Santa Barbara County News and Events

Sospechosos del ataque frente a residencia del alcalde de Nueva York detallaron sus planes en cuadernos y grabaciones

Kraig Pakulski 0 16 Article rating: No rating

Por Alex Stambaugh y Emma Tucker, CNN

Dos hombres acusados ​​de intentar detonar bombas caseras durante las protestas cerca de la residencia del alcalde de la ciudad de Nueva York, Zohran Mamdani, el mes pasado, detallaron en un cuaderno y a través de grabaciones de audio cómo esperaban que su ataque matara a decenas de personas, según una acusación formal publicada el martes.

Emir Balat, de 18 años, e Ibrahim Kayumi, de 19, quienes fueron arrestados el 7 de marzo frente a Gracie Mansion, fueron acusados ​​de ocho delitos, entre ellos proporcionar apoyo material a una organización terrorista extranjera y conspirar para usar un arma de destrucción masiva en el ataque inspirado por ISIS, según informaron los fiscales federales.

“Lo único que sé es que quiero sembrar el terror, hermano” y “Quiero aterrorizar a esta gente”, le dijo Kayumi a Balat la mañana del ataque, según un video grabado por la cámara del tablero del auto mientras los dos viajaban de Pensilvania a Manhattan, según la acusación.

Según explicó, Mamdani, el primer alcalde musulmán de la ciudad, y su esposa, Rama Duwaji, no se encontraban en casa en ese momento.

La acusación detalla las pruebas obtenidas del vehículo presuntamente utilizado por Balat y Kayumi, ciudadanos estadounidenses de Pensilvania, incluyendo una libreta manuscrita y aproximadamente tres días de grabaciones de video y audio de la cámara del salpicadero.

El cuaderno incluía los pasos de su plan, entre ellos una lista de ingredientes y equipos necesarios para mezclar explosivos y los pasos para construir una bomba.

En otra parte del cuaderno, figuraban detalles de un aparente plan alternativo para un ataque utilizando un vehículo y una lista de posibles objetivos, “que incluían ‘festivales’, ‘desfiles’, ‘protestas’ y ‘celebraciones’”, según indica el documento.

Según el documento, las grabaciones de la cámara del salpicadero, captadas durante su trayecto desde Pensilvania hasta Manhattan, detallaban las conversaciones sobre cómo llevarían a cabo el ataque, el probable resultado del mismo y cómo tenían como objetivo a “el gobierno” y a “los civiles”.

Tras el ataque, agentes del FBI recuperaron “restos de explosivos y materiales para fabricar bombas” del interior de un almacén en Pensilvania que Balat había alquilado pocos días antes, según el documento. Entre las pruebas se encontraban dos recipientes con residuos del potente explosivo TATP.

CNN se ha puesto en contacto con los abogados de Balat y Kayumi para obtener comentarios.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

Con información de Gloria Pazmino y Chris Boyette, de CNN

The post Sospechosos del ataque frente a residencia del alcalde de Nueva York detallaron sus planes en cuadernos y grabaciones appeared first on News Channel 3-12.

The demise of software engineering jobs has been greatly exaggerated

Kraig Pakulski 0 24 Article rating: No rating

By Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN

New York (CNN) — Computer science and engineering students at the University of Washington, spooked about AI, returned from spring break last week to a surprising email from the department head.

“I’m reaching out because I keep hearing concerns about AI and the future of (computer science) careers,” Magdalena Balazinska, director of Washington’s Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering, wrote to more than 2,000 undergraduates.

Her message: AI is not killing your job options. It’s expanding them.

AI is making it possible to produce more with fewer workers. Anthropic’s Claude, OpenAI’s Codex and other AI tools can pump out code faster than ever, stoking fears that AI will one day replace software developer jobs entirely. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff said the company stopped hiring engineers last year, and roughly half the US public believes AI will lead to fewer software jobs in the future. Rapid advancements in software development may be a signal of what AI will soon do to other fields.

But job openings for developers are growing. Companies believe they will pump out more software now that nearly anyone can be a coder with AI, increasing demand for seasoned engineers to shape these products.

Instead of wiping out jobs, AI is shifting the tasks of developers. They are doing less routine coding work and devoting more of their schedule to overseeing swarms of AI-powered code-writing agents — autonomous bots that can complete tasks. Engineers, in turn, are spending more time designing the structure of software and generating ideas.

“The job will look different. That doesn’t mean it’s going away,” said Amanda Richardson, the CEO of CoderPad, a hiring platform companies use to interview software engineers. “The best engineers are spending all day, every day with AI and using it to make their designs better.”

This has created a chaotic transition period, potentially hurting engineers who are reluctant to use AI or struggle to keep up with the technology.

Hiring engineers

Listings for software engineer jobs on Indeed are up 11% annually, a faster clip than postings overall, according to analysis by Citadel Securities. Companies are expanding their software budgets and increasing engineer headcounts, a Bank of America survey found. The long-term outlook for the job appears strong, too. Software developer employment will grow 15% by 2034, the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects.

