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BBB warns of Facebook Marketplace scams

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:27 GMT

ST. LOUIS – Online marketplaces like Facebook are popular for buying and selling things. But, there's a problem: scammers trick people. Sarah Wetzel from BBB St. Louis wants to help Facebook users understand these scammers better and stay safe.“Facebook does have security measures in place, but what we’re seeing is that these scammers are pretending to be buyers,” Sarah Wetzel with BBB St. Louis, said. “They reach out to you about what you’re selling, and then they ask you for your phone number.”Wetzel says the scammer will then say they’re going to send you a six-digit code, so you can prove to them you’re a real seller. The BBB shared these examples of scam messages. You can see the scammer posing as a buyer following the playbook Wetzel described. She says to cut communication with anyone who asks to send you a code.“If anybody’s asking for your phone number and trying to communicate off of Facebook, that is a huge red flag,” Wetzel said.She also warns of scammers overpaying for ...

QuikTrip sells $50,000 winning Powerball ticket in St. Louis

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:27 GMT

ST. LOUIS – A winning Powerball ticket worth $50,000 was sold at QuikTrip, located at 702 Lemay Ferry Road in St. Louis. The ticket matched four of the five white-ball numbers drawn, in addition to the Powerball, during the drawing on September 16.The winning numbers for that draw were 8, 11, 19, 24, and 46, with a Powerball number of 5. The prize was claimed on September 18 at the Lottery’s St. Louis regional office.This Saturday, September 23, the jackpot stands at $725 million, making it the third-largest Powerball jackpot of the year. The estimated cash value of the jackpot is $345.7 million.

49ers fans attack each other in massive brawl at Levi's Stadium

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:27 GMT

A big fight took place in the stands at Thursday night’s NFL game at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.The San Francisco 49ers were taking on the New York Giants when a group of the so-called “Niner Gang” turned on each other.The video posted by @T_Stephenson1 on X shows what appeared to be a fight between two women when a male bystander grabbed the hair of one of the combatants and pulled her down.Another man then tried to get involved in the fight and ended up getting punched and kicked by the bystanders.Security guards appeared to arrive to get control of the situation at that point.It was unclear what started the brawl or if any disciplinary action was taken against any of the participants.The 49ers had much less trouble on the field Thursday night, easily beating the Giants 30-12.Violent altercations between fans appears to be turning into a trend this season. 49ers fans were involved in a fight earlier this month during a preseason game against the Broncos. A Patriots fan died fol...

'Let's get this deal done': Writers union, studios continue discussions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:27 GMT

Amid some optimism, the Writers Guild of America and Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers are meeting again Friday in an attempt to end the multi-month strike that's halted much of Hollywood.Friday, the 144th day of the writers strike, marks the third day of this particular negotiating period after talks resumed Wednesday.While no resolution has been announced, the participation of entertainment industry leaders Donna Langley of NBCUniversal, Bob Iger of Disney, Ted Sarandos of Netflix and David Zaslav of Warner Bros. Discovery shows "increasing pressure on the industry to get a deal done that would return thousands of entertainment industry employees to work," as reported in the Los Angeles Times.On Thursday, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass signaled her own optimism that a deal would be reached soon."I'm very encouraged that all principals have come to the table for a second day to negotiate a fair agreement," she said in a statement. "The entertainment industry is a fu...

With roots in Silicon Valley, this century-old fruit business has ties to your cereal bowl

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:27 GMT

If you’re a dried fruit lover, you may have spotted the Mariani name in the supermarket aisle — and not just on bags of raisins or dried apricots. The 117-year-old Mariani Packing Company sells dried pineapple, mango and banana chips, too, and more cranberries than you could ever imagine.Today, the Vacaville-based company is led by George Sousa Jr., the fourth generation to manage this family business with operations around the world. But it all started in 1906, when Croatian-born Paul Mariani followed his high school sweetheart and her family to Silicon Valley. The couple married, bought an orchard in Cupertino and opened a dried fruit business. It’s still going strong, having survived multiple moves and a shift to a global marketplace — and an if-only-we’d-known, missed opportunity to sell land to Apple before the tech company made it big.We caught up with Sousa to hear more about the world of dried fruit, the challenges related to shepherding a famil...

