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The US has released an ally of Venezuela’s president in a swap for jailed Americans, including Bay Area businessman, the AP learns

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:50 GMT

By JOSHUA GOODMAN and ERIC TUCKER | Associated PressMIAMI — The Biden administration has released a close ally of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in a swap for jailed Americans, The Associated Press has learned.Alex Saab, who was arrested on a U.S. warrant for money laundering in 2020, was released from custody Wednesday. In exchange, Maduro will free some, if not all, of the roughly dozen U.S. citizens who remain imprisoned in Venezuela, according to a person familiar with the situation who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.The White House declined to comment.Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro speaks during the notification ceremony for the referendum about the future of a disputed territory with Guyana, in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, Dec. 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos) On Friday and again on Monday, two docket entries were filed under seal in the long-dormant criminal case out of federal court in Miami, an indicat...

Big landlords just 28% of California’s rental market  

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:50 GMT

“Numerology” tries to find reality within various measurements of economic and real estate trends.Buzz: Big apartment complexes house only a little more than one-fourth of all California renters.Source: My trusty spreadsheet eyeballed 2022 Census Bureau data on what kind of housing is home to renter households across the 50 states and the District of Columbia.Fuzzy math: Are giant landlords given too much credit – or blame – for what goes on in the rental market?ToplineThe largest California rental complexes, those with 20 or more units, were home to 1.65 million households in 2022. That was No. 1 among the states and 15% of the 11.4 million big-complex tenants nationwide. Next was New York at 1.57 million and Texas at 1.1 million.Yet these large complexes held just 28% of the Golden State’s 6 million renting households. Yes, it’s the eighth-largest share among the states, and it’s slightly above the nation’s 25% average.But big complexes in California hold n...

SF police arrest suspect in Oceanview fatal shooting

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:50 GMT

(BCN) -- San Francisco police on Wednesday announced the arrest of a man suspected of a fatal shooting in the city's Oceanview neighborhood last week.Christopher Kyle Marsh, 46, was nabbed by officers in the 5500 block of Mission Street around 11:40 a.m. last Thursday. According to detectives, Marsh is suspected of the homicide of Jorge Villagran, 48.At 2:39 a.m. on Dec. 13, San Francisco officers were alerted to a reported shooting near San Jose and Plymouth avenues, where they found a man with gunshot wounds.The victim, later identified as Villagran, was pronounced dead at the scene.Besides homicide, Marsh has two outstanding arrest warrants from the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office and is also suspected of possession of narcotics.He was booked into San Francisco County Jail for the homicide arrest warrant, possession of methamphetamine, and possession of drug paraphernalia.Copyright © 2023 Bay City News, Inc.

This is California’s most searched classic Christmas movie for 2023: report

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:50 GMT

SAN DIEGO, Calif. (KSWB) -- Tis' the season of cozy socks and holiday movies, which bids the question -- what's your favorite classic Christmas flick?This may be considered a widely debated topic. From providing nostalgia to helping the more Grinch-like get into the spirit, Christmas films are watched by many ahead of the Dec. 25 holiday. That's why researchers with CenturyLinkQuote, a residential home internet service provider, did some fact-finding to figure out which Christmas movies were most searched online by state in 2023. Here’s where to find California’s oldest general store While analyzing the most searched classics, researchers gathered a list of 50 of the best Christmas movies, according to IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes scores, as well as pop culture lists by Screen Rant, Time Out, and Town & Country Magazine. CenturyLinkQuote then used Semrush, a platform used for keyword research, to determine the top 18 movies with the highest search volume in the last 12 months. Fro...

These California areas among 'most popular large cities' for Zillow surfers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:50 GMT

SAN DIEGO, Calif. (KSWB) -- Zillow surfing -- most of us have done it. Whether we're pondering our next move or daydreaming about buying a home, this online real-estate marketplace is a go-to for browsing available listings. As it turns out, there are four large cities in California that are among the top ten most popular for searchers on Zillow, according to a study recently released by the platform. These California cities are among richest in US: report When figuring out which metros have potential renters and buyers most curious, researchers at Zillow analyzed housing metrics that indicate consumer demand. This included page-view traffic, home value growth, and days on market.Large cities, according to Zillow, were defined as having a population of at least 250,000 people, based on the 2021 American Community Survey data.The following California areas were ranked in the top ten for large cities:-- Ranked No. 8: Irvine, CaliforniaAerial drone photo above Irvine Great Park...

