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Tag: cash

  • Will The Administration Unleash An Economic Upswing With Cannabis

    Will the administration unleash an economic upswing With cannabis and unlock jobs, investment, tax revenue nationwide?

    Rescheduling cannabis under federal law would mark one of the most consequential economic policy shifts in decades, unlocking growth across industries while reshaping how the United States approaches regulation, investment, and small business development. By moving cannabis out of Schedule I, the federal government would remove long-standing barriers constraining legitimate commerce, innovation, and job creation, allowing a multibillion-dollar industry to more fully integrate into the US economy.

    RELATED: What The Polymarket Says About Cannabis Rescheduling And More

    One of the most immediate economic impacts of rescheduling would be access to traditional financial systems. Cannabis businesses have long operated in a cash-heavy environment due to banking restrictions, increasing costs and security risks. Rescheduling would encourage broader participation from banks, credit unions, insurers, and payment processors, lowering operational friction and improving transparency. This shift alone would reduce compliance costs and allow capital to flow more efficiently into expansion, infrastructure, and workforce development.

    Tax policy would also change dramatically. Currently, cannabis operators are subject to punitive federal tax treatment under IRS Section 280E, which disallows standard business deductions. Rescheduling would eliminate this burden, freeing up capital for reinvestment. Those savings would ripple outward, supporting higher wages, more hiring, improved benefits, and greater purchasing from local suppliers. State and local governments would also benefit from stronger, more stable tax revenues tied to compliant and profitable operators.

    The labor impact would be substantial. The legal cannabis industry already supports hundreds of thousands of jobs, from cultivation and manufacturing to retail, logistics, marketing, and compliance. Rescheduling would accelerate job creation, particularly in states who have been cautious due to federal uncertainty. Ancillary industries such as construction, real estate, software, security, legal services, and advertising would see increased demand, further amplifying employment gains.

    Notably, rescheduling would also buoy the alcohol industry, which has made significant early investments in cannabis. Major beer, wine, and spirits companies have quietly positioned themselves through minority stakes, research partnerships, and beverage-focused cannabis products. As regulatory clarity improves, these investments stand to gain value. Alcohol companies bring decades of experience in branding, distribution, compliance, and consumer marketing, skills translating effectively to cannabis. Rather than cannibalizing alcohol entirely, rescheduling may encourage hybrid portfolios and cross-category innovation, helping alcohol producers adapt to shifting consumer preferences while maintaining relevance and growth.

    RELATED: Davos’ Evolving Take On Cannabis

    Perhaps the most meaningful impact, however, would be felt at the community level through the expansion of thousands of mom-and-pop cannabis businesses. Small, locally owned dispensaries, cultivators, manufacturers, and service providers anchor economic activity in neighborhoods often overlooked by traditional investment. These businesses create local jobs, lease storefronts, purchase from nearby vendors, and contribute to municipal tax bases. In rural areas, cannabis cultivation has already revitalized farmland and provided new income streams for family-owned operations. Rescheduling would give these businesses greater stability, access to credit, and a clearer path to long-term sustainability.

    In economic terms, rescheduling cannabis is not merely a regulatory adjustment; it is a normalization of an industry already exists at scale. By aligning federal policy with economic reality, the US stands to unlock growth, modernize regulation, strengthen local communities, and reinforce American leadership in a global market that continues to expand.

    Terry Hacienda

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  • January is Human Trafficking Prevention Month. What to know

    January is Human Trafficking Prevention Month. What to know

    PREVENTION MONTH. HUMAN TRAFFICKING MEANS EXPLOITING A PERSON FOR LABOR SERVICES OR SEX. IT’S CONSIDERED TO BE ONE OF THE FASTEST GROWING ILLEGAL INDUSTRIES, WITH MORE THAN 27 MILLION ESTIMATED VICTIMS. JOINING US THIS MORNING IS RAFAEL INFANTINO WITH THE COMMUNITY AGAINST SEXUAL HARM. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US. THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME, MIKE. 27 MILLION. THAT’S A STAGGERING NUMBER, ISN’T IT? IT IS LARGE AND I THINK IT’S UNCONCEIVABLE FOR SOME FOLKS THAT HAVEN’T EXPERIENCED SOMETHING OF THIS MAGNITUDE, WHICH OF COURSE WE WOULD BE GRATEFUL FOR. SO I THINK THE IMPORTANT PART IS, IS UNDERSTANDING WHAT’S GOING ON IN SACRAMENTO. YOU KNOW, THERE ARE THERE ARE SOME WAYS THAT PERPETRATORS ARE TARGETING FOLKS, AND THAT’S VULNERABILITIES. AND MOST OF THE TIME THAT IS SIMPLE AS YOUR BASIC NEEDS NOT BEING MET. YOU KNOW, IF YOU DON’T HAVE A HOME TO GO TO, IF YOU DON’T HAVE FOOD TO EAT, IF YOU DON’T HAVE A JOB, IF YOU DON’T HAVE A SUPPORT SYSTEM. AND HONESTLY, IF YOU LOOK AROUND, WE’RE ALL A LITTLE VULNERABLE. SURE. YEAH. SO DEPENDING ON, YOU KNOW, HOW THAT’S PRESENTING, IT’S DEFINITELY TARGETED BY THOSE. AND AND IT’S ONE THING TO IF YOU’RE THE PERSON WHO IS VICTIMIZED BY THIS, BUT AS YOU JUST TOUCHED ON, IT’S HAPPENING ALL AROUND US. SO WHAT ARE SOME OF THE SIGNS THAT WE CAN LOOK OUT FOR TO SEE WHETHER OR NOT SOMEBODY ELSE MIGHT BE TARGETED OR IN TROUBLE? ABSOLUTELY. SURE. SO QUICK CHANGE IN ANY BEHAVIOR. IF YOU KNOW SOMEONE, RIGHT? IF THEY’RE CONSTANTLY ON THEIR PHONE OR HAVE TO LEAVE THE ROOM SPECIFICALLY TO ANSWER THEIR TELEPHONE IF THINGS ARE COMING UP, WHETHER IT’S THINGS YOU COULD PURCHASE WITH MONEY, LET’S SAY SOMEONE GETS THEIR NAILS DONE OR SOMEONE GETS A NEW GAME SYSTEM, ANYTHING THAT YOU KNOW THEY WOULDN’T BE ABLE TO ACQUIRE ON THEIR OWN, ESPECIALLY FOR MINORS. I THINK THAT’S A BIG SIGN IS, YOU KNOW, YOU AS A PARENT, IF YOU’RE SEEING THOSE CHANGES OR LACK OF INTEREST ANYMORE IN THE NORMAL THINGS THAT A PERSON WOULD WANT TO DO, WHETHER IT’S SPORTS, ACADEMICS OR EVEN CONVERSATION, THOSE CAN BE SOME SIGNS I GOT TO IMAGINE YOU JUST TOUCHED ON THE IDEA THAT A LOT OF THE MAYBE THE LARGEST CROWD WHO IS AFFECTED BY THIS ARE MINORS, BUT ARE THERE OTHER FOLKS, OTHER AGE GROUPS THAT MAYBE YOU MIGHT EVEN BE SURPRISED? THAT COULD BE VICTIMS? OF COURSE, IT DOESN’T DISCRIMINATE. ANYBODY CAN BE VICTIMIZED, YOU KNOW, AND IT CAN BE UNHEALED TRAUMA. I KNOW THAT THAT’S A DEEP ROOTED ONE IS COMPLEX TRAUMA BECAUSE THAT CAN BE TARGETED. YOU KNOW, IF SOMEONE ISN’T FEELING WELL ABOUT THEMSELVES, A KIND, YOU KNOW, GUIDED COMPLIMENT IS WHAT IT MIGHT BE PERCEIVED AS FOR SOMEONE WHO ISN’T AWARE OF THOSE COERCIVE SIGNS OR SOMEONE SEEING THAT MAYBE THEY DON’T FEEL THAT GREAT ABOUT THEMSELVES AND AND THEY’RE RIGHT THERE TO LET THEM KNOW THAT THEY LOOK GOOD. YEAH. AND FOLKS MAY NOT BE AWARE OF THE RESOURCES OUT THERE. SO WHAT DOES CASH OFFER. ABSOLUTELY. SO CASH IS A DROP IN CENTER LOCATED IN THE HEART OF OAK PARK. WE ARE OPEN MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY FROM 1230 TO 430. FOR ANYONE WHO IDENTIFIES AS FEMALE THAT HAS EXPERIENCED SOME FORM OF COMMERCIAL SEXUAL EXPLOITATION IN THEIR LIFE. AND WITH THAT, IT’S A LOW BARRIER. WE HAVE FOOD THERE, WE HAVE CLOTHING CLOSET AND OUR NEWEST ADDITION, WHICH I LOVE, IS THE CLINIC. EVERYONE NEEDS MEDICAL CARE, BUT NOT EVERYBODY HAS IDENTIFICATION, YOU KNOW, OR MEDICAL COVERAGE. AND WE COVER THAT FOR THEM. YEAH. YOU SEE THAT INFORMATION RIGHT THERE ON YOUR SCREEN? WE’LL GET YOU OUT OF HERE ON THIS. THERE’S A COMMUNITY CONVERSATION HAPPENING TONIGHT. YES. PLEASE COME AND JOIN US AT CITY OF REFUGE, LOCATED AT 3216 MARTIN LUTHER. MARTIN LUTHER KING JUNIOR. EXCUSE ME. WE WILL BE HAVING A CONVERSATION WITH SOME ADVOCATES, INCLUDING MYSELF, STARTING AT 6 P.M. TONIGHT. PLEASE REACH OUT FOR MORE INFORMATION. AGAIN, 6 P.M