Most computer science majors at the University of Washington are still taking full-time engineering positions in the tech industry after they graduate, Balazinska told students in her email.

Industries experiencing rapid technological change have historically shown employment growth, and software development may be the latest example, said James Bessen, executive director of the Technology & Policy Research Initiative at Boston University.

New technologies don’t just replace labor with machines — they also reduce prices and improve product quality. This increases customer demand and drives up employment.

Automation drove down the cost of producing textiles in the 19th century, leading to a 100-fold increa

Rushing to file your taxes? Don’t rely on AI for help, plus other last-minute tips

Kraig Pakulski 0 27 Article rating: No rating

By Jeanne Sahadi, CNN

(CNN) — If you’re riding the caboose when it comes to filing your income taxes, you have one more week to make the April 15 deadline – or at least request an automatic six-month filing extension and pay whatever else you owe for 2025.

Here are some last-minute dos and don’ts to make sure you avoid hitting any snags along the way.

General-use AI is not your tax friend

The IRS and tax pros use AI. Tax prep software providers use AI. So, you wonder, “Why not me?”

Several reasons, according to former IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel.

Werfel, who oversaw the IRS’ early use of AI to improve taxpayer service and compliance, appreciates the tool’s promise in the tax arena.

But he’s raising red flags for DIY taxpayers who plan to lean on – or have already relied on – free, general-use AI platforms to field personal tax questions and help prepare their returns.

“Beware the generic solutions,” said Werfel, who is now a strategic advisory board member at management consulting firm Alliant.

For starters, unlike AI programs designed for tax purposes, general-use platforms (e.g., Chat GPT, Google Gemini or Microsoft Copilot) have not been engineered, trained and tested for tax compliance and accuracy, especially for the more detailed, specific questions you may have due to the new tax law from last July that created a slew of new tax breaks for individuals. Even tax pros are taking it slow as they try to apply the complex rules governing who is eligible to claim them and how much of their income is now deductible.

The quality of the information you get from a general-use platform also depends on the quality of your prompts. If you don’t have any informed sense of what you’re asking about (and no one can blame you if you don’t), you’re less likely to put in useful prompts, which could result in confusing, incomplete or incorrect information. As enrolled agent Tom O’Saben put it in a press call, “I use AI tools every day. But I have an idea of where we want to go.”

The personal financial details you input are also less secure. “You’re handing over your most sensitive information to a platform where you have very limited understanding or assurances … in term of how your data will be used,” Werfel said.

And, he added, AI-assisted returns may be automatically flagged by the returns processing system at the federal or state level, which may take your return out of the fast-track lane and set it aside for human review. That can mean a real lag in getting your refund or just getting closure on issues your return raises for the tax agencies.

“If you think, ‘I’m just going to use Chat GPT,’ you’re taking a big risk that you’re going to be moved into the slow lane,” Werfel said.

Have last-minute questions or need help filing for free?

You might get the information you need by using the IRS’ Interactive Tax Assistant.

Or if you’re a low-income filer who is at least 60 years old, you can get free tax and filing assistance at a VITA site (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance and Tax Counseling for the Elderly) or by calling 800-906-9887. AARP also offers free tax assistance.

Members of the military may get free help with filing and tax questions through MilTax.

Avoid grat

How the overdose death of a beloved TV star highlights a new era of accountability for drug dealers

Kraig Pakulski 0 25 Article rating: No rating

By Jack Hannah, CNN

(CNN) — “I’m really select with people … red carpet motherf**kers.”

For years, Jasveen Sangha, dubbed the “Ketamine Queen,” ran what prosecutors say in a sentencing memo was a “high volume drug trafficking business out of her North Hollywood residence.” She marketed herself, prosecutors say, as a dealer who sold exclusively to A-list clientele.

The lifestyle had its benefits. Prosecutors say Sangha had a privileged background yet chose to deal drugs “not because of financial deprivation, but for greed, glamor and access.”

That all changed on October 28, 2023 when “Friends” star Matthew Perry was found floating face down in his hot tub at his Pacific Palisades home.

The Los Angeles Medical Examiner’s Office listed the cause of death as “acute effects of ketamine” and subsequent drowning.

Sangha and four others were charged in August 2024 in connection with Perry’s death.

A year later, Sangha agreed to plead guilty to five federal criminal charges, including providing the ketamine that led to Perry’s death. Her plea follows the path of the other four defendants who struck a plea agreement with federal prosecutors.

‘We will hold drug-dealers accountable’

Shortly after Sangha’s indictment, then-US Attorney for the Central District of California, E. Martin Estrada, told reporters “Defendants nowadays are on full notice that the products they sell could result in the death of another person. Therefore, if you’re in the drug business and despite these risks, you continue in the drug business, you are pushed by greed to gamble with other people’s lives, be advised, we will hold you accountable.”

