I'm going to vote no on the item. I think that money should go straight back into the neighborhood," Gallo told KRON4. Even if Thao's pay raise is approved, she won't be earning as much as San Francisco's mayor, London Breed. Breed rakes in $357,000 annually, according to data from the Californi...

New skimmer threat targets retail shoppers, according to Alameda PD

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:14 GMT

ALAMEDA, Calif. (KRON) -- Scammers are known to use skimmers at ATMs and gas stations, but the Alameda Police Department is warning that thieves are also setting these data-stealing devices at retail stores now."We have seen skimmers throughout town in various ways," said crime prevention tech Michaelia Parker. Pleasanton ‘porch pirate’ caught on video arrested Alameda PD is advising to not only check for skimmers at the pump or bank terminal, but also the next time you step in line to buy groceries or anything else at a retail store."I always recommend if you go in to use any type of credit card or even your phone to tap, to always check any type of terminal to make sure that there's no devices that were left on there or it hasn't been tampered with," Parker said.Parker said thieves work alone or in pairs to snap a skimmer onto card readers, usually while employees are distracted. Then, it's just a matter of time before someone, or several people are victimized."Once the cards ar...

South Korea says North Korea has launched a ballistic missile toward the North’s eastern waters

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:14 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea says North Korea has launched a ballistic missile toward the North’s eastern waters.Source

‘Pigeon Drop’ scammer arrested for targeting seniors in Prince George’s Co.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:14 GMT

A Temple Hills man has been arrested and charged with scamming several senior citizens out of thousands of dollars in a scheme known as a “pigeon drop.”Keith Twiggs, 59, was arrested on June 29 after Prince George’s County police said he had committed at least two of the scams in the county since May.A pigeon drop scam, police said, involves criminals using the lure of a more valuable item or a large sum of money to encourage victims to turn over cash to them.While Twiggs is now behind bars, Lieutenant Joseph Bellino with Prince George’s County Police claims that he is the leader of only one of several groups running this scam in the county.“There’s multiple crews operating; they’re learning that this is an effective way to get a large amount of money,” Bellino said.Twiggs is accused, along with other unidentified co-conspirators, of targeting older Black residents in expensive cars because they assume those individuals have wealth.In one of the cases, Twiggs and an unid...

Oldest pro soccer player Miura not ready to retire, set to play again in Portugal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:14 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — The oldest professional soccer player has decided he’s not old enough to call it quits just yet.Striker Kazuyoshi Miura, who is 56, has signed a new loan deal in Portugal, the second-tier club Oliveirense posted on social media on Tuesday.Miura has been on loan from Japanese club Yokohama FC to Oliveirense since February and set the record for the Portuguese league’s oldest player when appearing in three games through the end of the season in May.As well as Japan, Miura has played in Brazil, Italy, Croatia and Australia. The former national team forward scored 55 goals in 89 games for Japan.“Miura Kazu continues at UD Oliveirense,” the Liga Portugal 2 side said on Twitter, without specifying the length of the new contract.Last year, the owners of the J-league J1 club Yokohama became a majority shareholder of Oliveirense.___More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsSource

Official portraits of former Md. governor, wife finally coming to Annapolis

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:14 GMT

This content was republished with permission from WTOP’s news partners at Maryland Matters. Sign up for Maryland Matters’ free email subscription today.The portraits of a recent former governor and his wife will soon take their places among their peers.Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) and his wife, retired District Court Judge Catherine Curran O’Malley, haven’t lived in the governor’s mansion since 2015. Their portraits are absent from both the State House and the mansion.That will soon change.The O’Malleys will be the guests of Gov. Wes Moore (D) and his wife Dawn Flythe Moore on July 19 for an invitation-only unveiling inside Government House, according to an invitation obtained by Maryland Matters.A spokesperson for the governor confirmed the unveiling event.Some details are known about the portraits.Former Governor O’Malley’s portrait was painted by Jorge Alberto Gonzalez in 2017. Judge O’Malley’s portrait was painted by Hans Guerin ...