    January is Human Trafficking Prevention Month. What to know

    Updated: 4:08 PM PST Jan 12, 2026

    Editorial Standards ⓘ

    January is Human Trafficking Prevention Month.Human trafficking is considered one of the fastest-growing illegal industries, with an estimated 27 million victims or survivors.Raphaella Fontenot, with Sacramento-based organization Community Against Sexual Harm, joined KCRA 3 on Monday morning to talk about the signs of trafficking and what resources CASH has to offer for those seeking help.Fontenot said that perpetrators target those who are vulnerable because their basic needs aren’t being met. “If you don’t have a home to go to, if you don’t have food to eat, if you don’t have a job, if you don’t have a support system. And honestly if you look around, we’re all a little vulnerable,” she said. Some of the signs to look out for are changes in behavior or when someone has to leave the room to answer their telephone, she said. There is also an event happening from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Monday at the City of Refuge on 3216 MLK Jr. Blvd. It’s open to everyone, and refreshments will be provided.In 2024, KCRA 3 Investigates spent a year talking to Sacramento survivors, advocates, lawmakers and law enforcement about the problems they’re seeing on the streets with sex trafficking and what they think needs to change.See full coverage of our “Escaping the Blade” documentary here. See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. —

    January is Human Trafficking Prevention Month.

    Human trafficking is considered one of the fastest-growing illegal industries, with an estimated 27 million victims or survivors.

    Raphaella Fontenot, with Sacramento-based organization Community Against Sexual Harm, joined KCRA 3 on Monday morning to talk about the signs of trafficking and what resources CASH has to offer for those seeking help.

    Fontenot said that perpetrators target those who are vulnerable because their basic needs aren’t being met.

    “If you don’t have a home to go to, if you don’t have food to eat, if you don’t have a job, if you don’t have a support system. And honestly if you look around, we’re all a little vulnerable,” she said.

    Some of the signs to look out for are changes in behavior or when someone has to leave the room to answer their telephone, she said.

    There is also an event happening from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Monday at the City of Refuge on 3216 MLK Jr. Blvd. It’s open to everyone, and refreshments will be provided.

    In 2024, KCRA 3 Investigates spent a year talking to Sacramento survivors, advocates, lawmakers and law enforcement about the problems they’re seeing on the streets with sex trafficking and what they think needs to change.

    See full coverage of our “Escaping the Blade” documentary here.

    See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

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  • Why McDonald’s Is Rounding Up On Cash Payments

    McDonald’s told CBS News they’ll be taking on a rounding method when it comes to customers paying in cash.

    Reason being? The US Mint in Philadelphia pressed its last penny on Wednesday, leaving McDonald’s and other stores to figure out how to deal with the fallout. 

    Order totals will be rounded to the nearest five cents. So if a customer’s order totals $10.17, they’ll pay $10.15. But if instead it comes out to $10.18, they’ll be asked to pay $10.20. 

    Other chains are curving more to the customer’s advantage. 

    GoTo Foods, the parent company of Auntie Anne’s, Cinnabon, Jamba, and Carvel said that it’s “recommending that franchisees round cash transactions in the guest’s favor.” 

    Wendy’s and Midwestern convenience chain Kwik Trip are hopping on a similar train.

    “We have given guidance to our restaurants to round cash transactions down to the nearest nickel if they are experiencing penny shortages,” Wendy’s said. Kwik Trip said the same.

    The practice of rounding cash payments isn’t brand new. Countries like Canada, Australia and New Zealand have been implementing variations of the method since their own lower value coins were eradicated.

    Kroger is still holding out hope that customers will be able to pay their amounts down to the cent. 

    “We kindly ask customers to consider providing exact change,” the restaurant told CBS News. 

    Giant Eagle, based in Pennsylvania, had an ahead-of-the-game approach. The supermarket hosted an event on November 1 encouraging customers to trade in pennies for gift cards worth twice as much. The minimum exchange amount was 50 cents and the maximum was $100, which would translate to a $200 gift card.

    “This proactive step allows the company to maintain accuracy and fairness while it awaits formal guidance from the US government regarding future rounding practices,” Giant Eagle said. 

    Sheetz had a similar idea. The chain offered a promotion where customers could earn a free drink for $1.00 in pennies. Still, Sheetz said it prefers cashless payments. 

    All stores seem to be awaiting federal guidance on how they should proceed with the penny pinch. 

    The early-rate deadline for the 2026 Inc. Regionals Awards is Friday, November 14, at 11:59 p.m. PT. Apply now.

    Ava Levinson

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  • Feeling lucky? Mega Millions jackpot jumps to $965 million for this Friday’s drawing

    The Mega Millions jackpot jumped to nearly a billion dollars for the eighth time in the game’s history after no one won the drawing on Tuesday night.

    The next drawing is scheduled for Friday, according to a Mega Millions news release. The estimated jackpot is $965 million, or $445.3 million if the winner takes a lump sum in cash.

    No ticket matched all six numbers from Tuesday night’s drawing — white balls 10, 13, 40, 42 and 46, and the gold Mega Ball 1.

    Friday’s drawing is the eighth-largest jackpot since the game began in 2002, according to the release. Seven billion-dollar jackpots have been awarded in the past; the most recent was the $1.269 billion prize won in California in Dec. 2024.

    In Tuesday’s drawing, there were 809,030 winning tickets across all prizes, for a total of more than $27.9 million in winnings nationwide. Three tickets matched the five white balls to win the second-highest prize of $1 million. One ticket sold in Arizona had the 5X multiplier for a $5-million prize. Two other tickets, sold in Iowa and New York, had the 3X multiplier for the $3-million prize.

    Twenty-seven tickets matched four white balls plus the Mega Ball to win the game’s third-highest prize.

    Four Mega Millions jackpots were won earlier this year, and Friday’s drawing will be the 40th since the last win in June.

    The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 290,472,336. The odds of winning any Mega Millions prize are 1 in 23.

    Summer Lin

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  • US developer builds homes for displaced Ukrainians, offering hope despite war and crisis

    The Russian invasion of Ukraine has displaced millions, scattering families across the country and abroad. For many, heavy fighting in the east means crowded shelters, borrowed beds and fading hope.Related video above: President Trump signals he’s holding back on long-range missiles for UkraineAbout 400 miles west of the front line, however, a privately built settlement near Kyiv offers a rare reprieve: stable housing, personal space and the dignity of a locked door.This is Hansen Village. Its rows of modular homes provide housing for 2,000 people who are mostly displaced from occupied territories. Children ride bikes along paved lanes, passing amenities like a swimming pool, basketball court, health clinic and school.The village is the creation of Dell Loy Hansen, a Utah real estate developer who has spent over $140 million building and repairing homes across Ukraine since 2022.At 72, he’s eager to do more.A new missionHansen’s arrival in Ukraine followed a public reckoning. In 2020, he sold his Major League Soccer team, Real Salt Lake, after reports that he made racist comments. He denied the allegations in an interview with The Associated Press but said the experience ultimately gave him a new mission.“I went through something painful, but it gave me humility,” he said. “That humility led me to Ukraine.”Seeing people lose everything, Hansen said he felt compelled to act. “This isn’t charity to me, it’s responsibility,” he said. “If you can build, then build. Don’t just watch.”Hansen now oversees more than a dozen projects in Ukraine: expanding Hansen Village, providing cash and other assistance to elderly people and families, and supporting a prosthetics clinic.He’s planning a cemetery to honor displaced people, and a not-for-profit affordable housing program designed to be scaled up nationally.Ukraine’s housing crisis is staggering. Nearly one in three citizens have fled their homes, including 4.5 million registered as internally displaced.Around the eastern city of Dnipro, volunteers convert old buildings into shelters as evacuees arrive daily from the war-torn Donbas region. One site — a crumbling Soviet-era dorm — now houses 149 elderly residents, mostly in their seventies and eighties.Funding comes from a patchwork of donations: foreign aid, local charities and individual contributions including cash, volunteer labor or old appliances and boxes of food, all put together to meet urgent needs.“I call it begging: knocking on every door, and explaining why each small thing is necessary,” said Veronika Chumak, who runs the center. “But we keep going. Our mission is to restore people’s sense of life.”Valentina Khusak, 86, was evacuated by charity volunteers from Myrnohrad, a coal-mining town, after Russian shelling cut off water and power. She lost her husband and son before the war.“Maybe we’ll return home, maybe not,” she said. “What matters is that places like this exist — where the old and lonely are treated with warmth and respect.”A nation under strainUkraine’s government is struggling to fund shelters and repairs as its relief budget buckles under relentless missile and drone attacks on infrastructure.By late 2024, 13% of Ukrainian homes were damaged or destroyed, according to a U.N.-led assessment. The cost of national reconstruction is estimated to be $524 billion, nearly triple the country’s annual economic output.Since June, Ukraine has evacuated over 100,000 more people from the east, expanding shelters and transit hubs. New evacuees are handed an emergency government subsidy payment of $260.Yevhen Tuzov, who helped thousands find shelter during the 2022 siege of Mariupol, said many feel forgotten.“Sometimes six strangers must live together in one small room,” Tuzov said. “For elderly people, this is humiliating.“What Hansen is doing is great — to build villages — but why can’t we do that too?”’People here don’t need miracles’Hansen began his work after visiting Ukraine in early 2022. He started by wiring cash aid to families, then used his decades of experience to build modular housing.Mykyta Bogomol, 16, lives in foster care apartments at Hansen Village with seven other children and two dogs. He fled the southern Kherson region after Russian occupation and flooding.“Life here is good,” he said. “During the occupation, it was terrifying. Soldiers forced kids into Russian schools. Here, I finally feel safe.”Hansen visits Ukraine several times a year. From Salt Lake City, he spends hours daily on video calls, tracking war updates, coordinating aid, and lobbying U.S. lawmakers.“I’ve built homes all my life, but nothing has meant more to me than this,” he said. “People here don’t need miracles — just a roof, safety, and someone who doesn’t give up on them.”A fraction of what’s neededLast year, Hansen sold part of his businesses for $14 million — all of it, he said, went to Ukraine.Still, his contribution is a fraction of what’s needed. With entire towns uninhabitable, private aid remains vital but insufficient.Hansen has met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who thanked him for supporting vulnerable communities. Later this year, Hansen will receive one of Ukraine’s highest civilian honors — an award he says is not for himself.“I don’t need recognition,” he said. “If this award makes the elderly and displaced more visible, then it means something. Otherwise, it’s just a medal.” Associated Press journalists Volodymyr Yurchuk in Kyiv, Ukraine, and Vasilisa Stepanenko and Dmytro Zhyhinas in Pavlohrad, Ukraine, contributed to this report.

