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Citigroup discriminated against Armenian Americans, federal regulator says; bank fined $25.9 million

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:57:57 GMT

Citigroup intentionally discriminated against Armenian Americans when they applied for credit cards, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Wednesday.The bureau said some bank employees argued internally that Armenian Americans were more likely to commit fraud and referred to applicants as “bad guys” or as affiliated with organized crime. The CFPB found that Citi employees were trained to avoid approving applications with last names ending in “yan” or "ian" — the most common suffix to Armenian last names — as well applications that originated in Glendale, California, where a significant portion of the country's Armenian-American population lives. As part of the order, Citi will pay $24.5 million in fines as well as $1.4 million in remedies to impacted customers. The origins of the case come as a result of some organized crime syndicates operating in Southern California that involve Armenian Americans. The leaders of the Armenian crime rings have been charged with identity the...

Samsung's FE lineup delivers flagship features for less

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:57:57 GMT

Samsung first introduced the concept of a "fan edition" phone a few years ago. This means popular features at a more affordable pricetag.For 2023, Samsung is releasing an S23 FE, Tablet S9 FE and Buds FE.I had a chance to test them out. Here's what you need to know.Follow Rich DeMuro on Instagram for more tech news, tips and reviews.Galaxy Buds FEThese are $100 and offer noise cancellation, along with more than 8 hours on a charge. The battery was indeed a champ on my long flight and the buds easily stayed in my ears, even when I was running.However, they didn't seem to be as loud as other earbuds I’ve tested and the noise cancellation is not as good as pricier Pro earbuds.Water resistance is minimal, IPX 2, but that should be OK for most everyday uses like working out.Bottom line: These earbuds have a good combination of features and price if you have a Samsung device to pair them with.Galaxy Tab S9 FEI'm not a big fan of Android tablets, but this one surprised me with it's likeabi...

Housing project may sprout at big north San Jose office building site

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:57:57 GMT

SAN JOSE — Scores of townhomes could sprout on a prime site currently occupied by a big office building in north San Jose, a fresh attempt to convert a commercial real estate property to residential uses.The project would consist of 85 “multi-family residential” townhomes and would be built at 2107 North First Street in San Jose, documents on file with city planners show.The site occupied by the office building is a parcel totaling 3.9 acres at the corner of North First Street and Karina Court.The six-story office building totals roughly 103,000 square feet. A large surface parking lot is adjacent to the building.A growing number of property owners and developers have begun to pitch plans of varying types to convert existing office properties into housing projects.The brutal post-coronavirus market for office buildings has prodded developers to seek alternatives to some commercial real estate properties.In the wake of wide-ranging business shutdowns to combat the s...

Hunter, James Biden subpoenaed as House GOP ramps up impeachment inquiry

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:57:57 GMT

By Farnoush Amiri | Associated PressWASHINGTON — House Republicans issued subpoenas Wednesday to members of President Joe Biden’s family, taking their most aggressive step yet in an impeachment inquiry bitterly opposed by Democrats that is testing the reach of congressional oversight powers.The long-awaited move by Rep. James Comer, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, to subpoena the president’s son Hunter and his brother James comes as Republicans look to gain ground in their nearly yearlong investigation. So far, they have failed to uncover evidence directly implicating the president in any wrongdoing.But Republicans say the evidence trail they have uncovered paints a troubling picture of “influence peddling” by Biden’s family in their business dealings, particularly with clients overseas.“Now, the House Oversight Committee is going to bring in members of the Biden family and their associates to question them on this record of evidence,” Comer, of Kentucky, said in a st...

Santa Clara moves closer to letting voters decide whether to change the police chief and city clerk from elected to appointed roles

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:57:57 GMT

Santa Clara has California’s last elected police chief, and now it’s one step closer to letting voters decide whether to change that.At a Tuesday evening meeting fraught with controversy over a “tainted” survey, a divided Santa Clara City Council provided feedback to city officials on a proposal to change the police chief and city clerk positions from elected to appointed. The city clerk position is largely part-time.In June, the council established a seven-member Charter Review Committee to examine the issue and last month it voted to recommend the council place the two measures on a future ballot.The committee gathered feedback from appointed police chiefs and city clerks in the U.S., as well as the city’s current elected officials serving in the roles — Police Chief Pat Nikolai and City Clerk Hosam Haggag. But a survey that ran from Sept. 7 to Oct. 12 on the city’s website that was meant to gather feedback from the community on the issue ...

