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Alex Murdaugh pleads guilty to financial crimes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:22 GMT

By James Pollard and Jeffrey Collins | Associated PressCHARLESTON, S.C. — Convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh did something Thursday he hasn’t done in the two years since his life of privilege and power started to unravel — plead guilty to a crime.Murdaugh admitted in federal court to 22 counts of financial fraud and money laundering.Murdaugh, 55, is serving life without parole in a South Carolina prison for shooting his wife, Maggie, and younger son Paul. He has denied any role in the killings since their deaths in June 2021 and insisted he was innocent in two days of testimony earlier this year before he was convicted of two counts of murder.“There’s two things Alex will tell you. One, he stole the money. Two, he did not kill Maggie and Paul,” defense attorney Dick Harpootlian said after the hearing.The federal guilty plea likely locks in years if not decades in prison for the disbarred lawyer, even if his murder conviction and sentence in state court are over...

Taylor Swift fans help break records on voter registration site

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:22 GMT

Swifties, the Taylor Swift faithful, helped to achieve record-breaking traffic to the Vote.org site after an Instagram post by the singer encouraged fans to register to vote.The Vote.org site saw a 1226 percent jump in registrations, which amounted to 35,000 new registrations on National Voter Registration Day, according to a social media post by Voter.org CEO Andrea Hailey. That’s an average of 13,000 users every 30 minutes.Dear @taylorswift13 – may these stats serve as our love letter to you for amplifying voter voices! With our collective efforts, we achieved:35K+ registrations50K verifications115% in 18yo registrants vs '221.3M+ webpage viewsTogether, we make democracy shine! — Andrea Hailey (@AndreaEHailey) September 20, 2023Related ArticlesEntertainment | Taylor Swift and Sophie Turner’s power dinner adds to Joe Jonas’ woes Entertainment | Ed Sheeran at Levi’s Stadium will be bigger than Taylor Swift, Beyonce ...

SF Giants call in the kids as Brandon Crawford lands on injured list

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:22 GMT

LOS ANGELES — Coming to terms with their distant playoff odds, the San Francisco Giants shuffled shortstops Thursday. The kids are in. A short-term rental is out. And the last tether to their World Series era may be on his last legs.Brandon Crawford, the man who has played more games at shortstop than anyone else in the 141-year history of the franchise, may only have one more in him. He was placed on the injured list Thursday, his right hamstring the latest in a line of ailments, and will only be eligible to be activated next Sunday, for the final game of the season, fittingly, against the Dodgers.Splitting duties in his stead will be top prospect Marco Luciano and Tyler Fitzgerald, another young shortstop who has been tearing the cover off the ball all year in Triple-A Sacramento. Fitzgerald, 26, a fourth-round pick in 2019, had to be added to the 40-man roster. Paul DeJong, who batted .184/.180/.286 in 18 games since being picked up last month, was waived to create a spot.Crawfor...

They bought a cheap home in Italy. Then they bought another

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:22 GMT

By Silvia Marchetti | CNNWhen Italian villages started selling houses for the price of a cup of coffee, most foreign buyers rushing to grab a slice of the action saw it as a fun property hunt – a search for the ultimate bargain.But for some, buying an old home in an offbeat location has turned out to be a life-changer.In 2021, Jeffrey Pfefferle bought two abandoned houses in the Sicilian town of Mussomeli. One cost one euro – a little over a dollar. The other was a “premium” property – a ready-to-occupy home in need of only minor fixes.Pfefferle – a South California-based retiree in his late 50s – and his British partner Leon McNaught never imagined how much the purchases could change their lives.“It gave us an opportunity to take a closer look at our lives and we found that the things we value in life are abundant in Mussomeli,” says Pfefferle.“It’s a place that offers a quality of life that predominantly values people above money. A place that embraces a slower pace, giving more p...

GOP hardliners again stymie effort to avoid shutdown

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:22 GMT

By Lisa Mascaro and Stephen Groves | Associated PressWASHINGTON — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy emerged with a spending cut plan to avert a looming federal government shutdown by appeasing his hard-right flank, only to see it quickly collapse Thursday in a crushing defeat, the next steps uncertain.His latest attempt to move ahead with a traditionally popular defense funding bill as a first step toward keeping the government running was shattered by a core group of Republican colleagues who refused to vote with the increasingly endangered speaker.A test vote to advance the bill failed, 212-216, as a handful of Republicans joined with Democrats to stop it. It was the third time that McCarthy, R-Calif., has been stymied, and once again the House came to a sudden standstill.The open revolt was further evidence that McCarthy’s strategy of repeatedly giving in to the conservatives is seemingly only emboldening them. A handful of GOP lawmakers, urged on by Donald Trump, the party̵...