    TARASIVKA, Ukraine —

    The Russian invasion of Ukraine has displaced millions, scattering families across the country and abroad. For many, heavy fighting in the east means crowded shelters, borrowed beds and fading hope.

    Related video above: President Trump signals he’s holding back on long-range missiles for Ukraine

    About 400 miles west of the front line, however, a privately built settlement near Kyiv offers a rare reprieve: stable housing, personal space and the dignity of a locked door.

    This is Hansen Village. Its rows of modular homes provide housing for 2,000 people who are mostly displaced from occupied territories. Children ride bikes along paved lanes, passing amenities like a swimming pool, basketball court, health clinic and school.

    The village is the creation of Dell Loy Hansen, a Utah real estate developer who has spent over $140 million building and repairing homes across Ukraine since 2022.

    At 72, he’s eager to do more.

    A new mission

    Hansen’s arrival in Ukraine followed a public reckoning. In 2020, he sold his Major League Soccer team, Real Salt Lake, after reports that he made racist comments. He denied the allegations in an interview with The Associated Press but said the experience ultimately gave him a new mission.

    “I went through something painful, but it gave me humility,” he said. “That humility led me to Ukraine.”

    Seeing people lose everything, Hansen said he felt compelled to act. “This isn’t charity to me, it’s responsibility,” he said. “If you can build, then build. Don’t just watch.”

    Hansen now oversees more than a dozen projects in Ukraine: expanding Hansen Village, providing cash and other assistance to elderly people and families, and supporting a prosthetics clinic.

    He’s planning a cemetery to honor displaced people, and a not-for-profit affordable housing program designed to be scaled up nationally.

    Ukraine’s housing crisis is staggering. Nearly one in three citizens have fled their homes, including 4.5 million registered as internally displaced.

    Around the eastern city of Dnipro, volunteers convert old buildings into shelters as evacuees arrive daily from the war-torn Donbas region. One site — a crumbling Soviet-era dorm — now houses 149 elderly residents, mostly in their seventies and eighties.

    Funding comes from a patchwork of donations: foreign aid, local charities and individual contributions including cash, volunteer labor or old appliances and boxes of food, all put together to meet urgent needs.

    “I call it begging: knocking on every door, and explaining why each small thing is necessary,” said Veronika Chumak, who runs the center. “But we keep going. Our mission is to restore people’s sense of life.”

    Valentina Khusak, 86, was evacuated by charity volunteers from Myrnohrad, a coal-mining town, after Russian shelling cut off water and power. She lost her husband and son before the war.

    “Maybe we’ll return home, maybe not,” she said. “What matters is that places like this exist — where the old and lonely are treated with warmth and respect.”

    A nation under strain

    Ukraine’s government is struggling to fund shelters and repairs as its relief budget buckles under relentless missile and drone attacks on infrastructure.

    By late 2024, 13% of Ukrainian homes were damaged or destroyed, according to a U.N.-led assessment. The cost of national reconstruction is estimated to be $524 billion, nearly triple the country’s annual economic output.

    Since June, Ukraine has evacuated over 100,000 more people from the east, expanding shelters and transit hubs. New evacuees are handed an emergency government subsidy payment of $260.

    Yevhen Tuzov, who helped thousands find shelter during the 2022 siege of Mariupol, said many feel forgotten.

    “Sometimes six strangers must live together in one small room,” Tuzov said. “For elderly people, this is humiliating.

    “What Hansen is doing is great — to build villages — but why can’t we do that too?”

    ‘People here don’t need miracles’

    Hansen began his work after visiting Ukraine in early 2022. He started by wiring cash aid to families, then used his decades of experience to build modular housing.

    Mykyta Bogomol, 16, lives in foster care apartments at Hansen Village with seven other children and two dogs. He fled the southern Kherson region after Russian occupation and flooding.

    “Life here is good,” he said. “During the occupation, it was terrifying. Soldiers forced kids into Russian schools. Here, I finally feel safe.”

    Hansen visits Ukraine several times a year. From Salt Lake City, he spends hours daily on video calls, tracking war updates, coordinating aid, and lobbying U.S. lawmakers.

    “I’ve built homes all my life, but nothing has meant more to me than this,” he said. “People here don’t need miracles — just a roof, safety, and someone who doesn’t give up on them.”

    A fraction of what’s needed

    Last year, Hansen sold part of his businesses for $14 million — all of it, he said, went to Ukraine.

    Still, his contribution is a fraction of what’s needed. With entire towns uninhabitable, private aid remains vital but insufficient.

    Hansen has met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who thanked him for supporting vulnerable communities. Later this year, Hansen will receive one of Ukraine’s highest civilian honors — an award he says is not for himself.

    “I don’t need recognition,” he said. “If this award makes the elderly and displaced more visible, then it means something. Otherwise, it’s just a medal.”

    Associated Press journalists Volodymyr Yurchuk in Kyiv, Ukraine, and Vasilisa Stepanenko and Dmytro Zhyhinas in Pavlohrad, Ukraine, contributed to this report.

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  • Sacramento police arrest Yuba City man for alleged $30,000 scam

    HE IS, CALL THE STANISLAUS COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE. SACRAMENTO POLICE ARRESTED A MAN SUSPECTED OF SCAMMING A WOMAN OUT OF NEARLY $30,000. TODAY, SACRAMENTO POLICE ANNOUNCING THEY ARRESTED 36 YEAR OLD BALWINDER SINGH OF YUBA CITY. HE WAS BOOKED ON FELONY CHARGES. POLICE RELEASING THIS PHOTO OF MONEY. OFFICERS SAY THE SUSPECT HAD. RENEE THOMAS TOLD US IT STARTED WITH AN EMAIL THAT SHE THOUGHT WAS FROM PAYPAL. WE SPOKE WITH HER LAST MONTH, THE SCAMMER TOLD THOMAS HER IDENTITY AND INFORMATION HAD BEEN USED TO OPEN 22. PAYPAL ACCOUNTS AND PROMISED TO HELP AND TOLD HER TO WITHDRAW HER LIFE SAVINGS AND CASH. AND THEN THEY CAME TO HER HOUSE TO TO PICK IT UP. ONLINE SCAMS CAN BE INHERENTLY CHALLENGING. IT’S SOMETHING THAT HAPPENS OVER THE INTERNET, SO NOT NOTHING THAT YOU KNOW THAT IS EASILY TRACKED FACE TO FACE. IN THIS CASE, WE WERE ABLE TO LOCATE THE SUSPECT’S VEHICLE. TECHNOLOGY CAN BE A CHALLENGING POINT FOR THE ELDERLY COMMUNITY, UNDERSTANDABLY. AND SO A LOT OF TIMES THEY DO FALL VICTIM TO THESE INTERNET TYPE OF PHISHING SCAMS. WELL, POLICE SAY THEY ARE HOLDING CASH AS EVIDEN

    Sacramento police arrest Yuba City man for alleged $30,000 scam

    Updated: 10:57 PM PDT Sep 23, 2025

    Editorial Standards ⓘ

    Sacramento police arrested 36-year-old Balwinder Singh of Yuba City on felony charges, suspecting him of scamming a woman out of her life savings.Last month, KCRA 3 spoke to Rhane Thomas, the victim, who said it started with an email she believed was from PayPal. The accused scammer told Thomas her identity and information had been used to open 22 PayPal accounts, promised to help, and instructed her to withdraw her life savings in cash, which he then collected from her home.Thomas shared her surveillance video with KCRA 3, which captured the moment she walked up to the car and handed over a box she said contained $28,000.Allison Smith, spokesperson with Sacramento Police, said identifying the vehicle was a key part of the investigation. “Online scams can be inherently challenging. It’s something that happens over the Internet,” said Smith. “In this case, we were able to locate this suspect’s vehicle.”Police say the cash is being held as evidence. “We do need all of that information for evidence for future prosecution,” said Smith. “In terms of like the timelines of things of when people are getting their finances back, that’s hard to say.”See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. —

    Sacramento police arrested 36-year-old Balwinder Singh of Yuba City on felony charges, suspecting him of scamming a woman out of her life savings.

