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CEO of world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange pleads guilty to money laundering violations

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:59 GMT

New York (CNN) — Billionaire Changpeng Zhao and leading cryptocurrency exchange Binance pleaded guilty on Tuesday to federal charges in a watershed moment designed to bring order to the often-lawless crypto industry.As part of a coordinated settlement across the federal government, Binance has agreed to pay more than $4 billion in fines and other penalties. Zhao, one of the most powerful figures in crypto, has agreed to step down as CEO from the exchange that he founded.Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, admitted to engaging in anti-money laundering, unlicensed money transmitting and sanctions violations.US officials described this as the biggest-ever corporate resolution that includes criminal charges for an executive.Following a years-long investigation, authorities allege Binance allowed bad actors to freely transact on the platform, enabling everything from child sex abuse and narcotics to terrorist financing for ISIS, Al Qaeda and Hamas’s Al-Qassam Brigades.Zhao...

Boston’s Largest Thanksgiving Meal Returns to TD Garden

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:59 GMT

Boston’s Table of Friends kicked off the holiday season with a sit down event to feed over 1000 homeless a hot thanksgiving meal, including a 501 pound pumpkin pie, at the Boston Garden, served by Boston’s Civil employees, the Bruins, the Celtics and volunteers.

Smooth sailing: Cruise lines roll out early Black Friday deals

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:59 GMT

Cruise lines aren’t waiting for actual Black Friday to roll out their deals, with many major brands dropping costs and beefing up amenity offerings for new bookings.Carnival Cruise LineCarnival Cruise Line also has a pair of deals for those booking this week.The “Pre Cyber Early Saver Sale” has up to 35% off cruise rates and reduced deposits as low as $50 per person for sailings through April 2026. The “Great Rates Free Room Upgrade Sale” also has up to 35% off and free room upgrades within the same category, but that’s only for sailings through February 2024. Both sales end Sunday. Details at carnival.com.Related ArticlesTravel | 6 things you may not realize are discounted on Black Friday Travel | What to buy (and skip) on Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2023 Celebrity CruisesCelebrity Cruises is offering either a BOGO rate of 75% off for nonrefundable bookings or 50% off refundable bookings for sailings through April 30, 2026. It’s also offering $150 ...

Israel Prime Minister Netanyahu says war against Hamas will not stop after cease-fire

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:59 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will continue its war against Hamas, even if a temporary cease-fire is reached with the Islamic terrorist group to release hostages.In comments Tuesday ahead of an expected Cabinet vote on a cease-fire proposal, Netanyahu vowed to press ahead.“We are at war, and we will continue the war,” he said. “We will continue until we achieve all our goals.”The Israeli Cabinet was expected to vote on a plan that would halt Israel’s offensive in Gaza for several days in exchange for the release of about 50 of the 240 hostages held by Hamas. Israel has vowed to continue the war until it destroys Hamas’ military capabilities and returns all hostages.Palestinians gather in front of a building hit by an Israeli on the Gaza Strip in Nusseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)Palestinians gather in front of a building hit by an Israeli on the Gaza Strip in Nusseirat refugee camp, central Gaza S...

Pennsylvania governor appeals decision blocking plan to make power plants pay for greenhouse gases

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:59 GMT

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration said Tuesday that it is appealing a court ruling that blocked a state regulation to make Pennsylvania’s power plant owners pay for their planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions, even as the Democrat warned lawmakers to get to work on a better alternative.In a statement, Shapiro didn’t pledge to enforce the regulation, should his administration win the appeal at the Democratic-majority state Supreme Court. His appeal revolves around the need to preserve executive authority, his administration said. But he also urged lawmakers to come up with an alternative plan.“Now is the time for action,” Shapiro’s office said. “Inaction is not an acceptable alternative.”The case revolves around the centerpiece of former Gov. Tom Wolf’s plan to fight global warming and make Pennsylvania the first major fossil fuel-producing state to adopt a carbon-pricing program.In a Nov. 1 decision, a 4-1 Commonwealth Court ma...