Artificial intelligence incubator hub is eyed for downtown San Jose

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:22 GMT

SAN JOSE — An artificial intelligence incubator could sprout in downtown San Jose, a fledgling effort being pursued by a busy local real estate developer that could spur the economy in the city’s urban core.The AI endeavor by developer Gary Dillabough is in the very early stages and there are no assurances that it will actually come to pass.One thing does appear certain: An incubator for AI companies could produce a significant economic boost for downtown San Jose.“San Jose should be the capital for AI development,” Dillabough said at a recent event to discuss the current situation as well as the future prospects for the city’s downtown.Dillabough made his comments during the Sept. 6 Silicon Valley Real Estate Breakfast hosted by prominent law firm Hoge Fenton.“We are talking with a potential partner to bring 40 or 50 AI startups to downtown San Jose,” Dillabough said during a discussion about how to spur economic activity in the city’...

King Charles III makes a stop at the fire-damaged Notre Dame Cathedral on his state visit to France

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:22 GMT

Britain's King Charles III addresses French lawmakers from both the upper and the lower house of parliament at the French Senate, Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023 in Paris. King Charles III will later meet with sports groups in the northern suburbs of Paris and pay a visit to fire-damaged Notre-Dame cathedral Thursday, on the second day of his state visit to France.( Emmanuel Dunand, Pool via AP)(AP/Emmanuel Dunand) Britain's King Charles III addresses French lawmakers from both the upper and the lower house of parliament at the French Senate, Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023 in Paris. King Charles III will later meet with sports groups in the northern suburbs of Paris and pay a visit to fire-damaged Notre-Dame cathedral Thursday, on the second day of his state visit to France.( ...

Panthers rookie QB Young held out of practice with ankle injury; Andy Dalton gets starters reps

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:22 GMT

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Carolina Panthers veteran quarterback Andy Dalton admits he’s having a little more fun this week knowing there’s a chance he may start Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks.Rookie QB Bryce Young missed his second straight day of practice on Thursday because of an ankle injury, further increasing the likelihood the 13-year pro will make his first start in a Panthers uniform.“For me, obviously — absolutely,” Dalton said with a smile. “It’s always nice because I have had a certain way of operating in my career, and when you go from starting to being the backup that is one of the things that you miss. … When you get a chance to take ownership of what you’re doing, and to know how you want it to look and how you want it to feel and see it executed, that is what makes football fun.”Dalton made it clear his goal is not to steal Young’s starting job, but instead to help the Panthers win.Young, the No. 1 pick in the draft, injured his ankle at some point duri...

Guinea’s leader defends coups in Africa and rebuffs the West, saying things must change

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:22 GMT

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — The recent coups in Africa are attempts by militaries to save their countries from presidents’ “broken promises,” the head of Guinea’s junta said Thursday as he rebuffed the West for boxing in the continent of more than 1 billion people.Col. Mamadi Doumbouya, who was sworn in as Guinea’s interim president following the coup in 2021, told the U.N. General Assembly that beyond condemning the coups, global leaders must also “look to and address the deep-rooted causes.”“The putschist is not only the person who takes up arms to overthrow a regime,” he told the gathering of world leaders in New York. “I want us all to be well aware of the fact that the real putschists, the most numerous, are those who avoid any condemnation — they are those … who cheat to manipulate the text of the constitution in order to stay in power eternally.”Guinea is one of several nations in West and Central Africa that have experienced eight coups since 2020, includin...

After more than 100 years together, No. 8 Washington and California meet for final time before split

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:22 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — Go back more than 100 years and two names have always been associated with football on the West Coast as members of the same conference.Washington and California.The schools were among the original members of the Pacific Coast Conference that started play in 1916 and they have been constants through its various iterations. That connection between the Huskies and Golden Bears will come to an end after this season. Washington is headed to the Big Ten; Cal is off to the ACC.So Saturday’s matchup between the eighth-ranked Huskies and the Golden Bears that opens the Pac-12 season for both comes with uncertainty over whether two schools linked for so long will ever meet again.For those involved with this edition, the history of the matchup is secondary to the importance of starting conference play with a win.“Each game the stakes become greater if you take care of business Week 1,” Washington coach Kalen DeBoer said.Saturday will be the 101st time the sides have met a...