Jurado decide sobre la herencia de Aretha Franklin y determina que es válido un testamento de 2014 escrito a mano

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:14 GMT

(CNN) — El jurado que escuchó los argumentos sobre la disposición de la herencia de Aretha Franklin determinó este martes que una versión de 2014 de su testamento debe mantenerse como el documento de registro.Tras deliberar durante casi una hora, los miembros del jurado consideraron que el testamento escrito a mano, que halló bajo el cojín de un sofá la sobrina de Franklin tras la muerte de la cantante, fue firmado por la leyenda de la música en 2014 y consigna su voluntad.La familia de Aretha Franklin en el tribunal este martes. (Crédito: Sarahbeth Maney/Detroit Free Press/USA Today Network)En el centro de la disputa legal había dos testamentos distintos.Dos de sus hijos, Kecalf Franklin y Edward Franklin, querían que el documento fechado el 31 de marzo de 2014 se estableciera como su testamento legal, mientras que otro hijo, Ted White II, abogaba por que se mantuviera un documento de 2010.El cuarto hijo de Franklin, Clarence Franklin, tiene necesidades especiales, está bajo ...

Make Ukraine a porcupine rather than a protectorate

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:14 GMT

Benjamin H. Friedman is Policy Director at Defense Priorities. Christopher McCallion is a Fellow at Defense Priorities.At this week’s NATO Summit in Vilnius, the alliance kicked the can down the road once more by inviting Ukraine to join in the future, while denying it entry in the immediate term. Ukraine and its most ardent supporters, meanwhile, have demanded the alliance offer it membership, or at least a clear path to it.More cautious leaders, like French President Emmanuel Macron, have proposed to offer Kyiv vaguer security guarantees instead — meaning some type of promise to protect Ukraine if it is attacked. And despite stating that Ukraine is not yet ready for inclusion in NATO, United States President Joe Biden insists on maintaining an open door for its membership in the future.All these proposals are dangerously misguided. The U.S. should not offer Ukraine security guarantees of any sort — and certainly not NATO membership — now or when the war i...

Firefighters rescue baby deer stuck in sewer drain in Brockton

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:14 GMT

A heartwarming rescue recently played out in Brockton when firefighters saved a baby deer in distress. The rescue happened on Monday afternoon after Fire Chief Brian Nardelli said workers at the city’s water treatment facility on Oak Street noticed a strange noise coming from a sewage pipe. The workers called for help and crews soon found a baby deer stuck in a roughly four-foot pipe. Animal control personnel and firefighters got to work, with one rappelling to help the animal. “Bobby York, the firefighter that went down, he goes down there, he starts to move around and the fawn jumps out and starts swimming around,” Nardelli said. Nardelli said the fawn then jumped back into the hole before York was able to get a cinch on the fawn and hand it to firefighters.After two hours, first responders were able to finally get the deer out of its tight situation and on its way back home. “Everyone was really happy at the end, this is this small animal, baby anima...

Bank of America hit with $250M in fines and refunds for ‘double-dipping’ fees and fake accounts

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:14 GMT

By KEN SWEET and MICHELLE CHAPMAN (Associated Press)NEW YORK (AP) — Bank of America will reimburse customers more than $100 million and pay $150 million in fines for “double-dipping” on overdraft fees, withholding reward bonuses on credit cards and opening accounts without customer consent.Combined, it is one of the highest financial penalties in years against Bank of America, which has largely spent the last 15 years trying to clean up its reputation and market itself to the public as a bank focused on financial health and not on overdraft fee income and financial trickery. BofA must refund $100 million to customers, pay $90 million in penalties to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and $60 million to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. “Bank of America wrongfully withheld credit card rewards, double-dipped on fees, and opened accounts without consent,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra, in a statement. “These practices are illegal...