Northern California bookstore destroyed in fire; owner finds help from Bigfoot community

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:27 GMT

On Sept. 1, Steven Streufert nearly died in the fire that consumed his bookstore in Willow Creek.Streufert — a type one diabetic — passed out shortly before the fire began, was awoken by the flames and made it to the front porch before losing consciousness again. The smoke was spotted by a California Highway Patrol officer, who dragged Streufert from the porch to safety, where he was then loaded onto an ambulance and taken to Mad River Community Hospital in Arcata.“I was in a state of low blood sugar when they found me sitting on the front porch or unconscious on the front porch, with smoke billowing out the windows and flames encroaching,” Streufert said.Bigfoot Books, with the triple whammy of online shopping, the pandemic and a decline in the local economy due to cannabis legalization, was no longer financially viable, and Streufert canceled his insurance for the books when the expense began to pile higher than what he was making.Because Streufert had been living in the building ...

Cal Bears look for more spark at quarterback heading into Pac-12 opener at No. 8 Washington

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:27 GMT

Cal is scoring 33 points a game so far this season, its highest offensive production in non-conference play since 2016, the last time Jake Spavital was the Bears’ offensive coordinator.But college football in the Pac-12 is a different landscape in 2023, and Spavital is the first to acknowledge this isn’t good enough.“This is a very dynamic league of offensive football,” said Spavital, alluding to the fact that six Pac-12 teams are averaging at least 40 points. “We’ve got to be able to match the firepower of these other schools.”So the Bears (2-1, 0-0 Pac-12) prepared this week for a Saturday night road game against No. 8 Washington (3-0, 0-0) — the most prolific passing team in the nation — by opening up the competition at quarterback.We don’t know if the starter will be Sam Jackson V — who won the job in the spring and was No. 1 after fall camp — or North Carolina State transfer Ben Finley. Both got heavy reps during practice as Spavital searched for greater explosiveness and effic...

Amazon is bringing ads to Prime Video and will charge you to avoid them

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:27 GMT

By Jordan Valinsky | CNNNew York — Amazon is joining other streaming services and inserting ads into its programming.Beginning next year, shows and movies on its Prime Video service will “include limited advertisements,” the company announced Friday. Amazon’s change brings it in line with its rivals, like Netflix and Max, adding ad-supported tiers as companies search for additional revenue.Amazon explained that ads will help it “continue investing in compelling content and keep increasing that investment over a long period of time.” Spending on its content, which includes “Thursday Night Football” and its original series, soared nearly 30% in 2022 to $16.6 billion.The company didn’t reveal how long the ad breaks will be, but did say its shows and movies will have “meaningfully fewer ads than linear TV and other streaming TV providers.”Related ArticlesTV Streaming | Murdoch’s exit comes as conservative media is increasingly fractured TV Streaming | Ho...

Oregon mom gets 30 days for waterboarding baby, putting him in freezer

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:27 GMT

By KPTV Web staffPORTLAND, Oregon (KPTV) — A mother was given a 30-day jail sentence after Oregon prosecutors claim that during an incident in 2021, she waterboarded her child and placed him in the freezer as a test to see whether the father would take any notice.Sharday McDonald was given a 30-day jail sentence after Oregon prosecutors claim that during an incident in 2021, she waterboarded her child and placed him in the freezer as a test to see whether the father would take any notice.(Multnomah County Detention Center/KPTV) On October 28, 2021, police were called to Sharday McDonald’s apartment in Gresham to check on her welfare after hearing a tip that the mother had put her infant in the freezer, according to court documents. McDonald, 30, pleaded guilty to counts of criminal mistreatment, ID theft, and tampering with a witness.The mother could be heard screaming at the child’s father, Kendrick Neal, as the policeman stood outside McDonald’s apartment, “I’m about to...

Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez and wife indicted on bribery charges, Justice Department says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:27 GMT

By Kara Scannell | CNNNew Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez was charged Friday with corruption-related offenses for the second time in 10 years.Menendez and his wife, Nadine Arslanian Menendez, are accused of accepting “hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes” in exchange for the senator’s influence, according to the newly unsealed federal indictment. Prosecutors allege the bribes included gold, cash, home mortgage payments, compensation for “low-or-no-show job” and a luxury vehicle.Also charged are Will Hana, Jose Uribe and Fred Daibes.This is the second set of corruption charges levied against Menendez by the Justice Department in a decade. He previously fought off conspiracy, bribery and honest services fraud related to alleged personal favors.Menendez is up for re-election next year. He has been in the Senate since 2006.Senate Democratic Caucus rules will force Menendez to step aside as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, but he can still serve on the panel. CNN ha...