Perry’s case draws parallels to the drug-related death of Mac Miller in September of 2018. The rapper died after an accidental overdose of fentanyl, cocaine and ethanol.

Major league pitcher Tyler Skaggs died with high levels of opioids in his system in 2019. Actor Philip Seymour Hoffman was found dead in 2014 with a syringe in his arm and a lethal combination of heroin, cocaine, benzodiazepines and amphetamine in his system.

In each of these celebrity deaths, those who were alleged to have supplied illegal substances were arrested. Not all of them were convicted.

Legal experts say the emphasis on higher-profile cases and related prosecutions can play a crucial role in deterring illegal drug activities.

“The emphasis on high-profile cases largely stems from the visibility they bring to the issue, helping to shed light on the broader implications of the drug crisis,” Andrew Pickett, a lead trial attorney based in Melbourne, Florida, told CNN in August 2024.

“They serve as a warning to both practitioners operating on the fringes of legality and those facilitating substance abuse,” Pickett said.

The rise of drug-related deaths has forced law enforcement and prosecutors around the country to adjust tactics by dedicating more personnel to aggressively target traffickers and dealers.

Even the death of a customer i

EE.UU. e Irán acuerdan un alto el fuego y sostienen conversaciones para superar sus diferencias. Estado actual del conflicto

Kraig Pakulski 0 23 Article rating: No rating

Por Jessie Yeung, CNN

Tras un mes y medio de escalada del conflicto en Medio Oriente, Estados Unidos e Irán acordaron este martes un alto el fuego de dos semanas, menos de dos horas antes de la fecha límite fijada por el presidente Donald Trump, que había prometido aniquilar a “toda una civilización”.

Esa amenaza, que según los críticos podría constituir un crimen de guerra de llevarse a cabo, parece haber sido evitada por ahora en el último momento.

Sin embargo, persiste una profunda división entre ambos países, que presentaron la tregua temporal como una victoria propia.

El alto el fuego es un punto de partida para futuras negociaciones, y queda por ver qué términos finales podrían incluirse en una propuesta para poner fin definitivamente a una guerra que ha trastocado Medio Oriente y ha provocado una histórica crisis mundial del petróleo.

Esto es lo que sabemos.

Trump anunció el alto el fuego en una publicación de Truth Social, diciendo que se había acordado con la condición de que Irán aceptara reabrir el crucial estrecho de Ormuz, por donde fluye una quinta parte del petróleo mundial.

El cese el fuego fue mediado por el primer ministro y el jefe militar de Pakistán, afirmó. Irán presentó una propuesta de 10 puntos, que Estados Unidos considera “una base viable para negociar”, añadió Trump.

Según indicó, las próximas dos semanas permitirán redactar un acuerdo definitivo.

En una entrevista con la agencia de noticias AFP el martes, Trump describió el acuerdo como una “victoria total y completa”. Sin embargo, no quiso decir si cumpliría sus amenazas previas de destruir la infraestructura civil de Irán si Teherán incumplía el acuerdo, limitándose a decir: “Ya lo verán”.

Y en una publicación posterior en Truth Social, pasada la medianoche, Trump indicó que Estados Unidos estaría “ayudando con la gestión del tráfico en el estrecho de Ormuz”, y agregó: “Se ganará mucho dinero”.

Fuentes estadounidenses informaron a CNN que la administración Trump se está preparando para posibles negociaciones presenciales, probablemente en Islamabad, donde el primer ministro de Pakistán ha invitado a ambas partes a enviar delegaciones.

Israel forma parte del alto el fuego y también suspenderá los bombardeos contra Irán, según informó la oficina del primer ministro Benjamin Netanyahu.

Pero también afirmó que Líbano no forma parte del cese, contradiciendo al primer ministro de Pakistán, quien aseguró que sí.

Trump no mencionó a Líbano en su declaración.

El ministro de Asuntos Exteriores de Irán, Abbas Araghchi, afirmó que si cesan los ataques contra Irán, las operaciones iraníes también cesarán.

Las fuerzas militares del país persa coordinarán el paso seguro a través del estrecho de Ormuz durante el alto el fuego, agregó en una publicación en X.

La agencia de noticias semioficial iraní Tasnim informó que Irán y Omán planean cobrar tasas de tránsito a los buques que atraviesen el estrecho durante el alto el fuego, y que los fondos recaudados se destinarán a la reconstrucción. CNN solicitó comentarios al Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores de Omán.

El Consejo Supremo de Seguridad Nacional de Irán, el máximo órgano de seguridad del país, emitió un comunicado más contundente, afirmando que había obligado a Estados Unidos a aceptar su plan de 10 puntos. Describió el alto el fuego como una “derrota definitiva” para Washington.

También hizo referencia a posibles conversaciones en Islamabad, advirtiendo que “si el enemigo comete el más mínimo error, se le responderá con toda la fuerza”.

Araghchi afir

RSS
First21792180218121822184218621872188Last