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Card skimmer, gift card scams victimize local customers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:51 GMT

EL CAJON, Calif. -- Buyer beware! Your next trip to the store could end up making you the victim to two scams hitting San Diego County stores: one involving gift cards and the other involving card readers.Surveillance video posted on the El Cajon Police Department’s social media shows how quickly criminals are able to set up these card skimmers at a register.“It’s a big loss, for months in a row, we had 200 victims a month coming into our station to report the crime,” said Sgt. Kevin Reilly of the El Cajon Police Department.The skimmers record and send your PIN number and the information from the magnetic strip of your card to thieves via bluetooth, stealing your money.“If something looks bulky, maybe give it a tug or ask your cashier to give it a tug and make sure there’s not a device on it, and then on top of that, also the retailer checking this frequently,” Reilly said.El Cajon police recovered 12 card skimmers from stores in the past year alone. Amazon charged with privacy vi...

US companies, nudged by Black employees, have stepped up donations to HBCUs

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:51 GMT

Natalie Coles will never forget receiving an unexpected phone call in 2020. On the line was Virginia-based Dominion Energy, offering to give money to Wilberforce University, the small historically Black college where she is in charge of fundraising. The company’s $500,000 donation went in part toward laptops and hot spots for students when the pandemic shut down the college’s campus outside of Dayton, Ohio.“It was like manna from heaven,” Coles said.Historically Black colleges and universities, which had seen giving from foundations decline in recent decades, lately are benefiting from an increase in gifts, particularly from corporations and corporate foundations. Some have received a new look from companies amid the reckoning over racial injustice spurred by the killing of George Floyd. But the colleges also have been pitching themselves, emphasizing their ability to deliver returns on the investment in student mobility.Another factor in the giving by corporations has been the infl...

AI chips are hot. Here’s what they are, what they’re for and why investors see gold

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:51 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The hottest thing in technology is an unprepossessing sliver of silicon closely related to the chips that power video game graphics. It’s an artificial intelligence chip, designed specifically to make building AI systems such as ChatGPT faster and cheaper.Such chips have suddenly taken center stage in what some experts consider an AI revolution that could reshape the technology sector — and possibly the world along with it. Shares of Nvidia, the leading designer of AI chips, rocketed up almost 25% last Thursday after the company forecast a huge jump in revenue that analysts said indicated soaring sales of its products. The company was briefly worth more than $1 trillion on Tuesday.SO WHAT ARE AI CHIPS, ANYWAY?That isn’t an easy question to answer. “There really isn’t a completely agreed upon definition of AI chips,” said Hannah Dohmen, a research analyst with the Center for Security and Emerging Technology.In general, though, the term encompasses com...

Jordan’s future king, Saudi bride to tie the knot in palace ceremony signaling continuity of rule

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:51 GMT

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — The future king of Jordan and an architect from Saudi Arabia linked to her country’s own monarchy are getting married on Thursday in a palace celebration that introduces him to the world and emphasizes continuity in an Arab state prized for its longstanding stability.The union of Crown Prince Hussein, 28, and Rajwa Alseif, 29, buttresses the royal family’s order of succession, refreshes its image after a palace feud and may even help resource-poor Jordan forge a strategic bond with its oil-rich neighbor, Saudi Arabia.Excitement over the nuptials — Jordan’s biggest royal event in years — has been building in the capital of Amman, where congratulatory banners of Hussein and his beaming bride adorn buses and hang over winding hillside streets. Shops had competing displays of royal regalia. Royal watchers speculated about which dress designer Alseif would select— still an official secret,Nancy Tirana, a 28-year-old law intern, said she spent the last week scru...

Toyota debuts hydrogen-fueled Corolla race car as auto racing begins shift away from gas guzzlers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:51 GMT

OYAMA, Japan (AP) — In a sprawling circuit near Mount Fuji, a humble Corolla running on liquid hydrogen has made its racing debut, part of a move to bring the futuristic technology into the racing world and to demonstrate Toyota’s resolve to develop green vehicles.Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda, resplendent in a fire-resistant racing uniform, was all smiles as he prepared to buzz around the circuit in the hydrogen-fueled Corolla.“This is a world first for a liquid hydrogen car to race. We hope it will offer another option in the fight against global warming. To bring everyone smiles, I want to go one lap, even one second, more,” said Toyoda, a former CEO of Toyota, grandson of the automaker’s founder and a licensed race driver himself.The hydrogen Corolla race car won’t be turning up at your dealer anytime soon. The Super Taikyu 24-hour race at Fuji Speedway was just a test for the technology, Toyota officials said.Unlike electric vehicles, it has a combustion engine, but it burns liqu...