    Last month, KCRA 3 spoke to Rhane Thomas, the victim, who said it started with an email she believed was from PayPal.

    The accused scammer told Thomas her identity and information had been used to open 22 PayPal accounts, promised to help, and instructed her to withdraw her life savings in cash, which he then collected from her home.

    Thomas shared her surveillance video with KCRA 3, which captured the moment she walked up to the car and handed over a box she said contained $28,000.

    Allison Smith, spokesperson with Sacramento Police, said identifying the vehicle was a key part of the investigation.

    “Online scams can be inherently challenging. It’s something that happens over the Internet,” said Smith. “In this case, we were able to locate this suspect’s vehicle.”

    Police say the cash is being held as evidence.

    “We do need all of that information for evidence for future prosecution,” said Smith. “In terms of like the timelines of things of when people are getting their finances back, that’s hard to say.”

    See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

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  • Sacramento restaurants embrace cryptocurrency with Food Token

    Sacramento startup, Food Token, is adding another way local restaurants can accept payment – cryptocurrency. Brian Barton, founder of Food Token, shared his journey with KCRA 3, inspired by his frustrations with traditional banking, leading to the idea for Food Token.”I want to do my banking with a restaurant. I don’t need a bank in between,” he said.In 2024, approximately 17% of American adults say they have invested in or own cryptocurrencies.Food Token is already operational in select Sacramento restaurants, including Jim Boys, Brookfield’s, Chocolate Fish, and Beach Hut Deli. Barton explained that the platform allows restaurants to accept the five major cryptocurrencies.Barton also addressed concerns about security for consumers.“From the restaurant’s point of view, the restaurant is never seeing the cryptocurrency. The restaurant is just accepting it just as they would a digital gift card,” Barton said. Barton noted that convincing restaurants to do something new has been an uphill battle, particularly when it’s about a new field like cryptocurrency. Sacramento was chosen as the launch site for Food Token due to its status as the “farm-to-fork capital” and Barton’s personal connection to the area. “We want to find a use case first for restaurants in the Sacramento area and for consumers in the Sacramento area,” Barton said, emphasizing the importance of understanding local needs before expanding.For those interested in using Food Token, Barton encouraged restaurants to reach out via their website, offering a straightforward way to start accepting cryptocurrency.”We only charge $0.10 per transaction, unlike Visa and Mastercard,” he said, highlighting the financial benefits for restaurants.As cryptocurrency continues to gain popularity, Food Token aims to simplify the process for both consumers and restaurants, paving the way for a new era of digital payments in the restaurant industry.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. —

    Sacramento startup, Food Token, is adding another way local restaurants can accept payment – cryptocurrency.

    Brian Barton, founder of Food Token, shared his journey with KCRA 3, inspired by his frustrations with traditional banking, leading to the idea for Food Token.

    “I want to do my banking with a restaurant. I don’t need a bank in between,” he said.

    In 2024, approximately 17% of American adults say they have invested in or own cryptocurrencies.

    Food Token is already operational in select Sacramento restaurants, including Jim Boys, Brookfield’s, Chocolate Fish, and Beach Hut Deli. Barton explained that the platform allows restaurants to accept the five major cryptocurrencies.

    Barton also addressed concerns about security for consumers.

    “From the restaurant’s point of view, the restaurant is never seeing the cryptocurrency. The restaurant is just accepting it just as they would a digital gift card,” Barton said.

    Barton noted that convincing restaurants to do something new has been an uphill battle, particularly when it’s about a new field like cryptocurrency.

    Sacramento was chosen as the launch site for Food Token due to its status as the “farm-to-fork capital” and Barton’s personal connection to the area.

    “We want to find a use case first for restaurants in the Sacramento area and for consumers in the Sacramento area,” Barton said, emphasizing the importance of understanding local needs before expanding.

    For those interested in using Food Token, Barton encouraged restaurants to reach out via their website, offering a straightforward way to start accepting cryptocurrency.

    “We only charge $0.10 per transaction, unlike Visa and Mastercard,” he said, highlighting the financial benefits for restaurants.

    As cryptocurrency continues to gain popularity, Food Token aims to simplify the process for both consumers and restaurants, paving the way for a new era of digital payments in the restaurant industry.

    See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

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  • Cash crunch chaos: Syrians endure banking hell to withdraw just a few pounds

    DAMASCUS, Syria — Standing in the dilapidated ATM hall of his bank, Maher Elias huffed a sigh equal parts exasperation and exhaustion. Around him were lines dozens of people deep, all of them, like the 59-year-old Elias, waiting in the sweltering heat to withdraw cash.

    Ahead of him was a wait of at least three hours — assuming the ATM didn’t shut down from electricity cuts or run out of bills. On one of the hottest days in the Damascene summer, his words interrupted by the occasional argument between other vexed patrons, Elias spoke while his eyes remained fixated on the front of the slow-moving queue.

    “All this waiting, and for what?” he said, wiping the sweat from his brow. He could only withdraw 200,000 Syrian pounds (around $20) for the week.

    “And we’re five people in my family. Between food, gas and rent, how long do you think that lasts?”

    People queue up to enter Damascus’ Real Estate Bank to use a functioning ATM.

    A stack of money sits on a desk in a bank.

    A stack of money sits on a desk in a bank. Syria’s banking and financial sectors are a shambles, with capital controls limiting withdrawals at about $60 per month.

    Elias and the hundreds of others queuing in the lines that spilled out to the sidewalk of the Real Estate Bank of Syria were taking part in an often quixotic quest, as millions of Syrians contend with a cash crunch that resulted after former President Bashar Assad was toppled and a rebel-led government came in his stead.

    For months now, withdrawing money has become almost a second job, with employees forced to take off from work to queue before banks, even as the lack of liquidity is strangling a ravaged economy struggling to shuffle off nearly 14 years of civil war.

    And the worst part for Elias (and many others) was he would have to do it all over again another day so he could collect all of his 500,000 Syrian pound monthly salary — a little less than $50.

    Still, as a state employee and a patron of one of Syria’s six state-owned banks, Elias was luckier than many others. Across the street, Mohammad, 63, was shouting at no one in particular in front of the private bank where he has his account. He had come with his granddaughter, 6-year-old Masa, from his home in a Damascus suburb, hoping to plead with a manager to OK a larger withdrawal.

    But the manager told him there was no cash available; the ATMs weren’t even on. Mohammad, who gave his first name for reasons of privacy, didn’t have enough money for bus fare to go home.

    “What am I supposed to do? Beg on the street? I’ve been coming for weeks, and these bastards refuse to give me my money,” he said, angrily pointing at the bank’s entrance. Masa looked at her grandfather and didn’t say a word.

    A man reloads an ATM's depleted stock of Syrian pounds in Damascus.

    A man reloads an ATM’s depleted stock of Syrian pounds in Damascus.

    Sitting in his office, the bank manager, who refused to be identified because he was not allowed to speak to the media, insisted he had no choice but to turn away Mohammad and other patrons. Private banks, he said, were supposed to receive $20,000 in cash from the central bank every day. But more often than not, the banks got less, or nothing at all.

    “And even when the cash does arrive, it’s barely enough to cover the number of withdrawals,” the bank manager said. Moments later, a businessman entered his office seeking a withdrawal amounting to $500 to pay his bills; he too left empty-handed.

    When Syria’s new rulers came into power after a lightning fast offensive in December,they commandeered the Assad government’s financial institutions and took stock of a state-controlled economy enfeebled by war, corruption and sanctions: The Syrian pound, once valued at 47 to the U.S. dollar, plunged to 18,000 by the time Assad fled, turning most transactions into an arduous counting exercise involving sackfuls of pre-wrapped bricks of cash, each weighing more than a pound.

    The exchange rate has since improved — if you can call it improvement — to around 11,000 to the dollar.

    The economy’s output remains less than half of what it was in 2010, before the civil war erupted. A quarter of the country’s 26 million people live on less than $2.15 a day, according to a World Bank assessment in June. Two-thirds get by on less than $3.65 a day. Rebuilding the country will cost anywhere from $250 billion to $400 billion, estimates say.

    A row of broken ATM's inside Real Estate bank in Damascus.

    A row of broken ATM’s inside Real Estate bank in Damascus.

    The face of ousted Syrian dictator President Bashar al Assad decorates the Syrian pounds

    The face of ousted Syrian President Bashar Assad decorates Syrian pounds.

    The banking sector is no less destroyed. Civil war-era sanctions all but isolated Syrian banks from the global financial system. Although President Trump recently ordered many of those sanctions lifted, and European governments have done the same, Western banks are still reluctant to move the massive amounts of money needed for reconstruction.

