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Home prices drop in 95% of U.S. metros since last spring’s peak

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:50 GMT

”Survey says” looks at various rankings and scorecards judging geographic locations while noting these grades are best seen as a mix of artful interpretation and data.Buzz: Home prices have fallen in all but 11 of 221 U.S. metropolitan areas since last spring’s peak.Source: My trusty spreadsheet reviewed the National Association of Realtors’ quarterly report on 221 housing markets, which tracks the median selling price for existing, single-family homes.ToplineA dash of good news for house hunters is that prices fell in 95% of the metros when comparing the first three months of 2023 vs. last year’s spring quarter. And 27% of those drops were double-digit declines.That’s not a terribly surprising result after the Federal Reserve last year essentially doubled mortgage rates in an attempt to cool the overall economy and the highest-in-four-decades inflation rate.The biggest nine-month price drops were in Austin (off 24%), San Francisco and Champaign, Illinois, (off 23%), Kankakee, Illin...

Woman wounded more than once in East Oakland drive-by shooting

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:50 GMT

OAKLAND — A drive-by shooting in East Oakland on Tuesday night wounded a 23-year-old woman in several places, police said.The woman remained in stable condition at a hospital Wednesday morning, according to police. The gunfire happened about 11:10 p.m. in the 1700 block of International Boulevard, police said.Police have not made any arrests. They did not have a description of the suspect or the vehicle that the shots came from.According to police, the woman was standing at the street corner when a vehicle drove by and somebody inside of it opened fire on her.Medics treated her at the scene, and an ambulance took her to a hospital.The vehicle continued westbound on East 12th Street and got away. Police said they do not know the motive for the shooting.Police and Crime Stoppers of Oakland are offering up to $5,000 in reward money for information leading to the arrest of the suspect. Police can be contacted at 510-238-3426, and Crime Stoppers can be contacted at 510-777-8572.Rel...

Rep. George Santos charged by Justice Department in federal probe

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:50 GMT

Federal prosecutors have filed criminal charges against New York Rep. George Santos, the Republican lawmaker whose astonishing pattern of lies and fabrications stunned even hardened politicos, according to three sources familiar with the matter.Santos, who was taken into federal custody Wednesday morning, is expected to appear at federal court in New York’s Eastern District. He faces 13 federal charges: seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of theft of public funds, and two counts of making materially false statements to the House of Representatives.The congressman’s attorney declined to comment. Spokespeople for the Brooklyn US Attorney’s Office, the Justice Department and the FBI declined to comment.Santos was en route back to New York Tuesday night, skipping House votes for the evening, according to a source familiar.A spokeswoman for Santos, Naysa Woomer, would not respond to shouted questions from reporters Tuesday afternoon and abruptly depart...

Consumer inflation cooled last month to the lowest level since April 2021

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:50 GMT

It’s been a two-year slog of enduring painfully high prices, but the light at the end of the tunnel just got slightly brighter for consumers.Annual inflation continued its slow-but-steady deceleration in April, according to the latest Consumer Price Index released Wednesday.The CPI climbed by 4.9% for the 12 months ended in April, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, representing a slightly slower pace of increase than the 5% in March. It was below economists’ expectations for the number to remain unchanged.It’s the 10th consecutive month that the headline CPI rate has slowed, and it’s at its lowest rate since April 2021 — when this bout of painfully high inflation started to spike.Excluding food and energy costs, which tend to have more volatility, core CPI was unchanged at 5.5% for the 12 months ended in April.On a monthly basis, both the headline and core indexes recorded increases of 0.4%, matching forecasts from economists, some of whom anticipated higher fuel and used ...

Los Gatos student directs ‘Fentanyl High’ documentary to raise awareness on youth drug use

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:50 GMT

In 2020, two Los Gatos High School students fatally overdosed on fentanyl, a synthetic opioid drug 50 times as potent as heroin.Los Gatos High School junior Kyle Santoro is on a mission to make sure teens and parents talk not just about the dangers of fentanyl but why kids are reaching for drugs in the first place.Santoro directed a documentary,  “Fentanyl High: The Truth Behind the HIgh School Epidemic,” and helped launch a Santa Clara County campaign to raise awareness of underage drug use.“In many ways it affects everyone in the community whenever you hear that a peer in your community or your school has died …because you can picture yourself, you can picture your friends, you can picture your siblings,” Santoro said.“I can’t even imagine what the parents of those kids had to go through, and if you have the chance to be the voice to prevent deaths – not just from pills but in general – any kid should always take that opportunity.”A free screening of his documentary is set for May...

