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San Diego man charged for obtaining $4M in alleged COVID loan fraud

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:28 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A San Diego man accused of defrauding investors in his companies now faces additional charges after he allegedly obtained $4 million in COVID-related loans illegally, U.S. Attorney Andrew Haden's office announced.Denny Bhakta, 41, was arraigned in federal court on Friday for the new charges relating to Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan fraud. Bhakta pleaded not guilty to the charges, according to court documents.According to the Haden's office, Bhakta was first indicted in Dec. 2021 for allegedly running a fraud scheme through companies he managed that took $28 million from investors since 2016, including Fusion Hotel Management, LLC and Fusion Hospitality Corporation. California man linked to fourth ‘sex worker’ death in Tijuana, prosecutor says Bhakta allegedly told investors that Fusion routinely acquired discounted blocks of hotel rooms from Hilton, according to the original indictment, which the company then sold to United Airlines at a higher price for a s...

As death toll from Maui wildfire reaches 93, effort to find and identify the dead is just beginning

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:28 GMT

LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — As the death toll from a wildfire that razed a historic Maui town climbed to 93, authorities warned that the effort to find and identify the dead was still in its early stages. The blaze is already the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century.Crews with cadaver dogs have covered just 3% of the search area, Maui Police Chief John Pelletier said Saturday.“We’ve got an area that we have to contain that is at least 5 square miles, and it is full of our loved ones,” he said, noting that the number of dead is likely to grow and “none of us really know the size of it yet.”He spoke as federal emergency workers picked through the ashen moonscape left by the fire that razed the centuries-old town of Lahaina. Teams marked the ruins of homes with a bright orange “X” to indicate an initial search, and “HR” when they found human remains.Pelletier said identifying the dead is challenging because “we pick up the remains and they fall apart.” The remains have been ...

Migrants from dozens of boats reach tiny Italian isles; charity ship rescues hundreds of people

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:28 GMT

ROME (AP) — Migrants who set out in dozens of flimsy boats launched by smugglers on Tunisian shores have disembarked on three tiny Italian islands in a span of two days, officials said. Separately, a charity vessel carried out 15 rescue operations and the Italian Coast Guard on Sunday recovered a body off the western coast of Sicily from a shipwreck.Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni has repeatedly encouraged Tunisia to put an end to the near daily launching of multiple vessels from its ports. But in the last 10 days there has been a spate of boats capsized, shipwrecked or otherwise in distress. Tens of thousands of migrants have set out this year from northern African shores to try reach Europe. Last week, a merchant ship took aboard four survivors who were adrift in a smugglers’ engineless boat, They recounted how they had been tossed into the sea when towering waves knocked over their vessel and that 41 fellow passengers didn’t survive, a tragedy Pope Francis spoke of whe...

Younger Canadians favour changing ‘O Canada’ lyrics: poll

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:28 GMT

A new poll finds younger Canadians are in favour of additional changes to the lyrics to “O Canada”.The Research Co. poll shows 55 per cent of English-speaking Canadians between the ages of 18 and 34 agree with changing the first line of the national anthem from “Our home and native land” to “Our home on native land” while only 28 per cent of those over the age of 55 would approve of the change. Overall, only 41 per cent would approve of the change while 44 per cent disagree with the proposed modification of the lyrics. Last month, market research firm Leger found 33 per cent of those polled supported changing the anthem, with 48 per cent opposed. Again, support for the change was higher among younger Canadians (42 per cent).That poll was in response to a proposed resolution put forward by Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie that would see the lyric changed to “O Canada! Our home on native land.” Juno-winning R&B singer Jully Black sparked the de...

Economists expect rise in inflation as price-growth fight enters new phase

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:28 GMT

OTTAWA — Forecasters anticipate this week’s consumer price index report to show inflation rose last month, signalling a reversal in progress after a year of steady declines in inflation. Canada’s annual inflation rate fell back to the country’s target range in June for the first time since March 2021, tumbling to 2.8 per cent.But economists expected the victory against high inflation to be short-lived, as underlying price pressures suggest it will take some time for inflation to return to the two per cent target.“I think (the report) is going to be a bit of a dash of reality for everyone, including the Bank of Canada, that basically the easy phase is over and now the hard work begins,” said Douglas Porter, BMO’s chief economist.Both BMO and CIBC expect inflation to come in at 3.1 per cent in July, largely due to higher gasoline prices.The U.S. experienced a similar uptick in inflation last month, as its annual rate rose to 3.2 per cent, up from 3....