‘Bank of mom and dad’ study: B.C. high earners get housing boost if parents also own

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:59 GMT

OTTAWA — A Statistics Canada study into what it calls the “bank of mom and dad” shows home ownership among young high earners in British Columbia increases more than anywhere else in Canada if their parents are homeowners, too.The study also finds that nationally, people born in the 1990s are twice as likely to own a home if their parents are homeowners, compared to those whose parents are not.That almost triples for people whose parents own more than one property.The study released Monday concludes that inequality of home ownership appears to be “reproduced across generations,” with parental home ownership bringing their children big financial advantages.It says people in B.C. earning more than $80,000 enjoyed a 21.3 percentage gain in their ownership rate if their parents owned one or more properties, compared to the lowest gain of 12.7 per cent in Alberta.The gain increased to 52.9 per cent in B.C. for people in the same income bracket whose parents owned ...

Native American storytellers enjoying a rare spotlight, a moment they hope can be more than that

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:59 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The financial crisis of 2008 hit Mary Kathryn Nagle differently. As a playwright and a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, she saw parallels to events that negatively impacted Indigenous people centuries ago.Her play “Manahatta” juxtaposes the recent mortgage meltdown when thousands lost their homes to predatory lenders with the shady 17th-century Dutch who swindled and violently pushed Native Americans off their ancestral lands.“A lot of times history does repeat itself,” Nagle says. “I’m really interested in the ways in which we can connect to our past, carry it with us, learn from it, and maybe change outcomes so that we’re not just doomed to repeat the past in the present.”Nagle’s 2018 play has landed in New York City at the prestigious Public Theater this winter and it’s just the latest in a flowering of Native storytelling. From “Reservation Dogs,” “Dark Winds” and “Rutherford Falls” on TV to “Prey” on the big screen and Larissa FastHorse becoming...

Atlantic City casino profits fall 7.5% in 3rd quarter of 2023

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:59 GMT

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Atlantic City’s casinos and two internet-only entities earned $281.2 million in the third quarter of this year, a decline of 7.5% from the same period a year ago, New Jersey gambling regulators said Tuesday.Figures released by the state Division of Gaming Enforcement show that while the nine casinos collectively surpassed the level of profitability they enjoyed in the third quarter of 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, that was largely due to the strong performance of the two newest casinos, and an accounting change by another one.Hard Rock posted a gross operating profit of $44.3 million in the third quarter, up less than 1% from a year earlier. And the Ocean Casino Resort had a profit of $43 million, up more than 10% from a year earlier.Gross operating profit reflects earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and other expenses, and is a widely accepted measure of profitability in the Atlantic City casino industry.“In keeping with the experie...

President Joe Biden orders US flags lowered in memory of former first lady Rosalynn Carter

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:59 GMT

PLAINS, Ga. (AP) — President Joe Biden has ordered that U.S. flags on federal government buildings and property will be lowered to half staff for five days in recognition of former first lady Rosalynn Carter, who died Sunday at the age of 96. Biden’s order calls for flags to fly half-staff from Saturday through sunset on Wednesday, Nov. 25, the day Carter will be buried in Plains, Georgia, the hometown she shared with former President Jimmy Carter. The order applies to flags at the White House, all other federal buildings and grounds, and all military and naval posts, including navy vessels, in the U.S. and its territories, along with all U.S. diplomatic, military and naval outposts abroad. Such orders are common when major federal government figures die, including first ladies. Presidential spouses, though, do not receive state funerals.Rosalynn Carter will be honored with public events beginning Monday in Sumter County, Georgia, where she and the former president were born, ...

Trump has long praised autocrats and populists. He’s now embracing Argentina’s new president

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:59 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump has long praised a particular type of foreign leader — men he describes as “tough” and “strong,” even if they have chipped away at their countries’ democratic norms.The former president and GOP front-runner is now celebrating the newly elected leader of Argentina, Javier Milei, a wild-haired, chainsaw-wielding self-described “anarcho-capitalist” dubbed “the madman” by his admirers. “A very special congratulations to Javier Milei on a great race for president of Argentina,” Trump exulted in a video posted Tuesday on his social media site that echoed an earlier statement. “I am very proud of you. You will turn your country around and truly Make Argentina Great Again!”Milei’s resounding win gives Trump a new potential ally if he wins reelection — and underscores his enduring influence on global politics in the near-decade since he launched his first White House bid. It’s also the latest example of the potency of right-wing populism that fl...