Author:

Secret Santa gives thousands to Helene victims Mysterious Secret Santa gives thousands of dollars to North Carolina victims of Helene 02:40 Avery County, North Carolina — Some people were skeptical, at first, of the stranger who rolled into flood-ravaged Avery County in western North Carolina this week claiming to be some kind of Santa. Yet, he persisted, approaching people in parking lots, grocery stores, and even motel rooms, where those displaced by Hurricane Helene are still sheltering three months after the devastating storm . Every year, this anonymous, wealthy businessman travels the country during the holidays giving away about $100,000 in $100 bills . The money goes to random strangers and people he seeks out, knowing their need. Why did this Secret Santa want to come to North Carolina? “I think when people go through tragedy, they can lose their house — all their belongings,” he told CBS News. “But what they can’t lose is hope. And maybe we can give a little hope.” Among those he sought out was Jamie Guinn. During the height of Helene, a mudslide ripped the garage off the Avery

New details released in UnitedHealthcare CEO’s murder – CBS News Watch CBS News A Manhattan grand jury is hearing the case against the suspect arrested in connection with the shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. NYPD investigators say they have evidence which places the suspect at the scene of the murder. Lilia Luciano has the latest. Be the first to know Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Not Now Turn On

A man suspected of robbing a bank at gunpoint in Lake Forest earlier this year was arrested by members of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. Edward Eugene Redd, 49, of Lake Forest, was taken into custody early Friday morning in connection with a bank robbery at a Chase Bank near Portola Parkway and Bake Parkway on October 17. The masked suspect in that crime entered the bank armed with a handgun and headed directly toward a teller. He then reached over the counter and fired a round from his gun toward the bank teller’s feet, deputies said.  Authorities are searching for an armed suspect who escaped with around $31,000 from a Lake Forest bank on Oct. 17, 2024. (Orange County Sheriff’s Department) He fled the scene with more than $30,000 cash and avoided capture by authorities. At the time of the robbery, investigators recovered several items on a nearby trail that they believed to be linked to the crime. They were able to connect that evidence to Redd using “investigative techniques and DNA technology,” officials said. Around 4 a.m. Friday, sheriff’s deputies and a SWAT

Tech executives, attempting to ease tensions with President-elect Donald Trump, are opening up their wallets after the former president staged a historic return to the White House. OpenAI confirmed on Friday that its chief executive, Sam Altman , is planning to personally donate $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund, becoming the latest tech billionaire trying to improve their rocky relationship with the new administration. Meta, parent company of popular social media apps Facebook and Instagram, also confirmed it donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund. Amazon didn’t respond to a request for comment, but it is reportedly planning to donate the same amount to Trump’s inaugural fund. While tech companies have given to previous presidential inaugurations, the donations come as Trump and Republicans look at reshaping policies that impact social media, electric vehicles, artificial intelligence and more. Trump has criticized Big Tech in the past, accusing some of the world’s largest online platforms such as Meta and Google of censoring conservative speech. The platforms have long denied these allegations, but the tech industry’s relationship with Republicans became increasingly fraught after social media companies temporarily suspended

A federal grand jury in Los Angeles this week charged a former Syrian military official with several counts of torture allegedly committed at a prison he oversaw for years. Samir Ousman Sheikh, former head of the Damascus Central Prison, was personally involved in torturing political dissidents to deter opposition to the regime of then-Syrian President Bashar Assad, according to the Justice Department. Authorities first arrested 72-year-old Sheikh on July 10 at Los Angeles International Airport and the following month he was indicted on immigration fraud charges. This week’s indictment adds three counts of torture and one count of conspiracy to commit torture. Prosecutors say Sheikh personally carried out some of the violence, which allegedly involved beatings and subjecting prisoners to a wooden device known as the “flying carpet,” which forcibly folded them in half and resulted in one victim suffering a fractured spine. A jail cell inside the notorious military detention center “215,” in Damascus. (Ayman Oghanna/For The Times) “The allegations in this superseding indictment of grave human rights abuses are chilling,” U.S. Atty. Martin Estrada for the Central District of California said in a

Jorge Ramos como moderador de un debate demócrata en la Universidad del Sur de Texas, ubicada en la ciudad de Houston. (Heidi Gutman/ABC via Getty Images) Por REDACCIÓN LOS ANGELES TIMES EN ESPAÑOL Dic. 13, 2024 4:08 PM PT El miércoles pasado, el reconocido periodista Jorge Ramos compartió en las redes sociales que este viernes sería su último día en el departamento de noticias de la estación televisiva Univision y que, dos días después, se despediría definitivamente como presentador de un popular programa de análisis coyuntural. “Este viernes es mi último noticiero en Univisión luego de 38 años. Y el domingo se transmite el último episodio de ‘Al Punto’ tras 17 años. Puro agradecimiento”, fue lo que escribió el mexicano, que emigró a Estados Unidos en 1983. Ramos, de 66 años, se retira de ese medio de comunicación -aunque no necesariamente de su oficio- con la satisfacción de haber logrado entrevistar a una serie impresionante de figuras públicas de relieve que incluye a presidentes estadounidenses como Joe Biden, Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton t George H. W. Bush y a lideres internacionales como

Appeals court upholds law that would ban TikTok in U.S. Appeals court upholds law that would ban TikTok in U.S. 01:12 Washington — A federal appeals court on Friday denied TikTok’s bid to delay a law from taking effect that will ban the popular short-form video app next month if its Chinese parent company does not sell its stake.  “The petitioners rely upon their claims under the First Amendment to justify preliminarily enjoining the Act. As to those claims, this court has already unanimously concluded the Act satisfies the requirements of the First Amendment under heightened scrutiny,” the order said.  TikTok is expected to ask the Supreme Court to weigh in, though it’s unclear if the court will agree to hear the case or make a decision before the law is applied on Jan. 19.  The law, which was passed by Congress in April as part of a foreign assistance package, gave TikTok nine months to sever ties with its parent company ByteDance or lose access to app stores and web-hosting services in the U.S. President Biden quickly signed the bill into law , which includes