‘The saving grace for agriculture’: Farmers look to irrigation amid climate woes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:28 GMT

CALGARY — Sean Stanford’s wheat farm just south of Lethbridge, Alta. falls within the far left corner of Palliser’s Triangle — an expanse of prairie grassland encompassingmuch of southeast Alberta, a swath of southern Saskatchewan, and the southwest corner of Manitoba.The area is named for explorer Capt. John Palliser, who in 1857, famously declared the entire region a wasteland — so hot and arid that no crops would ever grow. More than 160 years later, with parts of the prairie provinces suffering through another summer of drought conditions, Stanford’s farm is certainly dry.“I think we’ve had three inches of rain since we started seeding. It’s been pretty dismal, honestly,” he said in an interview in July.But Stanford is growing crops, thanks to a series of small sprinklers, attached to a large pipe and powered by an electric motor that disperse water from a nearby irrigation canal over some of his fields.“Hopefully this fall I’m going to ...

What is the difference between 'sell by' and 'best-by' dates on food?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:28 GMT

(WHTM) – Grocery stores package foods in many different ways, but they also have many ways to indicate when foods may be past their prime. While some say "use by" a specific date, others say "sell by" the posted date. But what is the difference?According to the University of Connecticut (UConn), food dating is not required by federal law. The only exception to this is infant formula and some baby food. For all other foods, except for dairy products in some states, dating is up to the manufacturer. Stores are also not legally obligated to remove outdated products from their shelves, UConn reports. This means that consumers should always check the packaging to make sure what they are buying is the freshest. Dunkin’ is releasing a line of spiked coffee and tea There are a few terms that consumers should be aware of when it comes to food dating, some of which can be confusing. Here are some common terms you may see while shopping for food. Expiration date: Food should be thrown awa...

Texas woman injured after hawk drops snake on her arm, then attacks them both

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:28 GMT

SILSBEE, Texas (KETK) -- A woman in Silsbee was mowing her lawn when the unthinkable happened; a snake fell from the sky and landed on her arm, our NBC affiliate KPRC reported.After the snake fell, it started wrapping around Peggy Jones' arm.“The snake was squeezing so hard, and I was waving my arms in the air. And then, this hawk was swooping down clawing at my arm over and over,” Peggy Jones told KPRC. “I just kept saying, ‘Help me, Jesus, Help me, Jesus.’’Jones told KPRC that the hawk swooped down on her at least four times trying to get the snake before ultimately ripping the snake off her arm and flying away with it.She said blood was everywhere and that her husband heard the noise and came running.“I was yelling and screaming. He didn’t know what I was saying. I thought I was bit by a snake,” Jones told KPRC.Jones' husband took her to the emergency room and she was treated for cuts from the hawk and bruising on her arm from the snake, KPRC said.She was reportedly not bitten by...

A Haunted La Quinta in Texas? — Beware of Room 1009

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:28 GMT

DALLAS (KDAF) — There's a hotel located in downtown Dallas that has become a surprising place to spot paranormal activity. Yet, when you understand the 100 years of history, it's a no-brainer why many people believe this place is a haven for restless spirits. The hotel originally opened in 1925 as the Scott Hotel, later taking on two other names, Bradford and Hotel Lawrence, before being purchased by La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham. It unfortunately has been a hotspot over the years for several murders and deaths. The La Quinta that stands now, gratefully has had the same experience, however, reports say that ghosts of the past haunt this hotel. A gangster named Jack "Smiley" Jackson is one of the hotel's most famous ghosts. Jackson was a gangster that was killed in the now-infamous Room 109. It's said, that "Smiley" haunts the room on the tenth floor and if you stay there he reportedly shuts the door on his visitors. This specific room's energy was never the same since Jackso...

Real World Economics: Cannabis legalization and market forces

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:28 GMT

Edward LottermanThis month Minnesota begins the long process of regulating legal retail sales of cannabis.Jackpots of a billion dollars or more in multistate lotteries are in the news.So the challenge of managing goods and services that people want to consume — but that also have harmful effects — are at center stage. Can economists contribute anything to public debate on this perennial issue?Well, yes to useful insights and to suggesting palliative measures. But no to solutions. Desirable products that cause collateral damage to society are an old problem and one that will be with us always.History offers some insights. In the Bible, Noah gets drunk and into trouble bringing harm to his kids. In the mid-1700s, gin consumption in Britain exceeded six gallons per man, woman and child. Social harms from this “gin craze,’ memorably recorded by satirical painter William Hogarth, were enormous.In our nation a century later, per capita consumption of alcohol reached a level eq...