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Former soldier charged with trying to pass secrets to China

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:14 GMT

By Holmes Lybrand and Hannah Rabinowitz | CNNA former US Army sergeant who allegedly lived in China for several years was arrested Friday on charges of keeping national defense information and attempting to share it with the Chinese government.According to court filings, Joseph Daniel Schmidt was an active-duty soldier in the US Army from 2015 to 2020, where he served as a team leader on a Human Intelligence squad – eventually supervising the “collection operations and the production of intelligence reporting, analysis, and the dissemination of intelligence products.” In his role, Schmidt had access to classified intelligence, as well as a top-secret security clearance, prosecutors say.Schmidt is scheduled to make his initial appearance in a California federal court on Friday, according to a Justice Department news release.If convicted, the two charges Schmidt faces – attempting to deliver national defense information and retention of national defense information – each carry up to ...

Judge in Tesla case refuses to slash $3 million jury award for Black worker over ‘awful, pervasive racism’ at Fremont factory

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:14 GMT

A federal court judge cited “awful, pervasive racism” at Tesla’s electric car factory in Fremont as he shot down the company’s bid to halve a $3 million punitive-damages jury award to Black former worker Owen Diaz.“Tesla’s actions were grievously reprehensible. Diaz was subjected to a grossly racist workplace, with racist conduct perpetuated not only by coworkers or subordinates but also — and perhaps especially—by supervisors,” Judge William Orrick wrote in a ruling this week.Tesla sought to cut Diaz’s punitive damages award to $1,575,000, arguing that Orrick had erred in approving the $3 million.Orrick wrote that the $3 million was “appropriate in light of the endemic racism at the Tesla factory and Tesla’s repeated failure to rectify it.”Diaz sued the pioneering car maker headed by CEO Elon Musk in 2017 in U.S. District Court in San Francisco. A jury awarded him $137 million in damages in 2021. Orrick granted Tesla’s req...

McCarthy denies report he is stepping down from Congress

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:14 GMT

By Melanie Zanona, Pamela Brown and Heley Talbot | CNNFormer House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is denying reports that he is expected to step down from Congress before the end of his term – telling reporters on Friday that he still has “work to do,” after sending signals in private conversations that he could step down early from Congress.“No, I am not resigning,” he told reporters.“We are going to keep the majority. I am going to help the people I got here, and we are going to expand it further.”Earlier Friday, multiple sources familiar with McCarthy’s thinking told CNN that he was expected to step down at some point after the House speaker’s election. And sources said McCarthy has been seriously considering the move.Pressed on whether he has considered stepping down early, he said, “I look at it every time I have to decide whether I am going to run for reelection or not.”After the House voted to oust McCarthy, the California Republican did not say whether he would remain in Congress. “...

Baby name searches for Taylor and Travis ‘soar” amid the Swift/Kelce frenzy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:14 GMT

According to one theory, the rumored romance between Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce will quietly fizzle after her Era’s world tour concert movie debuts on Oct. 13. But this shining moment in the history of celebrity couplings could live on forever in the number of newborns possibly being named Taylor and Travis in the coming weeks and months.There’s definitely been a “Swift Effect” when it comes to the booming popularity of Taylor and other Swift-related names on BabyCenter.com, the San Francisco-based online parenting resource site. That includes the name Travis, after the Kansas City Chiefs tight end.Since Swift was photographed cheering Kelce on at his two recent Chiefs games, expectant parents appear to be especially interested in both her and Kelce’s names for their children, according to a BabyCenter news release. The entertainment and sports media worlds have been in a frenzy since rumors began simmering in September that the two are dating. Taylo...

What to play: ‘Forza Motorsport’ and ‘Assassin’s Creed’ return to their roots

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:14 GMT

Several franchises have gone to their roots this week in hopes of recapturing the magic that earlier games held. “Assassin’s Creed Mirage” and “Forza Motorsport” are throwbacks to early days of the series.Ubisoft’s flagship franchise has changed and evolved drastically since “Assassin’s Creed Origins” revamped the series to be more open-world and loot-centric like “The Witcher” but the latest entry harkens back to the best of the first three games with a few more modern touches.Meanwhile, “Forza Motorsport” drops the number at the end of the title (this would have been the eighth entry in the series) and marks a new approach based on what the older titles did so well — They created an engrossing campaign where players tuned and upgraded their cars to beat the competition.While those two games lead the list, there are others worth checking out:“Forza Motorsport” — Turn 10 Studios goe...