Bay Area arts: 9 great shows and exhibits to catch this weekend

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:57:57 GMT

From Opera San Jose’s latest take on a classic show to a hip-hop dance festival and an Elvis/drag queen-themed play, there is a lot to see and do this weekend in the Bay Area.Note that if you are headed into San Francisco, the massive APEC international conference running Nov. 11-19 is going to pose traffic issues. More about that is here. And here is a map detailing the more heavily affected areas.Here’s our partial roundup.Classical picks: California Feast; ‘Barber of Seville’The Bay Area’s classical music scene extends its reach this week, as the San Francisco and California Symphonies perform as part of the California Festival, and Opera San Jose opens its new production of a treasured opera.Statewide works: The California Festival is celebrating the new. Led by three conductors — San Francisco Symphony music director Esa-Pekka Salonen, San Diego Symphony’s Rafael Payare, and L.A. Philharmonic’s Gustavo Dudamel — the two-week statewide festiva...

These 10 homes were in the week of Oct. 30 best deals for Los Gatos

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:57:57 GMT

A condo in Los Gatos that sold for $899,000 tops the list of the most affordable real estate sales in Los Gatos in the past week.For comparison, the overall average price of real estate in the area during that time was $2.2 million. The average price per square foot was $1,046. A total of 10 home sales were recorded for the period with an average square footage of 2,090 square feet, 3 bedrooms, and 3 bathrooms.For the purpose of this top 10 list, we included real estate that sold for between $10 and $10,000,000.The prices in the list below concern real estate sales where the title was recorded during the week of Oct. 30 even if the property may have been sold earlier.10. $3.6 million, detached house in the 100 block of Drysdale DriveThe 3,276 square-foot single-family home in the 100 block of Drysdale Drive, Los Gatos, has now been sold. The transfer of ownership was settled in October and the total purchase price was $3,550,000, $1,084 per square foot. The house was built in 1970. ...

California man charged with running a ‘high-end brothel network’ used by elected officials, military officers and others

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:57:57 GMT

(CNN) — Three individuals have been arrested on charges of operating a “high-end brothel network” in Massachusetts and Virginia with a clientele that included elected officials, military officers and government contractors with security clearances, the Justice Department announced Wednesday.“Pick a profession,” Joshua Levy, acting US attorney for Massachusetts, said of the sprawling client list during a press conference in Boston. “They’re probably represented in this case.”Levy did not identify any of the brothel’s clients and noted that multiple search warrants are being executed in the case in Massachusetts, California and Virginia.Han Lee, 41, of Cambridge, Massachusetts; James Lee, 68, of Torrance, California; and Junmyung Lee, 30, of Dedham, Massachusetts have been charged with conspiracy to coerce and entice to travel to engage in illegal sexual activity. They are expected to appear in federal court in Boston Wednesday or at a later date.The three individuals, Levy said, tran...

Watsonville-based farm owner charged with involuntary manslaughter after 2020 employee death

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:57:57 GMT

WATSONVILLE — The owner of a Watsonville-based farm has been formally charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection to the 2020 death of one of his employees in a workplace incident, according to the Santa Clara County Office of the District Attorney.The president of Willoughby Farms, Inc., 50-year-old David Willoughby, was arraigned on the felony charges Tuesday. He faces a potential maximum sentence of four years in prison.Around 4:50 a.m. on Oct. 15, 2020, Carlos Jimenez Cruz, a 32-year-old employee of Willoughby Farms died when the hood on his clothing was caught in the spinning shaft of a 16,000-pound spinach harvester, the DA’s Office said. Prosecutors allege that the farm didn’t provide adequate training and left dangerous parts of the machine exposed.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | San Jose police arrest second teen in connection to hit-and-run that killed pregnant woman, baby Crime and Public Safety | Nine arrested in s...

Photos: Paradise moves forward, 5 years after the Camp Fire

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:57:57 GMT

Related ArticlesCalifornia News | Rebuilding Paradise: Six projects to prevent a future tragedy, five years after the Camp Fire California News | Paradise recovery from deadly Camp Fire: How to build a fireproof town California News | Philp: California fire victims may be taxed for their suffering See from ground-level and from the skies how parts of Paradise, California, have changed in the five years since the Camp Fire — California’s deadliest and most destructive ever. Bay Area News Group photographers Karl Mondon and LiPo Ching documented the town on foot and from above via drone in the days immediately after the Nov. 8, 2018 inferno killed 85 residents and razed homes and businesses. Use the sliders below to compare then and now.Click here to read our full report on Paradise five years later.Ridgewood Mobile Home ParkValley Ridge DriveDawnridge CourtMelene Court