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Secret audio, a star witness, and ‘Thai prostitutes’ complicate Sam Bankman-Fried’s defense

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:53:54 GMT

New York (CNN) — Two weeks into what could be a four-to-six-week trial, jurors hearing the case against fallen crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried have been inundated with evidence that looks, for now, pretty damning.While the defense has yet to call its own witnesses, it has stumbled frequently in cross-examining the government’s, several of whose testimony placed Bankman-Fried at the center of a yearslong conspiracy to steal from customers, defraud investors and bend over backwards to cover it all up.Bankman-Fried, 31, has pleaded not guilty to seven counts of fraud and conspiracy. He’s been accused of stealing billions of dollars in deposits from customers of his FTX crypto exchange in order to cover losses at his other firm, a crypto trading house called Alameda Research.The prosecutors brought out their big guns in week two of the trial. Here are the highlights.‘The ultimate insider’By the far the most significant witness for the prosecution is a 28-year-old...

Driver leads police on 55-mile Maine chase after almost hitting warden investigating moose complaint

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:53:54 GMT

LINCOLN, Maine (AP) — A driver led police on a 55-mile chase in Maine after nearly hitting a game warden who was investigating a moose complaint, police said.Police said the chase began late Thursday morning after multiple agencies were informed that the vehicle almost hit the warden in Lincoln. The warden had witnessed the vehicle leaving the scene of a suspected trespassing and theft at a pulp and tissue mill and the high-speed pursuit began, police said.The pursuit ended more than 90 minutes later in Haynesville after police deployed tire deflation mats and other techniques to slow the vehicle. Police said two passengers in the car were taken into custody and charged with crimes including theft and criminal trespassing.Police said the driver fled the scene but was quickly located and charged with numerous offenses.It was not immediately clear if the driver and passengers had hired attorneys. The driver was transported to Aroostook County Jail and the passengers posted bail.

Suspended Miami city commissioner pleads not guilty to money laundering and other charges

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:53:54 GMT

MIAMI (AP) — A suspended Miami city commissioner who is accused of accepting $245,000 in exchange for voting to approve construction of a sports facility has pleaded not guilty to multiple felony charges, including bribery and money laundering.Alex Diaz de la Portilla did not appear in court Friday, but his attorney, Ben Kuehne, entered the plea for him.Diaz de la Portilla and a co-defendant, Miami attorney William Riley Jr., were arrested Sept. 14.Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended Diaz de la Portilla, who is a fellow Republican, after the commissioner’s arrest. Kuehne said Friday that his client was campaigning for the Nov. 7 election to keep his seat on the commission.“We look forward to a vindication of these charges because Alex is not guilty,” Kuehne said at the Miami-Dade criminal courthouse, according to the Miami Herald.Kuehne requested that Diaz de la Portilla be tried separately from Riley, WPLG-TV reported.On Friday, Riley’s attorney also entered a not guilty ...

Italian court confirms extradition of a priest wanted for murder, torture in Argentina dictatorship

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:53:54 GMT

ROME (AP) — Italy’s top criminal court has confirmed the extradition of an Italian priest sought by Argentina on charges of murder and torture during its last military dictatorship, rejecting the priest’s appeal, a lawyer said Sunday. Arturo Salerni, who represented Argentina in the case, told The Associated Press that the decision by Italy’s Court of Cassation in the case of the Rev. Franco Reverberi confirms a previous ruling by a Bologna appeal court and is now definitive. Italian Justice Minister Carlo Nordio has now 45 days to issue a decree that requests the extradition of Reverberi, 86, who served as military chaplain during Argentina’s 1976-1983 military dictatorship. “The battle for truth and justice that has been conducted primarily by the families of the victims of the terrible years of the Argentine dictatorship reached another important result,” Salerni said. “This decision affirms a universal jurisdiction on the violations of human rights,” he added. Reverb...

Azerbaijan’s president raises the nation’s flag in a former breakaway region’s capital

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:53:54 GMT

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has raised his nation’s flag over the capital city of a former breakaway region in a ceremony reaffirming Baku’s control over it.The Azerbaijani leader delivered a speech and raised the flag over the city, which is known as Khankendi by Azerbaijan and Stepanakert by Armenians, the presidential office said Sunday.The Karabakh region, which was previously known as Nagorno-Karabakh and is known to Armenians as Artsakh, is internationally recognized as Azerbaijani territory, but became a breakaway state under the control of ethnic Armenian forces in 1994 following a six-year conflict.A subsequent war in 2020 returned control of much of the area to Azerbaijan, until a lightning offensive last month forced separatists to relinquish the rest of the region.In a 24-hour campaign that began on Sept. 19, the Azerbaijani army routed the area’s undermanned and outgunned ethnic Armenian forces, forcing them to capitulate.The majority of the area’s ethnic Armenia...