Grizzly Bear Poachers Flout the Endangered Species Act — and Get Away With It

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:50 GMT

Co-published in partnership with High Country News and Montana Free Press.It was hunting season in Wyoming’s Shoshone National Forest, and the Marine sniper was alone on a backcountry trail more than an hour’s hike from his vehicle. He carried a camouflage Remington rifle and was in sight of an elk herd when a grizzly bear emerged from the brush. In a series of audio and video recordings from that autumn day in 2015, he narrated what happened next:“I just got attacked by a grizzly.”“I fucking laid into him.”“I don’t want a big bear like that where I hunt.”“I’m smoking him.”“This is destiny. That bear attacked the wrong man.”Finally, after tracking down the federally protected grizzly he had shot, seeing blood along the way, he said, “Looks like I found a dead bear.”Kneeling over the dead grizzly with his rifle in hand, the man took selfies and recorded a narration of his wilderness adventure. The bear’s coat was splattered in blood. The Marine cut off one of its claws then continued...

Player of the the year Jalyn Gramstad from Northwestern (Iowa) leads AP NAIA All-America team

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:50 GMT

Quarterback Jalyn Gramstad, who led Northwestern (Iowa) to the NAIA championship game, and St. Thomas running back Rontavious Farmer, who led the nation with 26 touchdowns, highlight The Associated Press NAIA All-America Team announced Wednesday.Gramstad was named the NAIA player of the year last week. He finished the season with 35 touchdown passes and led the nation in completion percentage (67.8%). Northwestern (14-1) lost the NAIA title game 31-21 to Keiser (Florida) on Monday. Gramstad was joined on the first team by three teammates: offensive lineman Jawan Grant, receiver Michael Storey and defensive back Cody Moser.Keiser was represented on the first team by offensive lineman Roderick Carter.Farmer finished second in the NAIA in rushing at 136.4 yards per game.FIRST TEAM (Offense) Quarterback — Jalyn Gramstad, fourth-year, Northwestern (Iowa).Running backs — Rontavious Farmer, third-year, St. Thomas (Fla.); Darius Neal, third-year, Georgetown (Ky.).Linemen — Riley Lindberg, f...

Former Argentine soccer player Ezequiel Lavezzi hospitalized in Uruguay with shoulder fracture

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:50 GMT

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AP) — Former Argentine soccer player Ezequiel Lavezzi was hospitalized Wednesday in the beachfront Uruguayan city of Punta del Este with a shoulder blade fracture.A police report obtained by The Associated Press says the 38-year-old Lavezzi was found with the injury at 5 a.m. after he attended a party in his mansion.Lavezzi, who played for Paris Saint-Germain, Napoli, San Lorenzo and the Argentine national team, was taken to the Sanatorio Cantegril hospital with his girlfriend, Natalia Borges.“It is unknown how the injury came about,” the police report said.Police said Lavezzi was at a party in his mansion in the region of José Ignacio, where he has lived since 2019. Police investigator Paola Hernández said witnesses will be interviewed throughout the day.“We don’t know what the root of this is,” Hernández told Argentine TV channel TN.Lavezzi retired in 2019 after a spell at Chinese club Hebei Fortune. Since then, he has done charity work with the help of his br...

French parliament approves a divisive immigration bill, prompting an uproar for Macron’s government

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:50 GMT

PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist government faced an uproar on Wednesday after parliament approved a divisive immigration bill backed by the far right.The bill, meant to strengthen France’s ability to deport foreigners considered undesirable, passed the lower house of parliament, the National Assembly, with a 349-186 vote late Tuesday. It had been adopted by the Senate.Macron’s health minister resigned to show his opposition to the draft legislation, and some left-leaning lawmakers in the centrist alliance decided to abstain or vote against it.Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, who championed the bill, said the government wants “greater firmness against foreign offenders.”“Who here can say that we must allow criminals, people on our land, who attack us, attack our professors, and who attack our police forces and who attack the youth on the cafe terraces, without reacting?” he said in a speech at the National Assembly.He singled out the recent scho...

5-month skid in home sales snapped in November as easing mortgage rates give buyers breathing room

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:50 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes rose in November, ending a five-month skid, as easing mortgage rates provided some breathing room for homebuyers.Existing home sales rose 0.8% last month from October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.82 million, the National Association of Realtors said Wednesday. That tops the 3.78 million sales pace economists were expecting, according to FactSet.Sales were still down 7.3% compared with November last year, and are down 19.3% through the first 11 months of 2023 compared with the same period last year. The pickup in sales helped push up home prices compared with a year earlier for the fifth month in a row. The national median sales price rose 4% from November last year to $387,600.The modest increase in sales arrives with mortgage rates in decline after a sharp runup that sent borrowing costs on home loans higher. The rising cost of borrowing money compounded hurdles for buyers because there are so few homes on the ...