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FTX Founder Bankman-Fried, who had been living in Palo Alto, jailed in NYC

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:47 GMT

By Larry Neumeister | Associated PressNEW YORK — FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was sent to jail Friday to await trial after a bail hearing for the fallen cryptocurrency wiz left a judge convinced that he had repeatedly tried to influence witnesses against him.U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan ordered Bankman-Fried’s bail revoked after prosecutors said he’d tried to harass a key witness in his fraud case last month when he showed a journalist her private writings and in January when he reached out to the general counsel for FTX with an encrypted communication.His lawyers insisted he shouldn’t be jailed for trying to protect his reputation against a barrage of unfavorable news stories.Kaplan said he had concluded there was probable cause to believe Bankman-Fried had tried to “tamper with witnesses at least twice” since his December arrest.A defense lawyer said an appeal of the incarceration order would be filed and asked for an immediate stay of the ord...

Meet ‘Famous Dave’ at San Jose competition and score some free barbecue

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:47 GMT

“Famous Dave” Anderson of barbecue fame is coming to San Jose.The founder of the restaurant chain that bears his name will be in town Saturday, Aug. 12, to find a worthy local pit team for his Nationwide All-Star BBQ Championship Series, and five local teams are vying for the spot.The contest, which will take place from noon to 4 p.m. outside Famous Dave’s at The Plant shopping center on Curtner Avenue, is free and open to the public. But you’ll want to arrive early for sampling — the first 200 attendees will score the free ‘cue.“BBQ is really America’s food,” and competitions like this have always led to innovation in the restaurant industry, said Dave Anderson, founder of Famous Dave’s, in announcing the contest. “Giving local pitmasters the opportunity to share a family BBQ recipe and the craft they’ve handed down for generations is what BBQ is all about and what makes it interesting. That’s why this is such a passion project ...

As DeSantis resets, some worry his message is the problem

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:47 GMT

By Steve Peoples, Thomas Beaumont and Michelle L. Price | Associated PressCORALVILLE, Iowa — Ron DeSantis largely dismissed his own decision to replace his campaign leadership team as he returned to Iowa in the midst of a weekslong reset. The Republican presidential hopeful also made no mention of the two rounds of campaign layoffs he made recently in response to unexpected fundraising troubles.Instead, the Florida governor on Thursday leaned into his central message — a self-described “war on woke” — and flashed a big smile as he courted an audience of roughly 200 cheering Republicans gathered at a family restaurant for the first of four scheduled stops on his latest bus tour through the first-in-the-nation caucus state.“We’re clicking. We’re doing well,” DeSantis told reporters after a fiery speech, dismissing questions about the turmoil that has plagued his White House bid in recent weeks. He said the average voter is far more focused on his pl...

Road rage encounter on I-580 near Pleasanton ends with killing near Tracy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:47 GMT

A road rage dispute that began on a freeway near Pleasanton ended in bloodshed when a man was found shot about 25 miles away in Tracy, authorities said.The deadly encounter began the afternoon of Aug. 4 on Interstate 580 near Pleasanton and continued east onto Interstate 205, according to the Tracy Police Department. Officers then received multiple 911 calls of shots being fired on the 700 block of West Clover Road in Tracy, after which a 61-year-old Manteca man was found with life-threatening injuries, the police department said.The man, Ryan Wood, later died at a hospital.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Sunnyvale-based dentist arrested after hidden camera is found in office bathroom Crime and Public Safety | Man charged with 15 felonies in East Bay burglary spree targeting businesses Crime and Public Safety | Man arrested after spray painting Nazi imagery on Peninsula Synagogue, vandalizing Teslas Crime and Public Safety | ...

Sale closed in Piedmont: $7.5 million for a four-bedroom home

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:47 GMT

61 King Avenue – Google Street ViewA spacious house located in the first block of King Avenue in Piedmont has new owners. The 5,718-square-foot property, built in 1943, was sold on June 26, 2023, for $7,500,000, or $1,312 per square foot. This two-story house provides a generous living space with its four bedrooms and six bathrooms. In addition, the house features a garage. The lot of the property is substantial, measuring 0.3-acre.These nearby houses have also recently changed hands:A 3,022-square-foot home on the first block of King Avenue in Piedmont sold in September 2022, for $3,260,000, a price per square foot of $1,079. The home has 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.On Sea View Avenue, Piedmont, in October 2022, a 5,992-square-foot home was sold for $9,250,000, a price per square foot of $1,544. The home has 8 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms.In June 2023, a 3,249-square-foot home on Wildwood gdns. in Piedmont sold for $2,950,000, a price per square foot of $908. The home has 4 bedrooms and...