    The new authorities swiftly loosened Assad-era restrictions, deluging the market with cheaper imports and lifting a moratorium that made dealing with dollars a criminal offense. They also imposed withdrawal limits, possibly in an attempt to prevent a run on the banks and stop former regime officials from emptying their accounts and fleeing.

    But nine months on, the limits persist with little clarity as to why, according to bank employees and economic experts. The World Bank reported a shortage of physical bank notes, despite a 105-fold increase in the amount of currency between 2011 and 2024. It added that recent planeloads of bills printed in Russia — which had a monopoly on producing Syrian pounds under Assad — were too small to meaningfully alleviate the liquidity crisis.

    Meanwhile, Syrians unable to access their bank accounts are relying on informal money changers — banned under Assad, but now flourishing — to buy Syrian pounds with gold or dollars they had amassed during Assad’s reign, despite the restrictions. Experts say such transactions are occurring at an artificially lowered exchange rate.

    “This appears to be a systematic policy aimed at pulling dollars from people in a country where the dollar has been unleashed, and has become the main source of revenue because of remittances,” said Samir Aita, a Syrian economist who also heads the Circle of Arab Economists.

    “Where are those dollars going? To the central bank? It seems not. This is something that keeps me up at night,” Aita said.

    Wads of U.S. dollars are handed to a money collector.

    A customer passes U.S. dollars to a money collector. Possessing dollars was a crime when President Bashar Assad was in power.

    Ammar Yusef, a Damascus-based economic expert, agreed with Aita’s assessment, adding that hard currency gathered by money changers is said to have been sent to the northwestern province of Idlib, for years the primary home of the Islamist group Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham (or HTS) that ousted Assad.

    One solution authorities have recently turned to for the cash crunch is e-payments. Earlier this year, they decreed all public sector salaries would be disbursed through Sham Cash, an app HTS first released in Idlib but that technical experts say is insecure and is linked to an Idlib-based bank that is not recognized by the central bank.

    It’s unclear whether the app has the capacity to deal with an estimated 1.25 million civil servants, and whether it meets Western governments’ requirements on combating money laundering and terror financing — essential components to increasing trust in the country’s financial system.

    Other experts point to serious concerns on fees charged by the two money transfer companies exclusively licensed to disburse money from Sham Cash. Both are considered close to the new government, and stand to collect more than $3 million annually in commissions.

    “They’re in an open battle today with the country’s banks,” Aita said.

    The government’s recently announced plans to redenominate the currency and eliminate two zeroes from each bill, he added, will do little to change the situation.

    Inside Damascus' Real Estate bank, with reflections from the Syrian capital outside.

    Inside Damascus’ Real Estate bank, with reflections from the Syrian capital outside.

    Yet these machinations mean little for Elias. After waiting for almost four hours, and forced to switch queues twice before he encountered a functional ATM, he withdrew his Syrian pounds for the day. He would use them to buy bread and other essentials. He wouldn’t be able to take out money again for a few days.

    “It feels like half the week is gone lining up for cash,” he said, huffing once more as he pushed through the crowds out of the ATM hall.

    Nabih Bulos

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  • Green for green: Ohio recreational marijuana buyers turned away for not having cash – Cannabis Business Executive – Cannabis and Marijuana industry news

    Green for green: Ohio recreational marijuana buyers turned away for not having cash – Cannabis Business Executive – Cannabis and Marijuana industry news





    Green for green: Ohio recreational marijuana buyers turned away for not having cash – Cannabis Business Executive – Cannabis and Marijuana industry news





























    AggregatedNews

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  • Can ‘ATM pools’ save cash?

    Can ‘ATM pools’ save cash?

    U.K. banks are testing machines that can accept deposits from multiple machines.

    John Adams

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  • HDFC Bank Q4 net profit grows to ₹17,622 crore

    HDFC Bank Q4 net profit grows to ₹17,622 crore

    HDFC Bank on Saturday reported a 2.11 per cent growth in consolidated net profit to ₹17,622.38 crore for the March 2024 quarter against ₹17,257.87 crore in the preceding December quarter.

    On a standalone basis, the country’s largest private sector lender reported a net profit of ₹16,511.85 crore compared to ₹16,372.54 crore in the December quarter.

    In July 2023, the bank merged its home loan-focused parent HDFC into itself.

    Its core net interest income grew to ₹29,080 crore for the reporting quarter, while the other income grew to ₹18,170 crore.

    The lender has reported its core net interest margin of 3.44 per cent on total assets.

    The gross non-performing assets ratio came at 1.24 per cent.

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  • Cash Buyers Ratchet Up SoCal Home Prices to Record Highs

    Cash Buyers Ratchet Up SoCal Home Prices to Record Highs

    Forget sky-high mortgage rates — Southern California buyers flush with cash have pushed home prices to an all-time record.

    The price for a typical home across the six-county region in March was $869,082, a 9 percent increase from a year earlier, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing figures from Zillow. 

    That’s 1 percent higher than the previous record in June 2022.

    With interest rates clocking in the upper 6 percent range, the monthly mortgage payment on the average home now tops $5,500, after a 20 percent down payment.

    Home prices hit a record high despite the high cost of borrowing because of too few homes for sale and a wealth gap with some buyers holding bags of cash who can bypass the soaring rates.

    When interest rates first spiked in 2022, buyers retreated, inventory piled up and home prices fell. Then the would-be sellers stalled, with many deciding they didn’t want to move and give up their sub-3 percent mortgages for costly loans.

    Inventory plunged and enough buyers returned to send home prices back up, according to the Times. The new buying pool: wealthy first-timers who aren’t forsaking a low-cost mortgage.

    Others are keeping their old home and buying another.

    Or they’re selling their old home and shoving their considerable equity into down payments well over 20 percent.

    RedFin’s Alin Glogovicean (RedFin)

    “People who have cash are not paying too much attention to interest rates,” Alin Glogovicean, an agent with Redfin who specializes in northeast L.A. He estimates a third of his deals include all-cash buyers, with another third plunking down at least 50 percent to launch a mortgage loan.

    At least two-thirds of the buyers with down payments of at least 30 percent aren’t investors, he said, but people who want to live in the home — often professionals such as architects who have saved, liquidated stock portfolios, built up equity or received help from family.

    Some are willing to break retirement nest eggs, an ill-advised strategy, according to financial experts.

    Some 23 percent of Los Angeles County homes sold in February were bought with all cash, up from 16 percent in 2021, according to Redfin. 

    Across the region, home prices have set records in Orange, San Bernardino, San Diego and Ventura counties. In Los Angeles and Riverside counties, prices are less than 1 percent from their all-time highs.

    Only 11 percent of households in Los Angeles and Orange counties could afford a median-priced house during the fourth quarter, the smallest number since the housing bubble of the mid-2000s, according to the California Association of Realtors.

    While the number of listed homes has risen, inventory is still tight and expected to remain slim, according to forecasters. Rates may dip, but are expected to remain elevated.

    Going forward, that may mean prices won’t soar but also won’t fall much — if at all, especially because incomes for many households are growing.

    Zillow’s Orphe Divounguy (Linkedin)

    “We are going to continue to see robust price growth, but nothing near where we were in the pandemic,” Orphe Divounguy, a senior economist with Zillow, told the Times.

    If interest rates plunge, homes would become more affordable, but a new wave of buyers could flood the market and put more upward pressure on prices.

    To help housing truly become more affordable, Divounguy said, there must be housing construction and continued income growth. “The way out of this is not going to come from mortgage rates,” he said. 

    Across the state, home construction fell last year, with fewer building permits from the previous year, according to the Times, though there are signs of a turnaround in single-family construction of for-sale homes.

    — Dana Bartholomew

    Read more

    TRD Staff

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  • All-cash offers, wealthy buyers push Southern California home prices to a record

    All-cash offers, wealthy buyers push Southern California home prices to a record

    Southern California home prices hit a record in March amid sky-high mortgage interest rates, a combination that’s creating the most unaffordable housing market in a generation.

    The average for the six-county region reached $869,082 in March, according to Zillow. That’s up 9% from a year earlier and 1% higher than the previous all-time high in June 2022.

    With rates hovering in the upper 6% range, the mortgage payment on the average home now tops $5,500 — if you can put 20% down.

    “It’s bananas,” Tommy Kotero, a 43-year-old refinery worker, said last weekend after touring a dated, $899,000 house in north Torrance with visible cracks in the ceiling and walls. “The asking prices for what we are getting is crazy.”

    How home prices hit a record despite the high cost of borrowing is a tale of too few homes for sale, combined with a wealth gap that has equipped some buyers with reams of cash that negate the effect of high rates.

    When interest rates first soared in 2022, buyers backed away en masse, inventory swelled and home prices dropped.

    Then potential sellers all but went on strike, with many deciding they didn’t want to move and trade their sub-3% mortgages for a loan at more than double that rate.

    Inventory plunged and enough buyers returned to send home prices back up. Many of these buyers are well-heeled first-timers who aren’t ditching a low-cost mortgage.

    Others are holding on to their old home and buying another. Still more are selling their old home and turning their considerable equity into hefty down payments well over 20%.

    “People who have cash are not paying too much attention to interest rates,” said Alin Glogovicean, a real estate agent with Redfin who specializes in northeast L.A.

