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Bay Area businessman arrested in Venezuela just days after Biden administration eases oil sanctions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:34 GMT

An East Bay man’s family is pleading for his release after they say he was wrongfully arrested in Venezuela and held for tens of thousands of dollars in ransom just days after the Biden administration eased crippling oil sanctions on the socialist-run government.Savoi Wright’s Oct. 24 arrest, which had not been previously reported, has become the latest flashpoint in the tenuous relationship between the U.S. and Nicolás Maduro’s government that critics say should lead to a return to sanctions.But all Wright’s family wants is for the 38-year-old businessman to be returned home. They know precious little about the circumstances of his arrest. No criminal charges have been filed, he has not been allowed to see a lawyer and the Venezuelan government hasn’t said where he is being held.“It’s a nightmare. It’s like you’re watching a horror movie but you’re in it,” his mother, Erin Stewart, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview from her Oakland home.Wright joins at least ...

The five living former U.S. presidents and four former first ladies, and their ages

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:34 GMT

With the death Sunday of Rosalynn Carter at age 96, four former first ladies are living, as well as five former presidents.They are:• Donald Trump (77), Melania Trump (53)• Barack Obama (62), Michelle Obama (59)• George W. Bush (77), Laura Bush (77)• Bill Clinton (77), Hillary Rodham Clinton (76)• Jimmy Carter (99)Those who have died in recent years are:• George H.W. Bush, died in November 2018 at age 94, and Barbara Bush, died in April 2018 at age 92• Ronald Reagan, died in 2004 at age 93, and Nancy Reagan, died in 2016 at age 94• Gerald Ford, died in 2006 at age 93, and Betty Ford, died in 2011 at age 93

Two Fremont men stabbed, suspect arrested for attempted murder

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:34 GMT

(KRON) – A man accused of stabbing two men has been arrested, the Fremont Police Department announced Monday. Fremont police officers were dispatched to the 4100 block of Walnut Ave for the report of a stabbing on Nov. 17 at 4:47p.m.Upon arrival, officers located two male victims who sustained stab wounds. According to officers, they began providing medical aid to both victims before victims were transported to area hospitals.  Thieves break in Hayward auto dealership, $100K worth of cars stolen One victim (a 23-year-old male) remained in stable condition. However, the other victim (a 30-year-old male) was in critical condition.According to obtained surveillance footage of the incident and multiple witnesses, the suspect was identified as 28-year-old Fremont resident, Miguel Angel Villareal.Officers saturated the area to locate Villareal, police said. Fremont PD Crimes Against Person(s) detectives responded to investigate. After several hours, Villareal was located and t...

Hannes Strydom, a 1995 Rugby World Cup winner with South Africa, dies at 58 in a car crash

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:34 GMT

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Hannes Strydom, a player on South Africa’s revered 1995 Rugby World Cup-winning team, has died in a car crash, the South African Rugby Union said Monday. He was 58.Strydom was killed in the crash Sunday evening, the union said in a statement.Strydom was a lock who played 21 tests and 10 other games for South Africa from 1993-97.He is the fifth member of the 1995 Springboks to die relatively young. Flanker Ruben Kruger died of brain cancer in 2010 at 39, scrumhalf Joost van der Westhuizen died in 2017 at 45 after years battling motor neurone disease, and wings James Small and Chester Williams died within two months of each other in 2019, both from heart attacks. Small was 50 and Williams was 49.In 1995, South Africa was playing in its first Rugby World Cup after a sports ban because of apartheid when it won on home soil.“To lose yet another member of the iconic Bok squad from 1995 is a heavy blow to the rugby fraternity here in South Africa,” Sout...

DC United hires Ally Mackay as its new GM, tasked to hire new coach

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:34 GMT

D.C. United hires Nashville SC assistant general manager Ally MacKay to lead the soccer club as the Black and Red look to rebound after not making the MLS playoffs for a fourth consecutive season.Mackay becomes the youngest active general manager in Major League Soccer at 37 years old. He will also become the club’s chief soccer officer, taking over for Dave Kasper, whose been with the club for over 20 years.According to a news release, Mackay will report directly to ownership and be in charge of roster makeup, player recruitment and talent identification as well as the search for a new head coach.Mackay, originally from London, worked as a player agent for Stellar Group for five years before joining Nashville in 2019. The agency represents several notable players including former Real Madrid star Gareth Bale and English international Jordan Pickford.As an assistant general manager with Nashville, he helped construct its roster for its inaugural season in 2020 and assisted wit...