George Santos indictment: Read all 13 charges

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:50 GMT

A federal indictment against George Santos, congressman from New York, was unsealed Wednesday.Santos has been charged with seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of theft of public funds and two counts of making materially false statements to the U.S. House of Representatives.The full indictment can be read below, and a summary of the charges follows. View this document on ScribdCounts 1-5, Wire Fraud – Fraudulent Political Contribution Solicitation Scheme. In September and October 2022, Santos allegedly made false statements to contributors that funds received from them would be used for his campaign expenses.Counts 6-8, Unlawful Monetary Transactions Over $10,000. In October 2022, Santos allegedly transferred to his bank account about $74,000 in fraudulently obtained contributions.Count 9, Theft of Public Money. In 2020 and/or 2021, Santos allegedly stole more than $1,000 in “money of the United States Department of the Treasury.”...

California Attorney General Rob Bonta to announce civil rights investigation in Bay Area

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:50 GMT

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta is set to announce Wednesday that he is launching a civil rights investigation in the Bay Area.Bonta is set to hold a press conference at 9:30 a.m. to discuss the action. The gathering will be at the California State Office Building.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | ‘I can’t breathe’: California to pay $24 million for man death during CHP stop Crime and Public Safety | East Bay police release video confirming hostage was struck by officer’s bullet during shootout with kidnapping suspect Crime and Public Safety | Contra Costa DA: Richmond police did not cause agitated man’s death in 2021 Crime and Public Safety | Santa Cruz police auditor report zeroes in on use of force, Tasers Crime and Public Safety | Former California Homeland Security special agent gets life in prison for sexually assaulting 2 women The attorney gen...

Traces of mercury found in downtown Martinez following Monday's spill

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:50 GMT

(BCN/KRON) -- A mercury spill that closed the Amtrak station in Martinez on Monday was bigger than initially thought, officials from Contra Costa Health (CCH) told the county Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. The station remained closed as of Tuesday night and Amtrak is using the old train station a few blocks away at Ferry Street and Marina Vista Avenue. CCH issued a Level 2 hazardous material public health advisory in regard to the spill. The advisory impacts parts of downtown Martinez. Why aren’t people riding BART? Hint: It’s not remote work. "A Public Health Advisory has been issued for areas of downtown Martinez near the Amtrak Train Station," CCH said. "Minor mercury contamination has been detected in the street on Marina Vista Avenue to Alhambra Avenue to Buckley Street to Berrellesa Street. Residents are advised to avoid walking in the street. If you must be in the area, please remain on the sidewalk. Cleanup will be occurring for the next several days in the area. For...

Security guard saves victim from violent carjacking in San Rafael

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:50 GMT

(KRON) -- Monday afternoon, a man was stepping out of his car in San Rafael when he was approached and violently beaten by someone demanding the keys to his car, according to the San Rafael Police Department. That's when a nearby on-duty security guard stepped in.Around 4:45 p.m., a victim had just parked their car in the Montecito Shopping Center in downtown San Rafael. He was then approached by suspect Edward Ganny Carroll, 41, of San Rafael, who allegedly started punching the victim and demanded the keys to his car, SRPD officials said. The victim tried to push Carroll away during the assault but Carroll allegedly continued his attack and tried to get into the victim's still open car. Man pleads guilty to hacking social media accounts, stealing cryptocurrency A security guard working at the Redwood Credit Union nearby saw the assault and stepped in, separating Carroll from the victim, officials said. Carroll then allegedly tried to run away before tripping and falling, giving t...

Man pleads guilty to hacking social media accounts, stealing cryptocurrency

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:50 GMT

(KRON) -- A United Kingdom citizen was extradited from Spain to the U.S. where he pleaded guilty Wednesday to several cybercrimes in New York and California for his roles in hacking Twitter, TikTok and Snapchat accounts, cyberstalking and stealing $794,000 in cryptocurrency.In 2020, James O'Connor, 23,—A.K.A. "PlugWalkJoe"—and several other conspirators allegedly hacked various Twitter, TikTok and Snapchat accounts and, in some cases, used them to defraud other users or sold access to the accounts, including those of public figures around the world. Why aren’t people riding BART? Hint: It’s not remote work. O'Connor allegedly hacked a TikTok account with over 1 million followers and used it to post self-promotional messages including a video in which his voice is recognizable, officials said. He also allegedly threatened to release personal information about the user to people who joined a certain Discord server. In 2019, O'Connor also allegedly hacked a SnapChat account and threa...