    He estimates that in about one-third of his deals a buyer is paying all cash. Another third put down at least 50%, with a mortgage on the rest.

    At least two-thirds of the buyers with down payments of at least 30% aren’t investors but people who want to live in the home, he said. They are professionals such as architects and Hollywood types who have saved, liquidated stock portfolios, built up equity or received help from family.

    Some are willing to dip into retirement savings — a strategy many financial experts advise against.

    Nationally, similar trends are afoot, according to a Zillow survey, with the share of home buyers putting at least 20% rising, as well as those who received help from family and friends.

    In all, 23% of L.A. County homes sold in February were bought with all cash, up from 16% in 2021, according to Redfin.

    For those without access to a spare half-a-mill, times are tougher.

    According to the California Assn. of Realtors, only 11% of households in Los Angeles and Orange counties could reasonably afford the median-priced house during the fourth quarter, the smallest number since the housing bubble of the mid-aughts.

    At that time, risky lending practices allowed people to buy homes they couldn’t really pay for. Today, lending standards are far tighter, which economists say should prevent a similar collapse in prices if there’s another recession.

    Across the region, home prices have now set records in Orange, San Bernardino, San Diego and Ventura counties. In Los Angeles and Riverside counties, prices are less than 1% from their all-time highs.

    Agent Alicia Fombona of United Real Estate Pacific States works across the Southland — from the coast to the Inland Empire. Amid high rates and high prices, she said, one strategy that’s growing more popular is co-borrowing: family and friends coming together to buy a house or duplex to keep payments somewhat affordable.

    “Everybody needs a place to live and there is not enough housing for everybody,” Fombona said.

    More homes are starting to come onto the market, but inventory is still tight and expected to remain so, according to forecasters. Rates may drop somewhat but are expected to remain elevated.

    That combination could create a scenario in which prices don’t soar but also don’t drop much — if at all, especially because incomes for many households are growing.

    “We are going to continue to see robust price growth, but nothing near where we were in the pandemic,” said Orphe Divounguy, a senior economist with Zillow.

    If rates fell considerably, it would immediately make homes more affordable, but a new crop of buyers probably would flood the market and could put even more upward pressure on prices.

    To help housing truly become more affordable, Divounguy said, there must be continued income growth and more housing construction.

    “The way out of this is not going to come from mortgage rates,” he said.

    In California, construction headed in the wrong direction in 2023, with building permits falling from the previous year, though lately there are signs of a rebound in single-family construction, which is mostly for-sale homes.

    Some Californians, however, are on a timeline.

    Kotero, the buyer looking in Torrance, currently rents a house in the city with his wife, Rikah, and their four children. But he said they need to find a new place by summer because the landlord is moving back in.

    They’d like to buy and stay in Torrance for the schools but so far have struck out — even though Kotero makes $160,000 as a manager at a local oil refinery.

    He said he and his wife were recently outbid, despite stretching their budget to offer $1 million for a house listed for $900,000.

    Unlike others, the Koteros don’t have hundreds of thousands in cash to meaningfully offset high rates. Instead, Rikah, who currently stays home with the children, is thinking of looking for a job.

    “If we are realistically looking to buy a home in Torrance, there’s no way around it,” Kotero said.

    Andrew Khouri

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  • $30 Million In Cash Stolen From L.A. Money Storage Facility

    $30 Million In Cash Stolen From L.A. Money Storage Facility

    On the night of Easter Sunday, burglars entered the vault of a facility in San Fernando Valley where cash for businesses across the region is stored, bypassing the alarms and making off with an estimated $30 million in cash. What do you think?

    “Be on the lookout for anyone trying to buy something with cash.”

    Helen Sweeney, Rebranding Consultant

    This Week’s Most Viral News: April 5, 2024

    “By now they’ve already sold that cash on the black market.”

    Michael Deweerth, Conversation Pivoter

    “The joke will be on them when they realize money doesn’t buy happiness.”

    Gus Moen, Textiles Expert

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  • California Just Introduced Its Slavery Reparations Package

    California Just Introduced Its Slavery Reparations Package


    Opinion

    Screenshot: ABC 10 YouTube Video

    Lawmakers in California – a free state that never had slaves – have introduced a comprehensive slavery reparations package, a series of bills that mark a first-in-the-nation attempt to turn the concept into law.

    The legislative package includes measures such as restoring property taken through eminent domain and providing state funding for specific groups. It tackles a wide range of issues, from criminal justice reforms to housing segregation.

    Noticeably absent is any kind of cash payments for descendants of slavery.

    Assemblymember Lori Wilson, chair of the Legislative Black Caucus, downplayed the significance of the lack of direct funding.

    “While many only associate direct cash payments with reparations, the true meaning of the word, to repair, involves much more,” she said in a statement. “We need a comprehensive approach to dismantling the legacy of slavery and systemic racism.”

    Slavery was abolished in 1865 and no person living today has ever suffered under its terrible legacy.

    RELATED: San Francisco Board Expresses ‘Unanimous’ Support For Racist $5 Million Reparations Payments

    Why The California Reparations Package Doesn’t Provide Cash Payments

    Make no mistake, this reparations package doesn’t include cash payments because the left-wing cesspool of California can’t afford it.

    The state is currently facing a $68 billion budget deficit.

    Even knowing that, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors last March expressed “unanimous” support for a race-based reparations plan that included $5 million payments for every eligible black resident.

    They also wanted a guaranteed annual income of $97,000 for 250 years and homes “for just $1 a family.”

    Even the state task force advised that each of the roughly 2.5 million members of the black population receive approximately $277,000 each – a total price tag of about $34 billion.

    This legislative package didn’t include those things. But there is a provision that would give some monetary relief.

    The package states a goal to: “Restore property taken during raced-based uses of eminent domain to its original owners or provide another effective remedy where appropriate, such as restitution or compensation.”

    Some advocates of the racist reparations concept – which is designed to buy votes – weren’t happy.

    RELATED: Kathy Hochul Blasted For Signing Bill To Study Reparations In New York: ‘Set Back Race Relations For No Good Reason’

    The other reason this California reparations package might not have included cash payments is because the vast majority of Americans oppose it and recognize it as an unaffordable pipe dream.

    Even Democrats.

    Governor Gavin Newsom, who would do anything for a tub of Brycreem let alone votes, refused to publicly support payments recommended by a California task force.

    “Dealing with legacy is about much more than cash payments,” he said.

    Except, no matter what they’re saying publicly, the people behind the reparations push are not concerned about legacy first and foremost. They’re concerned about money.

    Polling shows that three-quarters or more of white adults oppose reparations, as do a majority of Latinos and Asian Americans. Even in deep blue California voters overwhelmingly object to the idea of cash payments to make up for slavery.

    There is no more nakedly racist legislation than a call for reparations based on skin color and a faux notion that anybody in America today has ever suffered from slavery.

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  • Would you take cash to leave a rent-controlled apartment? Data show it happens often in L.A.

    Would you take cash to leave a rent-controlled apartment? Data show it happens often in L.A.

    In 2022, not long after a new owner bought the Highland Park rental home where Ana Lopez, 66, lives with her husband, the tenants began receiving offers to leave. At first it was about $22,000, she said. One of her neighbors took the offer and left. But Lopez, desperate to stay in the rent-controlled home where she has lived for more than two decades and pays $800 a month, repeatedly turned down the offers, even when the amount increased to $100,000.

    After taxes, she felt, the money was not enough to remain long-term in her community, where the average monthly rent is more than $2,000 and the median sale price of a home is more than $1 million.

    She’s felt pressured to go and has been informed that the owner plans to demolish the property. But, she says, “We’re going to keep fighting to stay in our home.”

    Buyout offers — also known as “cash for keys” — have become a frequently used tool for landlords hoping to get tenants to leave rent-controlled apartments without going through a formal eviction process, which can take time, be costly and is governed by strict rules. But it has been difficult to say exactly how often renter buyouts happen across Los Angeles. Last week, data released by City Controller Kenneth Mejia’s office shed some light on the subject, showing that from 2019-23 nearly 5,000 “cash for keys” agreements were filed with the city.

    Neighborhoods in Koreatown, Echo Park and Mid-Wilshire topped the list for the number of agreements. Lopez’s Highland Park neighborhood was also among the top ZIP codes.

    In a statement, Mejia’s office said “tenant buyouts are a tactic that landlords use to compel tenants to move out of RSO (Rent Stabilization Ordinance) units or rent-controlled units, often so landlords can re-rent these units to new tenants at market-rate prices. In many cases, buyout amounts are not enough for tenants to afford continuing to live in the City of Los Angeles long term.”

    Tenant advocates say the numbers reported to the city fall short of fully capturing the extent to which cash for keys is happening across the city. They note that the data include only agreements — not the offers, which often happen informally with a person knocking on the door or making a phone call. Even the agreements themselves, advocates say, may not end up being filed with the city.

    “The number of such notices filed with LAHD is likely a tiny fraction of such agreements,” said Gary Blasi, professor of law emeritus at UCLA School of Law.

    Landlords say the buyout agreements can be a useful tool, giving tenants an incentive to move and creating a win-win for owners, who get their units back, and renters, who leave with some money to help pay for housing going forward. The average amount of a buyout, according to the data was $24,704.

    But tenant advocates say even that amount — or more — is often not enough to allow low-income families to continue living in L.A. neighborhoods where the cost of housing has soared in recent years, especially after taxes.