Police investigating alleged sexual assault in Greektown

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:53:54 GMT

Toronto police are investigating a sexual assault that occurred on Saturday in Greektown.On Oct. 14 at approximately 3:15 a.m., in the Logan Avenue and Danforth Avenue area, a man reportedly followed a woman on foot.He reportedly approached the woman and sexually assaulted her, then fled on foot.The man is described as black, 5’9″-5’11”, with a thin build. The man was wearing a black hooded sweater, a black vest, blue jeans, black shoes with white soles and wearing a light blue surgical mask.

Ecuadorians are electing a new president. The choice is between a banana empire heir and an attorney

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:53:54 GMT

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Frightened by unprecedented violence on the streets and within prisons, Ecuadorians have a universal demand for the president they are choosing Sunday — safety.The runoff election in the South American country pits an heir to a banana empire, Daniel Noboa, against an attorney, Luisa González. Both have limited governing experience and will undoubtedly have their work cut out.The election comes as more Ecuadorians become victims of drug-related violence that erupted roughly three years ago and intensified in August, when a presidential candidate was assassinated in broad daylight. People continuously watch their backs and limit how often they leave home. The uneasiness even pushed Noboa to add a bulletproof vest to his daily outfit.Whoever wins with a simple majority of votes will govern for only 15 months, until May 2025, which is what remains of the tenure of President Guillermo Lasso. He cut his term short when he dissolved the country’s National Assembly...

Israel-Hamas war upends China’s ambitions in the Middle East but may serve Beijing in the end

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:53:54 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — In June, Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted the Palestinian president in Beijing and invited the Israeli prime minister for an official state visit. Benjamin Netanyahu accepted, and China was on track for a bigger role in the region.Then came the Hamas attack against Israel, which has made Netanyahu’s late October trip uncertain and put Beijing’s Middle East approach to the test. China’s stated neutrality on the war has upset Israel, but Beijing may gain in the long run by forging closer ties with Arab countries, experts said.“For a while at least, Beijing’s Middle East policy is paralyzed by the war,” said Shi Yinhong, professor of international relations at Beijing-based Renmin University of China. “The U.S., which strongly supports Israel, is directly or indirectly involved. Who is there to listen to China?” That hasn’t stopped China from trying to be heard. Its Middle East envoy, Zhai Jun, talked to Palestinian and Egyptian officials by phone this ...

Transgender Manitoba MLA aims to bring personal experience to justice, health issues

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:53:54 GMT

WINNIPEG — Logan Oxenham is celebrating a number of firsts this month. He was elected for the first time to Manitoba’s legislature with the New Democrats in the Oct. 3 election. The 46-year-old’s win has also been called historic, as he’s believed to be the first openly transgender person elected at the provincial level in Manitoba, and possibly in Canada.He was also just measured for his first fitted suit.“I feel honoured,” Oxenham said in a recent interview about his election win.“I feel that I have an opportunity now to really amplify voices that have traditionally not been heard in places such as the legislative building,”Transgender and gender-diverse people have long been under-represented in political office at all levels of government. Jamie Lee Hamilton was the first transgender person to seek public office in Canada, when she unsuccessfully ran for Vancouver city council in 1996.Since then, a small group of transgender men and wome...

When do we turn clocks back an hour in 2023?

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:53:54 GMT

WASHINGTON (WDVM) — The time to fall back is upon us, with most of the country getting ready to return to standard time.This year, the day to roll clocks back by an hour falls on Sunday, Nov. 5, 2023. The official time for the change is 2 a.m. Daylight saving time: Why are we still changing the clocks? Daylight saving time is supposed to more accurately reflect the actual daylight hours of the day. (In order to accomplish that, we spring forward an hour. This year, we did that on March 12.)The practice has followed us since the early 1900s when it was introduced as a wartime measure during World War I. It was repealed in 1919, then brought back in 1942 during World War II. Congress later passed the Uniform Time Act in 1966 to make the bi-annual changing of the clocks the norm. We briefly tried daylight saving time year-round in 1973, but then-President Gerald Ford signed a bill in 1974 to put the U.S. back on standard time for four months.Ever since then, we've had ...