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Orange County man found guilty of $1.2 million check fraud scheme

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:50 GMT

An Orange County man was found guilty of conducting a $1.2 million check fraud scheme that he promoted on social media.Meshach Samuels, 26, from Placentia, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and two counts of being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.From May 2021 to March 2022, “Samuels urged his Instagram followers to join his Telegram chat groups, where – for a fee of up to thousands of dollars – he would provide instructions on how to recruit accomplices and commit check fraud to steal money from banks," officials said.Samuels and his accomplices would create fraudulent checks drawn from victim accounts. They used stolen personal information that was obtained from a “corrupt” bank teller and other sources, officials said.They would deposit the fraudulent checks into third-party accounts and withdraw the money in amounts under $10,000 to avoid any bank alerts. The bank teller accomplice was also pai...

Oakland A’s complete winless trip with 3-2 loss in Seattle

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:50 GMT

JP Sears continued his run of encouraging starts, but a big finish again eluded the Oakland A’s on Thursday night in a 3-2 loss to the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park.The loss capped a winless trip for the A’s, who went 0-7 and return to the Coliseum to face the defending World Series champion Houston Astros starting Friday night.The A’s, who have lost eight in a row overall, started the trip by being swept in Houston. The team’s 10-42 record matches the 1932 Boston Red Sox for the worst 52-game start since 1901, and its .192 win percentage projects to a 31-131 mark that would easily be the worst for a major league team since the 1899 Cleveland Spiders went 20-134.The reeling A’s have dropped 16 of 18 overall and been swept in seven series this season. The A’s failed to score more than two runs in any the seven games on the trip, and three of the losses were 3-2 decisions.Oakland were off to a promising start when Ryan Noda doubled with one out in the first...

A's rookie on pace for historic season

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:50 GMT

(KRON) -- Oakland A's rookie center fielder Esteury Ruiz has been a bright spot in a dark season for the team's fan base. Ruiz has shown off elite speed and solid contact skills manning the leadoff spot in 2023. He had 26 stolen bases after Wednesday night's game, putting him on pace for an accomplishment that has not been achieved in 35 years. Billy Hamilton (different from the current speedster with the same name) set the rookie record for stolen bases in 1889 when he swiped 111 bags for the Kansas City Cowboys of the American Association. The team folded the next season, and Hamilton was shipped to the Philadelphia Phillies, where he played the next six seasons of his Hall of Fame career. A’s, Nevada legislative leadership reach tentative agreement for new ballpark In 1985, St. Louis Cardinals rookie Vince Coleman came within one stolen base of tying Hamilton's record. Since that season, Kenny Lofton has the most steals for a rookie with 66 in 1992. Enter Ruiz. The speedy cen...

KRON4's 2023 AAPI Heritage Month Special

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:50 GMT

(KRON) -- KRON4's Will Tran and Stephanie Lin provide a closer look at the Bay Area's rich Asian and Pacific Islander culture with this year's AAPI special.Learn about a Bruce Lee exhibit at the Chinese Historical Society of America, Oakland's Dokkaebier brewery and more. Watch the whole show using the video player above.

France hits 2 homers, Gilbert goes 8 innings as Mariners edge reeling A’s 3-2

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:50 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — Ty France homered twice in his return to the lineup, Logan Gilbert pitched eight outstanding innings and the Seattle Mariners finished a four-game sweep of the Oakland Athletics with a 3-2 victory Thursday night.Eugenio Suárez drew a bases-loaded walk from reliever Garrett Acton in the eighth to push across the go-ahead run.Oakland lost its eighth consecutive game and completed an 0-7 trip that began in Houston. The team’s 10-42 record matches the 1932 Boston Red Sox for the worst 52-game start since 1901, and its .192 win percentage projects to a 31-131 mark that would easily be the worst for a major league team since the 1899 Cleveland Spiders went 20-134.The reeling A’s have dropped 16 of 18 overall and been swept in seven series this season.Gilbert (3-2) allowed just three hits, including Seth Brown’s two-run homer in the first. He retired 15 straight batters during one stretch, and 22 of his last 23. The right-hander struck out six and walked no...

