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Man pleads guilty to wire fraud in $3.5 million California timeshare-exit scam

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:24:45 GMT

A 42-year-old man who controlled several telemarketing companies in Orange and Los Angeles counties and used them to scam dozens of timeshare owners, including elderly victims, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud on Monday, officials said.Former Long Beach resident Michael McDonagh and four co-conspirators fraudulently obtained over $3.5 million from victims through a telemarketing scheme that used misleading and high-pressure sales tactics to promise financial relief to timeshare owners, according to the U.S. Justice Department and court records.From 2015 to May 2019, McDonagh, who founded or controlled telemarketing companies based in Irvine, Costa Mesa, Santa Ana and Signal Hill, used “openers” to contact timeshare owners and offer a fixed fee to terminate their timeshare interests. Court records state McDonagh instructed company employees to “take no prisoners” and have “no remorse when interacting with victims.”He also told workers to “take every penny” they could from vi...

How the Murder of a CIA Officer Was Used to Silence the Agency’s Greatest Critic

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:24:45 GMT

On the night of December 23, 1975, Ron Estes, the CIA’s deputy station chief in Athens, was lounging on the couch in his girlfriend’s apartment when the man who worked as a driver for his boss, Richard Welch, burst through the front door.“A shooting, and Mr. Welch is down,” the driver yelled.Estes grabbed his coat and ran outside, ignoring his girlfriend’s pleas to stay.At Welch’s house in the Greek capital, Estes saw the station chief lying on his back on the sidewalk, his wife, Kika, kneeling beside him. Blood covered Welch’s face, and Estes could see immediately that he was dead. “I didn’t need to feel for a pulse,” he said in an interview. A police car arrived, and Estes asked the officer to call an ambulance. When no ambulance arrived, they hauled the body into Welch’s car and Estes and Welch’s driver followed the police officer, siren blaring and lights flashing, through the streets of Athens to the nearest hospital. A medical team was waiting; they quickly placed Welch on a g...

Independent Contract Drilling: Q1 Earnings Snapshot

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:24:45 GMT

HOUSTON (AP) — HOUSTON (AP) — Independent Contract Drilling Inc. (ICD) on Tuesday reported net income of $12,000 in its first quarter.On a per-share basis, the Houston-based company said it had net income of less than 1 cent. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, came to 14 cents per share.The provider of drilling services for oil and natural gas producers posted revenue of $63.8 million in the period._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on ICD at https://www.zacks.com/ap/ICDSource

Target Hospitality: Q1 Earnings Snapshot

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:24:45 GMT

THE WOODLANDS, Texas (AP) — THE WOODLANDS, Texas (AP) — Target Hospitality Corp. (TH) on Tuesday reported first-quarter profit of $43.8 million.The The Woodlands, Texas-based company said it had profit of 38 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted to extinguish debt, were 40 cents per share.The results surpassed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of three analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 39 cents per share.The company posted revenue of $147.8 million in the period, which also topped Street forecasts. Three analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $137.6 million._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on TH at https://www.zacks.com/ap/THSource

LinkedIn axes 716 jobs in fresh tech cuts, shuts China app

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:24:45 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Professional networking platform LinkedIn says it’s laying off more than 700 workers and shuttering its China jobs app, in the latest round of tech industry downsizing. LinkedIn blamed “shifts in customer behavior and slower revenue growth” for the cuts, which it announced in a blogpost late Monday. Technology companies have resorted to recurring waves of layoffs over the past year, in new phenomenon to hit the industry that reverses more than a decade of mostly unbridled growth. LinkedIn, which is owned by Microsoft, indicated that the net number of job losses could be less than 500. As part of its strategic shakeup, LinkedIn said it would be “opening up more than 250 new roles” in parts of its operations team as well as new business and account management teams starting on May 15. LinkedIn said it will also shut down its local jobs app for China, InCareer, by August, citing “fierce competition and a challenging macroeconomic climate.” InCareer was launched in 2...

Jacobs Solutions: Fiscal Q2 Earnings Snapshot

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:24:45 GMT

DALLAS (AP) — DALLAS (AP) — Jacobs Solutions Inc. (J) on Tuesday reported fiscal second-quarter net income of $216.5 million.On a per-share basis, the Dallas-based company said it had profit of $1.70. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, were $1.81 per share.The results beat Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.78 per share.The construction and technical services company posted revenue of $4.08 billion in the period, which also topped Street forecasts. Four analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $3.99 billion.Jacobs Solutions expects full-year earnings in the range of $7.25 to $7.45 per share._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on J at https://www.zacks.com/ap/JSource

Healthcare Realty Trust: Q1 Earnings Snapshot

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:24:45 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Healthcare Realty Trust Incorporated (HR) on Tuesday reported a key measure of profitability in its first quarter. The results missed Wall Street expectations.The Nashville, Tennessee-based real estate investment trust said it had funds from operations of $152.8 million, or 40 cents per share, in the period.The average estimate of four analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for funds from operations of 41 cents per share.Funds from operations is a closely watched measure in the REIT industry. It takes net income and adds back items such as depreciation and amortization.The company said it had a loss of $87.1 million, or 23 cents per share.The medical office building real estate investment trust, based in Nashville, Tennessee, posted revenue of $332.9 million in the period._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock r...

Press group calls for Israeli accountability in media deaths

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:24:45 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military has systematically evaded accountability in the deaths of 20 journalists over the past two decades, launching slow and opaque investigations that have never resulted in prosecution or punishment, an international press-freedom group said in a report Tuesday.The Committee to Protect Journalists issued its report ahead of the one-year anniversary of the death of Shireen Abu Akleh — a Palestinian-American journalist with the Al Jazeera satellite channel who was killed while covering an Israeli military raid in the occupied West Bank. The army has said Abu Akleh was likely killed by Israeli fire, but said the shooting was accidental and not announced any disciplinary action.“The killing of Shireen Abu Akleh and the failure of the army’s investigative process to hold anyone responsible is not a one-off event,” said Robert Mahoney, CPJ’s director of special projects and one of the report’s editors. “It is part of a pattern of response that seems desig...

Perrigo: Q1 Earnings Snapshot

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:24:45 GMT

DUBLIN (AP) — DUBLIN (AP) — Perrigo Co. (PRGO) on Tuesday reported a loss of $3 million in its first quarter.On a per-share basis, the Dublin-based company said it had a loss of 2 cents. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, were 45 cents per share.The drug company posted revenue of $1.18 billion in the period, surpassing Street forecasts. Three analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $1.16 billion.Perrigo expects full-year earnings in the range of $2.50 to $2.70 per share._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on PRGO at https://www.zacks.com/ap/PRGOSource

Novavax: Q1 Earnings Snapshot

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:24:45 GMT

GAITHERSBURG, Md. (AP) — GAITHERSBURG, Md. (AP) — Novavax Inc. (NVAX) on Tuesday reported a loss of $293.9 million in its first quarter.The Gaithersburg, Maryland-based company said it had a loss of $3.41 per share.The results fell short of Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of five analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for a loss of $3.38 per share.The vaccine maker posted revenue of $81 million in the period, also missing Street forecasts. Five analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $137.2 million.Novavax expects full-year revenue in the range of $1.4 billion to $1.6 billion._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on NVAX at https://www.zacks.com/ap/NVAXSource