Mbappé has reached 300 career goals faster than Messi or Ronaldo. His France elders are impressed.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:34 GMT

PARIS (AP) — Kylian Mbappé has scored 300 career goals faster than Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Former France great Thierry Henry has nothing but admiration and Jean-Pierre Papin — the 1991 Ballon d’Or winner — believes the best is yet to come.Mbappé achieved the feat over the weekend in a 14-0 rout of Gibraltar at the age of 24 years and 333 days. Both Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, the game’s two biggest stars in the 21st century, were older when they reached the milestone. “What this kid is doing is really out of this world,” said Henry, who is now in charge of leading the new generation of France’s players as coach of the Under-21 team. “It’s just unbelievable.”Mbappé was often compared to Henry earlier in his career. Both attended France’s Clairefontaine academy before playing as left wingers at Monaco, where each won the French league titles as a teenager. Mbappé then replicated another of Henry’s accomplishments when he won the 2018 World Cup in h...

Ayala Pharmaceuticals: Fiscal Q4 Earnings Snapshot

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:34 GMT

MONMOUTH JUNCTION, N.J. (AP) — MONMOUTH JUNCTION, N.J. (AP) — Ayala Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ADXS) on Monday reported a loss of $7.3 million in its fiscal fourth quarter.On a per-share basis, the Monmouth Junction, New Jersey-based company said it had a loss of $1.53.The company’s shares closed at 82 cents. A year ago, they were trading at $1.90._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on ADXS at https://www.zacks.com/ap/ADXSSource

US Defense Secretary Austin meets with Zelenskyy in Kyiv to show steadfast support for Ukraine

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:34 GMT

A woman sings the national anthem of Ukraine during a demonstration in central Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023. People gathered to protest against corruption and demand the reallocation of public funds to the Armed Forces. (AP Photo/Alex Babenko)(AP/Alex Babenko) A woman sings the national anthem of Ukraine during a demonstration in central Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023. People gathered to protest against corruption and demand the reallocation of public funds to the Armed Forces. (AP Photo/Alex Babenko)(AP/Alex Babenko) KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin made an unannounced visit to Kyiv on Monday in a high-profile push to keep money and weapons flowing to Ukraine even as U.S....

Insider Q&A: Pentagon AI chief on network-centric warfare, generative AI challenges

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:34 GMT

The Pentagon’s chief digital and artificial intelligence offer, Craig Martell, is alarmed by the potential for generative artificial intelligence systems like ChatGPT to deceive and sow disinformation. His talk on the technology at the DefCon hacker convention in August was a huge hit. But he’s anything but sour on reliable AI. Not a soldier but a data scientist, Martell headed machine-learning at companies including LinkedIn, Dropbox and Lyft before taking the job last year. Marshalling the U.S. military’s data and determining what AI is trustworthy enough to take into battle is a big challenge in an increasingly unstable world where multiple countries are racing to develop lethal autonomous weapons.The interview has been edited for length and clarity.—-Q: What is your main mission? A: Our job is to scale decision advantage from the boardroom to the battlefield. I don’t see it as our job to tackle a few particular missions but rather to develop the tools, processes, inf...

Near-record Thanksgiving travel projected for DC region as gas prices continue to drop

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:34 GMT

More than 1.25 million people in the D.C. region will be hitting the roads over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, making it the second-highest number since AAA began tracking holiday travel in 2000. And, gassing up for the travel will be considerably cheaper this year.Overall, the travel group projects more than 1.3 million Washington metro area residents will travel during Thanksgiving 2023, an increase of more than two percent over last year. The highest travel volume was in 2005, when more than 1.4 million District-area residents traveled for the holiday.The vast majority of people traveling more than 50 miles — 90% — will drive to their holiday destination. The highest number was in 2019 when 1.26 million drove to their holiday feast.Fueling the car or SUV will be far less expensive this year.“There’s some great news to be grateful for, heading into the holiday,” said Ragina Ali, spokeswoman for AAA Mid-Atlantic. “Gas prices are trending nearly 30 cents l...