    “When it comes as a lump sum you think, ‘That’s a lot of money’ but you also need to know what it’s going to cost you to stay housed on the open market,” Blasi said. “What looks to be like a big lump sum windfall could actually leave the tenant in a much worse situation than they are.”

    Tenants and advocates also say that people who turn down the offers are often met with harassment by landlords.

    “We’ve had tenants report that people come by their home every day at dinner banging on the door telling them they really should take the offer, or people who come by really late at night,” said Cynthia Strathmann, executive director for the nonprofit advocacy group Strategic Actions for a Just Economy. “And there’s other kinds of harassment, persistent neglect — a landlord will refuse to fix anything in the apartment and then really insistently offer them cash for keys until the pressure of living in an apartment that’s really in terrible condition will prompt the tenant to move.”

    Strathmann said communities at the top of the controller’s list, like Koreatown and Echo Park, are ones where there’s an especially big difference between the monthly rent paid by a long-term tenant in a rent-controlled unit and what a landlord could command on the current market.

    Chris Gray, president of the property management company Moss & Co., said cash for keys agreements became especially important tools for landlords after the pandemic, when many tenants racked up large amounts of unpaid rent debt.

    “Landlords are in a tough position and all they want to do is get someone into their unit to pay rent,” he said.

    An eviction through the courts can take months and cost tens of thousands of dollars in attorney fees, Gray noted.

    “When you look at a whole picture like that, a landlord would be happy to forgive past rent debt of $30,000, $40,000, or whatever it may be, to get them out and avoid the whole eviction process.”

    The city began regulating buyout agreements and collecting information about them in 2017 after tenant advocates began protesting what they saw as an increasing practice of property owners displacing residents of rent-controlled units without fully informing them of their rights.

    The Tenant Buyout Notification Program requires landlords to provide information to renters when making a buyout offer. They must inform tenants that they are entitled to minimum compensation, which ranges from $9,900 to $24,650, depending on various factors including how long the tenant has lived in the home and whether they are elderly or disabled. Tenants are also told that they have the right to refuse or rescind the offer and to consult with an attorney or the housing department.

    Under the program, landlords are also required to file any agreements with the L.A. housing department. Those filings are the basis for the analysis that was released by the controller’s office.

    According to the data, buyout filings peaked in 2019, when there were 1,209 agreements. Last year there were 789 agreements filed with the city.

    The buyout ordinance allows tenants to “bring a private right of action against a landlord who violates” the rules and to recover damages and a penalty of $500. But that’s a step many low-income residents are unlikely to take, Blasi said.

    “I think the city should look again at the tenant buyout notification program and look to put some teeth into it and do some serious outreach to tenants and landlords about the existence of it,” Blasi said. “That can only help everybody who is operating in good faith.”

    Paloma Esquivel

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  • Clinks for cash? Wine, liquor bottles can now be redeemed at California recycling centers

    Clinks for cash? Wine, liquor bottles can now be redeemed at California recycling centers

    It may be Dry January for some, but a newly expanded recycling program could make it rain for Californians with empty wine and liquor bottles.

    California recycling centers will now redeem wine and liquor bottles — as well as pouches, boxes and cartons — for cash as part of the state’s Beverage Container Recycling Program.

    Supporters say expanding the program to include wine and liquor bottles, which was authorized with the passage of Senate Bill 1013 in 2022, will help augment California’s recycling efforts and divert more waste that otherwise might wind up in a landfill.

    “Adding wine and spirits to California’s Beverage Container Recycling Program cuts waste and pollution while providing more material for manufacturers to make new products as part of California’s circular economy,” Rachel Machi Wagoner, director of the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, said in a statement.

    Starting this year, anyone purchasing wine or liquor will be charged an additional 5 cents for bottles less than 24 fluid ounces in volume and 10 cents for larger bottles. Other containers, such as plastic pouches, bags-in-a-box or cartons will be subject to an additional 25-cent charge. Prices in stores will be updated to reflect the increases.

    For context, a common size for wine and liquor bottles is 750 ml — or a bit more than 25 fluid ounces.

    The additional charges will offset the California Redemption Value paid out when these containers are recycled in the state.

    Certain beverage containers made of glass, plastic, aluminum and bi-metal — such as beer bottles, soda cans and water bottles — were already included in the program.

    CalRecycle estimates the expansion will lead to an additional 1.1 billion bottles being recycled in the state annually.

    “With SB 1013 we can increase the recycling rates of millions of bottles that would otherwise wind up in our landfills or be illegally discarded,” state Sen. Bill Dodd (D-Napa) said in a statement after the bill passed through the California Legislature.

    An estimated 491 billion cans and bottles have been recycled in California since 1988 under the Beverage Container Recycling Program, including a record 19.5 billion in 2022, according to CalRecycle.

    “One of the great things about glass is that it is 100% infinitely recyclable,” said Nigel Dart, vice president of Gallo Glass Co., in a video released by CalRecycle.

    Jeremy Childs

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  • L.A. County coroner investigator charged with thefts of necklace and rare coins from bodies

    L.A. County coroner investigator charged with thefts of necklace and rare coins from bodies

    An investigator with the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner has been charged with stealing a gold necklace and rare coins from two dead people while on the job.

    The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office announced Wednesday that Adrian Muñoz, 34, has been charged with one felony count of grand theft and one misdemeanor count of petty theft. Muñoz had been with the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner since 2018, according to the county’s salary database.

    Prosecutors said Muñoz stole a gold crucifix necklace off the body of a warehouse worker who died of a heart attack on the job this January. After the family reported the theft, investigators searched Muñoz’s desk and found antique coins along with a receipt that belonged to a man whose death he had investigated in November of last year.

    Kristopher Gay, the deputy district attorney handling the case, said an investigation is still ongoing and it’s possible more alleged thefts could come to light.

    “He’s been involved in many cases,” he said at a news conference announcing the charge. “How many potential victims there could be I can’t say.”

    Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Odey Ukpo said he was “very disappointed” and had suspended Muñoz Tuesday.

    “We rely on the trust of the community,” he said. “Certainly, this will have shaken that trust.”

    The suspension comes roughly 11 months after the family of one of the victims, Miguel Solorio, said they first asked the medical examiner’s office about the loss of the necklace.

    Solorio had been a roughly 10-year employee of Hylands, working in a warehouse where homeopathic products were loaded, unloaded, managed and shipped.

    An employee of Hylands, who asked for anonymity to talk about their employer citing fear of retribution, told The Times that Muñoz had been called to take care of Solorio’s body. According to the employee, a security camera at the warehouse caught Muñoz removing the necklace from the body, placing it in a glove and then slipping it into his medical bag. The footage also showed Muñoz taking cash from the front pocket of the man’s pants and, again, slipping it into a glove in his medical bag.

    Rosalba Solorio, Miguel’s daughter-in-law, who also worked at Hylands, said a representative of the district attorney’s office had called the family to tell them that Muñoz had been arrested.

    “We’re happy the investigation didn’t just fall through the cracks,” she said. “They actually did something about it and hopefully we’ll see justice for my father-in-law.”

    She said her father-in-law had worn the distinctive gold necklace for a few decades.

    “Everybody knew he had it — he was recognized for it,” she said of the cross, which she said had more sentimental value than monetary value.

    She said losing Solorio had broken her husband and mother-in-law.

    “Finding out what happened with the chain was insult to injury,” she said. “Somebody who should be helping the family did this, and it’s just unexplainable.”

    Solorio said her father-in-law often carried cash with him as well. When the family inquired as to what happened to the necklace and the cash, they were told that nothing was found on the body. She said they were later told the necklace was available, but when her husband and mother-in-law went to retrieve it at the medical examiner’s office, the necklace they were handed was not Solorio’s.

    She said the necklace has still not been returned to them.

    Rebecca Ellis, Steve Lopez

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  • Scammers exploit bitcoin ATMs. Will new California laws help crack down on fraud?

    Scammers exploit bitcoin ATMs. Will new California laws help crack down on fraud?

    Jim Meduri answered a terrifying phone call in January from a man pretending to be his son.

    The caller, who sounded on the verge of tears, said he’d been in a car accident. Meduri was convinced his son had been arrested for driving under the influence and injuring a pregnant woman and her daughter.

    The San Jose resident later spoke to people impersonating a defense attorney and a courthouse clerk, who told him his son might be sent from the Bay Area to Nevada because of an mpox outbreak at the jail. Panicked and in a rush, Meduri agreed to send bail money through cryptocurrency. The fake lawyer directed Meduri, 65, to an ATM where people can buy the digital currency bitcoin. He inserted $15,000 in cash into the machine, scanned a code provided by the scammers and transferred the money.

    When Meduri realized he’d been duped, his money was gone.

    “They played on fear and what a parent would do to help their kid, and it was elaborate,” said Meduri, who was able to get most of his money back with help from the Santa Clara County district attorney’s office.

    Meduri’s misfortune is just one example of how scammers are using bitcoin ATMs to swindle victims out of thousands of dollars, fraud that law enforcement officials warn is on the rise.

    The machines, in convenience stores, gas stations and even bakeries, are an easy way for people to buy cryptocurrency quickly with cash, which is harder to track than a wire transfer or check. As scammers exploit the convenience these machines provide, bitcoin ATMs are also attracting the attention of lawmakers, regulators and consumer advocacy groups looking to protect people from fraud and exorbitant fees.