Kaiser strike to end Saturday morning, talks to resume

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:14 GMT

A three-day strike that saw 23,000 Bay Area Kaiser Permanente employees stop work along with more than 50,000 colleagues across the country will end Saturday at 6 a.m., the unions representing workers and the company said Friday.The labor action over wages, understaffing and other issues started Wednesday afternoon, with thousands of workers setting up picket lines outside facilities around the Bay Area, and the union coalition representing workers warning the strike could be extended.Kaiser said the strike did not involve its nurses union or physicians, and hospitals and emergency departments stayed open during the strike, with some staff brought in to fill roles under contract. However, the company shut many outpatient pharmacies across the region during the strike.Negotiations stalled Thursday, but on Friday, Kaiser and the union coalition said the strike would end as scheduled after 72 hours, and that talks were scheduled to resume Oct. 12.Related ArticlesHealth | Kai...

Rodeo toddler death suspects charged with murder, torture

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:14 GMT

(KRON) -- Two people who were arrested in connection to the death of a 2-year-old Rodeo boy who allegedly drowned in a bathtub Monday have been charged with murder and torture, according to court documents. Tyshawn Leontray Haywood, 21, and Destiny Deboe, 22, were arrested for murder in connection with the child's death, despite initial reports the boy had drowned.Court documents from the Contra Costa County Superior Court reveal that Haywood and Deboe have both been charged with murder, assault on a child causing death, and two separate counts of torture each. Migrant children dropped off in San Jose, left on the streets On Monday at 8:50 p.m., Contra Costa County Sheriff's Deputies responded to the 300 block of California Street on a report of a child drowning in a bathtub. The boy later died at the hospital.Deboe and Haywood were arrested and are being held on $1.07 million bail.According to the documents, both parties "did unlawfully and with the intent to cause cruel and extr...

Jets cornerback D.J. Reed will sit out against the Broncos with a concussion

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:14 GMT

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — New York Jets cornerback D.J. Reed will be sidelined against the Denver Broncos on Sunday as he continues to recover from a concussion.Coach Robert Saleh announced Friday that Reed still had not cleared the NFL’s concussion protocol, leaving the Jets without one of their key defensive leaders when they face Russell Wilson and the Broncos.Saleh wouldn’t reveal who would start in Reed’s place opposite Sauce Gardner, but nickelback Michael Carter II and former starter Bryce Hall could be options. Backup cornerback Brandin Echols will also miss the game with a hamstring injury.“We’ll see,” Saleh said. “We have a plan, and we’ll wait until Sunday.”Reed had a Pro Bowl-caliber year last season, when he was a bit overshadowed by Gardner, who was the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year. The two give the Jets arguably the best cornerback combination in the league. “D.J. is a special football player,” Saleh said. “He alleviates some of the pr...

Business Highlights: September hiring points to strong job market; UAW stops strike expansion

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:14 GMT

___A surge of hiring in September defies predictions, pointing to US job market’s enduring resilienceWASHINGTON (AP) — An unforeseen burst of hiring last month has lifted hopes that the economy will prove durable once again, even as an array of threats lie ahead. Businesses across the U.S. economy ramped up their hiring in September, defying surging interest rates, financial market turmoil, the ongoing threat of a government shutdown and an uncertain outlook to add the most jobs in any month since January. The hiring binge confounded expectations for a slowdown and added one more layer of complexity to the Federal Reserve’s high-wire effort to defeat inflation without causing a recession. The 336,000 jobs that were added in September raised the average gain for the past three months to a robust 266,000.___Auto workers stop expanding strikes against Detroit Three after GM makes battery plant concessionDETROIT (AP) — The United Auto Workers union says it will not expand its strikes ag...

Sancet scores in Athletic Bilbao’s 3-0 win over last-place Almeria on day of 1st call-up with Spain

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:14 GMT

MADRID (AP) — Oihan Sancet celebrated his first call-up to Spain’s national team by scoring in Athletic Bilbao’s 3-0 win over last-place Almeria in the Spanish league on Friday.Gorka Guruzeta and Dani García also scored for Athletic as it ended its brief winless run and moved into the top four in the standings with the victory at San Mames Stadium.The 23-year-old Sancet earlier Friday was included in the squad by Spain coach Luis de la Fuente for upcoming European Championship qualifiers.The midfielder sealed Athletic’s victory in the 81st minute after Guruzeta scored in the 10th and García in the 63rd. Athletic was coming off two disappointing setbacks — it conceded a late equalizer in a 2-2 draw against Getafe at home and lost 3-0 at Real Sociedad in the Basque Country derby. The win moved Athletic two points behind third-place Girona and one point ahead of fifth-place Atletico Madrid, which has two games in hand. Almeria, which had only one shot on target, remai...