Japan’s southern Okinawa Islands prepare as tropical storm approaches

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:51 GMT

NAHA, Japan (AP) — A weakened Tropical Storm Mawar headed toward Japan’s southern archipelago of Okinawa on Thursday, leading businesses and the airport to close and fishermen to batten down their boats in preparation.Many residents in the prefectural capital of Naha on the main Okinawan island, where about 20,000 U.S. forces are based, appeared unworried even as they took precautions.Mawar, formerly a typhoon but now packing winds of up to 108 kilometers (66 miles) per hour, was around Miyako, one of Okinawa’s remote islands, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. The storm could approach Okinawa’s main island on Friday and bring powerful rainstorms to the region, it said.A 76-year-old fisherman, Tatsunori Yamashiro, said he wasn’t too worried by the weakening storm. “All I can do now is to wait,” he said, sitting in his fishing boat, which he’d securely tied to a port facility. He said Mawar could have caused damage if it hit Okinawa when it was a typhoon. “...

British public figures urge Pakistan to release brother of pro-Imran Khan rights lawyer

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:51 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Several prominent public figures in Britain have urged Pakistan to release the brother of a human rights lawyer who served as an adviser to ousted former Prime Minister Imran Khan.The appeal from former U.K. Cabinet ministers, senior law officers, renowned journalists and legal rights organizations was made on Wednesday evening. It comes after this week’s arrest of Murad Akbar, the brother of attorney Shahzad Akbar.The lawyer, who is currently not in Pakistan, days ago tweeted that his brother was taken by security forces who raided his house. Pakistani authorities have neither confirmed nor denied that Murad Akbar was in their custody.“We call on Pakistani authorities to immediately release Murad Akbar, who we believe is arbitrarily detained and at risk of torture, disappearance and death,” said the joint statement from Britain.They said Murad Akbar has not been charged with any crime and “is a very vulnerable individual, who was under his family’s care after...

Judge agrees to seal court documents in Ralph Yarl shooting; suspect to be in court

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:51 GMT

LIBERTY, Mo. (AP) — A Kansas City man accused of shooting a Black teenager who mistakenly came to his door last month is scheduled to be back in court Thursday, days after a judge ruled that court documents in the case will be sealed and kept from the public. The hearing for 84-year-old Andrew Lester is to set new dates for future hearings in the case and is expected to be brief.Lester has pleaded not guilty to first-degree assault and armed criminal action in the shooting of Ralph Yarl, who knocked on Lester’s door on April 13 while trying to pick up his young brothers, who were at a home a block away. Yarl, who has celebrated his 17th birthday since the shooting, suffered gunshot wounds to his head and wrist and continues to recover at home. Lester remains free after posting $20,000 — 10% of his $200,000 bond.The shooting drew international attention amid claims that Lester, who is white, received preferential treatment from investigators in the hours after he shot Yarl. Pre...

Dillon Mitchell withdraws from NBA Draft, will return to Texas for sophomore season

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:51 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Wednesday was the deadline for college players to withdraw their names from NBA Draft consideration in order to retain eligibility for the 2023-24 season, and Texas forward Dillon Mitchell waited until the waning moments to make a decision.Mitchell is returning to the 40 Acres for his sophomore season despite being projected by some outlets to be a potential first-round draft pick.MORE THAN THE SCORE: Stay up to date on sports stories like these, and sign up for our More than the Score sports newsletter at kxan.com/newslettersThe University of Texas athletic department confirmed the news via a release on TexasSports.com Wednesday night.While he started all 38 games in his freshman year for the Longhorns, he averaged 17.5 minutes per game with 4.3 points and 3.9 rebounds per game. He's a tremendous athlete who can play above the rim with anybody in the country as evidenced by his high-flying, electric alley-oop and putback dunks during the season. Texas forward Dill...

Security guard shot to death at illegal casino in North Hollywood

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:51 GMT

A security guard was shot and killed during an attempted robbery of an illegal casino in North Hollywood on Wednesday.The victim was identified as Anthony Rivas, a man in his early 30s, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. The two suspects remain at large.At around 3:40 a.m., officers responded to reports of a “man down” at a nightclub on the 3300 block of Cahuenga Boulevard near Universal Studios.When police arrived, they found the security guard suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene.Officers discovered there was an illegal gambling establishment inside the building at the time. Security guard shot to death at illegal casino in the Hollywood Hills on May 31, 2023. (KeyNews.TV)Security guard shot to death at illegal casino in the Hollywood Hills on May 31, 2023. (KeyNews.TV)Security guard shot to death at illegal casino in the Hollywood Hills on May 31, 2023. (KeyNews.TV)Patrons being questioned after a security guard was shot to deat...