    Starting in January, California will limit cryptocurrency ATM transactions to $1,000 per day per person under Senate Bill 401, which Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law. Some bitcoin ATM machines advertise limits as high as $50,000. The new law also bars bitcoin ATM operators from collecting fees higher than $5 or 15% of the transaction, whichever is greater, starting in 2025. Legislative staff members visited a crypto kiosk in Sacramento and found markups as high as 33% on some digital assets when they compared the prices at which cryptocurrency is bought and sold. Typically, a crypto ATM charges fees between 12% and 25% over the value of the digital asset, according to a legislative analysis.

    “This bill is about ensuring that people who have been frauded in our communities don’t continue to watch our state step aside when we know that these are real problems that are happening,” said state Sen. Monique Limón (D-Goleta), who co-authored the bill.

    Although similar scams have existed long before the rising popularity of cryptocurrency, the use of these digital assets by fraudsters has been increasing, according to the Federal Trade Commission. Since 2021, more than 46,000 people reported losing over $1 billion in crypto to scams, the agency reported in 2022.

    Victims of bitcoin ATM scams say limiting the transactions will give people more time to figure out they’re being tricked and prevent them from using large amounts of cash to buy cryptocurrency. But crypto ATM operators say the new laws will harm their industry and the small businesses they pay to rent space for the machines. There are more than 3,200 bitcoin ATMs in California, according to Coin ATM Radar, a site that tracks the machines’ locations.

    “This bill fails to adequately address how to crack down on fraud, and instead takes a punitive path focused on a specific technology that will shudder the industry and hurt consumers, while doing nothing to stop bad actors,” said Charles Belle, executive director of the Blockchain Advocacy Coalition.

    While California lawmakers have striven to balance the need to support the cryptocurrency industry and protect consumers, recent legislation has hewed toward tighter state regulation. Another law would by July 2025 require digital financial asset businesses to obtain a license from the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation.

    When signing the legislation, Assembly Bill 39, Newsom included a message that said the law needed further refinement to provide clarity to consumers, businesses and state regulators.

    “It is essential that we strike the appropriate balance between protecting consumers from harm and fostering a responsible innovation environment,” he wrote.

    In 2022, months before the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, Newsom vetoed a similar bill that would have required cryptocurrency companies to get a state license, citing concerns a new regulatory program would be costly and the actions were premature.

    Erin West, a Santa Clara County deputy district attorney who helped Meduri recover his money, said scammers turn to bitcoin ATM machines because they accept large amounts of cash. The value of bitcoin can also rise, giving fraudsters a way to increase their plunder.

    Scammers use different tactics to trick people into handing over their money, including creating a false sense of urgency and winning over their trust. Some befriend or seduce their victims through social media or dating apps, luring them into a web of lies that include fake emergencies. Other times, the scam starts with a text message directing victims to a fake cryptocurrency investment site.

    West said her team has been able to recover $2.5 million for scam victims like Meduri by tracking down the cryptocurrency exchange that was involved in the transaction. After Meduri put $15,000 into a kiosk operated by Bitcoin ATM Services, the digital money ended up in the cryptocurrency exchange Binance. The exchange complied with a search warrant, allowing her team to retrieve the stolen funds from Binance and return them to Meduri.

    Although it’s possible for cryptocurrency victims to get their money back even if it travels overseas, West said it’s rare. Some cryptocurrency exchanges are more cooperative with law enforcement than others, she said.

    “This whole thing is a speed game,” said West, who is part of a task force called REACT — Regional Enforcement Allied Computer Team — that combats high-tech crimes. “Can we get the victim in front of a competent investigator who knows how to find things on the blockchain in the least amount of time?” Blockchain is a type of shared digital database that stores information about crypto transactions.

    An 80-year-old retired teacher in Los Angeles, whom The Times previously interviewed, said she hasn’t been able to recover $69,000 she sent to scammers through a bitcoin ATM over multiple days in May. The stolen funds ended up in Seychelles-based cryptocurrency exchanges KuCoin and Huobi.

    The scam started when Mrs. K, who wants to remain anonymous because she’s more wary about giving out her personal information, got a loud pop-up alert that her computer was infected with a virus. After calling a fake tech support number and later talking to a person impersonating the FBI, Mrs. K thought her Chase bank account had been taken over by foreign Chinese hackers involved in a child pornography case. To keep up the elaborate ruse, the scammers also sent Mrs. K fake Chase bank emails.

    “If it wasn’t this convoluted mishmash, I probably would have been a little smarter and not fallen into this trap,” Mrs. K said. “I feel so disappointed in myself that I just fell hook, line and sinker.”

    Mrs. K said the FBI impersonator told her to withdraw $75,000 in cash over three days from her Chase checking account and not tell anyone. If workers at the bank asked, the scammer told Mrs. K to say that she was withdrawing cash for construction.

    The FBI impersonator convinced Mrs. K she could help law enforcement catch the child predators if she converted the cash to cryptocurrency and transferred the funds to a digital wallet the agency would monitor. The intricate lie eventually led Mrs. K to a Coinhub Bitcoin ATM machine at a doughnut shop in Highland Park that accepts up to $25,000 in cash daily per person.

    By the time she realized it was a scam, Mrs. K had sent $69,000 to the fraudsters. She reported the crime to police but hasn’t been able to recover her money.

    Under federal law, bitcoin ATM operators are typically considered money services businesses, so they’re required to register with the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN. The agency collects and analyzes financial information to combat money laundering and other illegal uses. The businesses must also maintain an anti-money-laundering program and report suspicious activity to the agency.

    Logan Short, the chief executive of LSGT Services, which does business as Coinhub Bitcoin ATM, said in an email the company does “everything in its power to protect consumers, but unfortunately fraud is not 100% preventable in any industry.” The Las Vegas company is registered with FinCEN but faced allegations that it operated crypto ATM machines in Connecticut without the required state license.

    Bitcoin ATM Services, which operates the kiosk used by Meduri, says on its website that it is registered with FinCEN. The Times couldn’t find a record of Bitcoin ATM Services being registered as a money services business with FinCEN. A company called Cash ATM Services that has the same mailing address as Bitcoin ATM Services was registered. Bitcoin ATM Services did not respond to a request for comment.

    Law enforcement has cracked down on unlicensed crypto ATMs,but it can be tough for consumers to tell how serious the industry is about addressing the concerns. In 2020, a Yorba Linda man pleaded guilty to charges of operating unlicensed bitcoin ATMs and failing to maintain an anti-money-laundering program even though he knew criminals were using the funds. The illegal business, known as Herocoin, allowed people to buy and sell bitcoin in transactions of up to $25,000 and charged a fee of up to 25%.

    Cryptocurrency regulations vary by state. California has long exempted crypto ATMs from licensing requirements for businesses engaged in money transmission.

    Crypto ATM machines serve people who don’t have a bank account or just want the convenience of buying cryptocurrency at a gas station, convenience store or other shop, said Ayman Rida, CEO of Cash2Bitcoin, who works with cryptocurrency ATM operators including in California on complying with state regulations. The fees ATM charge are higher than online exchanges, he said, to cover certain expenses. That includes the cost of leased space, machine maintenance and cash management.

    Crypto ATM operators aren’t opposed to having clearer rules and guidelines, he said, but they are against capping fees and transactions. Crypto ATM operators typically require more forms of identification if a customer makes a transaction of more than $1,000, and in some cases flag high-value transactions, which could help stop scammers.

    “Scammers are getting smarter,” he said. “My question for the regulators is, why are you killing an industry when scams also happen to other industries but they’re not doing anything about it as well?”

    As for Meduri, he’s just relieved his son wasn’t really arrested and in a car accident. Oddly enough, finding out it was all an elaborate lie came with a sense of relief.

    “My wife and I were just wrecked that day,” he said. “I didn’t even care. I was happy he was OK.”

    Queenie Wong

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  • Lauren Boebert spent campaign money at her boyfriend’s bar: report

    Lauren Boebert spent campaign money at her boyfriend’s bar: report

    Bombastic Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert reportedly gave campaign money to a bar owned by the man with whom she was ejected from a performance of the “Beetlejuice” musical.

    The right-wing lawmaker blew $317.48 at Hooch Craft Cocktail Bar in July, according to Politico. That Aspen, Colo., establishment is run by Quinn Gallagher, who became a national figure in September when he and the vaping 36-year-old lawmaker were asked to leave the Buell Theater after they engaged in lurid conduct.

    Boebert initially denied she was misbehaving, but security video from inside the theater appeared to show she was smoking from a vape pen and being handsy with Gallagher. She reportedly labeled her spending at Gallagher’s establishment “event catering” on a campaign finance filing.

    Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert and a male friend were asked to leave the Buelle Theater in Denver during a performance of the “Beetlejuice” musical, where witnesses said the right-wing representative was speaking loudly, waving her arms, vaping (pictured) and being generally disruptive.

    The MAGA congresswoman became a grandmother in June when her 17-year-old son, whom she left high school to raise, became a dad. Boebert said in May that she and her husband were in the process of getting a divorce. She told TMZ last month that her brief relationship with Gallagher had also come to an end. 

    Brian Niemietz

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