The best ways to plan for travel during the holiday season – CBS News Watch CBS News AAA says they are expecting 3 million more people to travel through the holidays this year than last year. “The Points Guy” editor at large Nicky Kelvin joins CBS News to discuss how to make the most out of vacationing through budgeting and planning. Be the first to know Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Not Now Turn On

Trump reportedly considering military action against Iran – CBS News Watch CBS News The Wall Street Journal reported that President-elect Donald Trump and his allies are reportedly considering military action against Iran after he takes office. CBS News national security contributor Sam Vinograd explains further and has more on the New Jersey drone sightings. Be the first to know Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Not Now Turn On

(NEXSTAR) – Hannah Kobayashi, the Maui woman who voluntarily went missing in Los Angeles before crossing the border into Mexico last month, “does not wish to return” to her family in Hawaii, her sister said. Sydni Kobayashi shared the news Thursday in a lengthy statement posted to Facebook. “As you can imagine, we are all extremely relieved and glad that my sister is alive and seemingly okay, but we also have mixed and overwhelming feelings of exhaustion, devastation, and betrayal,” Sydni Kobayashi wrote. “We are kindly asking the public to respect our privacy and offer us grace for a moment as we are still grieving. There is still so much unknown, and so much that still needs to be navigated.” Missing woman Hannah Kobayashi, who vanished in L.A., found safe, family says Kobayashi, a budding photographer from Maui, was headed to New York City on Nov. 8 but missed a connecting flight in Los Angeles. She told her family she was sleeping at the airport that night and texted them the next day to say she was sightseeing in the city. A flyer with information

Landmark regulations intended to encourage insurers to write more policies in risky wildfire neighborhoods through the use of complex computer models were released Friday by the state. Under new rules intended to stabilize California’s troubled home insurance market, insurers will be able to set rates by drawing on a wide swath of meteorological, geographic and other data in establishing rates, rather than largely relying on historical losses. The insurance industry argued the change was imperative given global warming’s role in a number of wildfires, including in 2017 and 2018 when thousands of homes burned down. In setting their rates, insurers also must account for efforts to make properties fire resistant. “With our changing climate we can no longer look to the past. We are being innovative and forward-looking to protect Californians’ access to insurance,” Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara said in a statement. The new regulations — a central element of Lara’s Sustainable Insurance Strategy — drew support from the industry and others, including farm and environmental groups, but a mixed response from consumer advocates. Los Angeles group Consumer Watchdog contends that the computer models will

Remember all that money you were going to save by canceling your cable TV subscription? Cord-cutters are again dealing with the reality of rising programming costs after YouTube TV told subscribers Thursday that their monthly fee will go up by 14% to $82.99 starting in January. Needless to say, many dissatisfied customers took to social media after learning of another price increase to YouTube TV, the streaming package marketed as a budget-friendly alternative to the traditional multichannel services. “I’m so glad that I made the right financial decision in 2018 and ditched my $89/mo cable package so I can now pay $83/mo for YouTube TV, $23/mo for Netflix, $16/mo for Disney+, $13/mo for Paramount, $15/mo for Prime, $10/mo for AppleTV, and $21/mo for HBO,” wrote Chris Bakke on X. Many of the 8 million subscribers to YouTube TV depend on the service as a cost-efficient way to get live broadcast and cable channels to supplement their favorite streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon’s Prime Video. YouTube TV is especially popular among sports fans who have abandoned cable but still want access to live sports.

The last fight for Jake Paul was a global phenomenon. An estimated 108-million live viewers in around 65 million households worldwide tuned in to Netflix last month to see the influencer-turned-boxer defeat legendary fighter Mike Tyson in a unanimous decision, making it the most-streamed sporting event. Paul, 27, and Tyson, 58, reportedly made tens of millions of dollars from the event in Texas. It’s only a slight exaggeration to say that everybody wants to be the next person to face Paul (11-1, 7 KOs). “It’s boxers, it’s athletes, it’s celebrities — pretty much everyone in the world wants to challenge Jake Paul at this point in time, which is pretty remarkable just four years into his career and 12 fights as a professional,” said Nakisa Bidarian, who co-founded and runs Most Valuable Promotions with Paul. So who will it be? And which platform will get to air the next fight that may attract millions of more eyeballs? Bidarian couldn’t say — not because it’s a closely guarded secret, but because those decisions have yet to be made. “We’re definitely still looking at what the options

The NCAA, Pac-12 Conference and USC are seeking the dismissal of a lawsuit filed by former Trojans star running back Reggie Bush on the grounds that his claims of antitrust violations and lost name, image and likeness compensation from his Heisman-winning tenure at USC come “at least a decade and a half too late.” Bush filed the lawsuit in September, alleging that his school, its former conference and the sport’s governing body had all “profited from uncompensated use” of his NIL during and after his dazzling tenure at USC “without compensating Bush one penny.” In a news release announcing the lawsuit, Bush’s attorneys claimed he should be paid “to address and rectify ongoing injustices stemming from the exploitation of Reggie Bush’s name, image and likeness during his tenure as a USC football player.” But in filings this week with the Los Angeles Superior Court, attorneys for the NCAA, Pac-12 and USC set out to dismantle those claims, arguing that Bush’s “effort to wind back the clock” should be barred by the statute of limitations, which is typically four years in antitrust cases. Bush last played