What to watch this weekend: ‘Succession’ finale, John Wick, Matchbox Twenty, ‘American Born Chinese’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:50 GMT

Sure, lots of folks are eagerly anticipating this Sunday’s “Succession” finale. But what if you haven’t followed the Roy family drama? There’s plenty of new don’t miss new television, movies, music and games headed to a device near you.Among the offerings worth your time as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists this week are streaming arrival of the latest “John Wick” film, the end of a long drought of new Matchbox Twenty music, a video game that lets you play one of Middle Earth’s most recognizable characters and a television adaptation of the graphic novel “American Born Chinese.”NEW MOVIES TO STREAM— It can be hard to believe when corporate folks make genuinely altruistic gestures, especially involving their fortunes, but neither Kris McDivitt Tompkins, the first CEO of Patagonia, nor her late husband, Doug Tompkins, the founder the North Face and Esprit, were ones to play by the rules. “Wild Life,” a new documentary from the Oscar-winning “Free Solo” filmma...

Ejected for 4th time this year, Yanks’ Boone doesn’t want robot umps

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:50 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Ejected for the fourth time this season and second time in a four-game span, Yankees manager Aaron Boone didn’t think there was a need for robot umpires.“I don’t want that,” Boone said after Thursday night’s 3-1 loss to the Baltimore Orioles.Boone was tossed in the middle of the third inning by Edwin Moscoso over the umpire’s strike zone. Boone held up four fingers while arguing, signaling Boone thought the plate umpire missed four calls on pitches by Yankees starter Clarke Schmidt. A graphic posted by the Yankees’ YES Network indicated at least six of Schmidt’s pitches that caught the edge of the strike zone were called balls.“Clearly he shouldn’t have had to throw almost 30 pitches in that first inning,” Boone said. “But, no, I’m not advocating for the robo. I think these guys do for the most part a great job and work really hard at it. When you’re playing for a lot, there’s going to be some issues from time to ...

CANNES PHOTOS: In the festival’s blur, someone’s always watching

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:50 GMT

CANNES, France (AP) — The Cannes Film Festival, a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it blur, can never be seen in full.Though a wide-screen spectacular, Cannes is often spied only in fleeting glimpses — the back of a star’s head, the flowing train of a gown. Outside the festival hub, the Palais des Festival, throngs teeter on ladders and rise on tiptoes to catch a view of the French Riviera pageant that has unspooled over the last two weeks.Along the main boulevard, the Croisette, faces on billboards, posters and magazine covers look out on the sea of people rushing by. In Cannes, someone is always watching.AP Photographer Daniel Cole has spent the festival looking to capture the glances and impressions of a splintered spectacle. His images offer snapshots of life in Cannes, whether lost in a crowd or in stolen moments of isolation. The Cannes Film Festival draws to a close Saturday with the presentation of the Palme d’Or.Source

AP PHOTOS: A proliferation of gold mines in Venezuela offers grueling, dangerous work

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:50 GMT

EL CALLAO, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela is known to have the world’s largest oil reserves, but its soil holds another valuable resource: gold. The government in 2016 established a huge mining development zone stretching across the middle of Venezuela to diversify its revenue. Seven years later, there is a proliferation of mines burrowing for gold, diamonds, copper and other minerals.The Mining Arc of the Orinoco is plagued with violence and shrouded in secrecy because many mines operate outside or on the margins of the law. They offer lucrative jobs for ordinary Venezuelans, but conditions are brutal.At an underground mine in Bolivar state, operators use dynamite to loosen rocks some 260 feet ( 80 meters) below the surface, where workers descend daily to toil in oppressive heat with no safety gear.The miners typically begin their day strapping themselves to a thick steel wire, holding on as best then can while dropping about 200 feet (60 meters) down a shaft, entering a world where he...

Riopelle slams 2 homers, Gators top Vandy 6-3 in SEC

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:50 GMT

HOOVER, Ala. (AP) — BT Riopelle hit two home runs, including a grand slam, to lead top-seeded Florida to a 6-3 win over fourth-seeded Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament on Thursday.Riopelle, who had a game-winning three-run home run in Wednesday’s win over Alabama, had a solo shot before his 13th home run of the year made it 6-2.Florida (44-13) advances to a semifinal on Saturday, facing the winner of the Alabama-Vanderbilt loser-out game, which is Friday.Davis Diaz drove in two runs on a groundout in the top of the first and a single in the fifth that tied the game at 2 for Vanderbilt (38-18). Luke Heyman tied the game for Florida with a homer in the second and Riopelle gave the Gators a 2-1 lead in the fourth.Ryan Slater picked up the win in relief for the Gators to improve to 9-0 while Bryce Cunningham (2-3) took the loss. Philip Abner struck out three in the ninth for his third save.Jonathan Vastine had a solo home run leading off the eighth for Vandy.___AP college sports: h...