Tensions rise as West African nations prepare to send troops to Niger

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:47 GMT

By Sam Mednick | Associated PressNIAMEY, Niger — Tensions are escalating between Niger’s new military regime and the West African regional bloc that has ordered the deployment of troops to restore Niger’s flailing democracy.The ECOWAS bloc said on Thursday it had decided to deploy a “standby force” aimed at restoring constitutional order in Niger after its Sunday deadline to reinstate ousted President Mohamed Bazoum expired.Hours earlier, two Western officials told The Associated Press that Niger’s junta had told a top U.S. diplomat they would kill Bazoum if neighboring countries attempted any military intervention to restore his rule.It’s unclear when or where the ECOWAS force would deploy, and how reports of the threats against Bazoum would affect a decision by the 15-member bloc to intervene. Conflict experts say it the force would likely comprise some 5,000 troops led by Nigeria and could be ready within weeks.After the ECOWAS meeting, neighbo...

49ers-Raiders practice: ‘Bang-bang’ defense takes out Davante Adams

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:47 GMT

HENDERSON, Nev. — Davante Adams burst off the line and within seconds, Jimmy Garoppolo’s well-placed pass came his way, but so did 49ers defenders Oren Burks and Charvarius Ward.The collision result: Adams limped off with a lower leg injury, eventually heading on his own for the locker room.“Unfortunately Adams went down,” 49ers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks said. “I thought it was a bang-bang play, definitely not intentional, and I hope he has a speedy recovery, because he’s one of the top players in the league.”Even if it’s “not crazy serious,” as Raiders coach Josh McDaniels said, endangering a top player is always feared in summertime football, and Adams, a Bay Area native, is their offense’s best weapon.But that’s not necessarily why the bulk of the 49ers’ starting players likely will sit out Sunday’s preseason opener against the Raiders. Another driving factor is the starters’ immense workload in...

Sunnyvale-based dentist arrested after hidden camera is found in office bathroom

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:47 GMT

SUNNYVALE — A hidden camera found in the bathroom of a Sunnyvale dentist’s office led to the arrest of the dentist for allegedly capturing video of several victims, including children while using the restroom, according to authorities.Zaid Yousif Sharma, a dentist working out of an office at 877 West Fremont Avenue, was arrested on suspicion of child pornography possession and peeping on Wednesday after a search warrant was executed in his office and his Santa Clara home, a news release from Sunnyvale police announced Friday.The investigation began after a victim discovered the camera in the restroom located in Sharma’s office on July 26. The victim took the camera to Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety, according to the department, and police discovered videos of additional videos of victims — including videos of two minors.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Man killed in single-car crash on Highway 101; driver arrested on suspicion of DUI Crime...

Editorial: Firefighters’ Pink Poodle joy ride accounts simply not credible

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:47 GMT

San Jose firefighters’ explanations for the events the night they took a bikini-clad woman from the Pink Poodle strip club on a joy ride in a city firetruck are simply not credible.Worse, the unsuccessful attempts by city officials and the City Council to hide the investigation of the debacle from the public suggest they are more interested in kowtowing to the politically powerful firefighters’ union than accountability to their constituents.As a result, they have sent a corrosive message to the city workforce and the residents of San Jose that lying is acceptable behavior for some of the most critical public employees in Northern California’s largest city.A Superior Court judge last month ordered city officials to turn over to this news organization a copy of the internal investigation report they had illegally withheld for months.The report, released Monday, shows that only the captain in charge of the firetruck team, William Tognozzi, was investigated for the inappropriate use of...

Police: Sunnyvale dentist hid camera inside bathroom, recorded children

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:47 GMT

(KRON) -- A San Francisco Bay Area dentist was arrested after a victim found a video camera hidden inside a bathroom at the dentist's Sunnyvale clinic, police said Friday. Zaid Yousif Sharma was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of possessing child pornography and peeping. The Sunnyvale Police Department said the victim found the hidden camera on July 26 in a bathroom at Sharma's clinic, located at 877 West Fremont Avenue. The victim took the camera and brought it to the Sunnyvale police station. "Several victims were captured using the restroom located inside the dental office," SPD wrote.Police officers served search warrants at Sharma's house in Santa Clara and the dental clinic in Sunnyvale. At the dentist's home, "investigators located digital media that showed additional victims were captured by the hidden video camera in the bathroom, including two juveniles," SPD wrote.Sharma's biography on his professional website states, "He has worked in mobile dentistry clinics ... as well...