The post Federal Judge Calls Sable’s Complaint Against Santa Barbara “Patently Implausible” appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.

Por Veronica Calderón y Mauricio Torres, CNN en Español

La presidenta de México, Claudia Sheinbaum, descalificó este miércoles las recientes declaraciones del titular de la Administración de Control de Drogas de Estados Unidos (DEA, por sus siglas en inglés), Terry Cole, quien el lunes acusó que existe una “conexión letal” entre el Gobierno mexicano con los carteles del narcotráfico que operan en el país.

Durante su conferencia de prensa diaria, Sheinbaum dijo que las afirmaciones de Cole carecen de bases y que la DEA debería enfocarse en sus tareas en Estados Unidos, no en lo que ocurre en otros países.

“Me parece más una declaración política que una declaración de sustento, no tiene ningún fundamento lo que está diciendo. Segundo, me parece a mí que la DEA tiene mucho trabajo en Estados Unidos. Normalmente, la DEA dedica la mayor parte de su trabajo fuera de Estados Unidos, pero dentro de Estados Unidos tiene mucho trabajo y debería estar dedicado al trabajo principalmente dentro de su país”, señaló.

Esta respuesta de Sheinbaum se suma a la que el martes emitió el gabinete de seguridad de México, que en un comunicado también rechazó las declaraciones de Cole.

“Las afirmaciones realizadas carecen de sustento y no corresponden a los resultados que, de manera pública y verificable, ha presentado el Gobierno de México en el combate a las organizaciones criminales”, dijo.

El gabinete enlistó cifras sobre las personas detenidas durante el mandato de Sheinbaum —que comenzó el 1 de octubre de 2024—, así como de armas, drogas y laboratorios decomisados.

También aseguró que entre los detenidos hay más de 80 funcionarios y exfuncionarios públicos, lo que describió como una prueba de que “en el Gobierno de México no existe protección para ninguna persona que incurra en conductas ilícitas”.

“El Gobierno de México mantiene su disposición para fortalecer la cooperación con Estados Unidos bajo los principios de respeto a la soberanía, confianza mutua, responsabilidad compartida y coordinación, con el objetivo común de combatir a las organizaciones criminales transnacionales y proteger la seguridad de ambas naciones”, concluyó.

Las reacciones de autoridades mexicanas se producen luego de que, durante una cumbre sobre combate al fentanilo en Florida, Cole dijo el lunes: “Traemos toda la fuerza de esta agencia a la lucha contra los cárteles, contra los facilitadores, los distribuidores, los lavadores de dinero, el suministro de químicos y cada individuo que se beneficia envenenando a los ciudadanos estadounidenses. Esto incluye la conexión mortal entre las redes de los carteles y el Gobierno mexicano. Son lo mismo. Y en la DEA, son nuestra prioridad número uno”.

Durante los últimos meses, las relaciones entre México y Estados Unidos han estado marcadas por tensiones por diversos temas, que incluyen la seguridad, el combate al crimen organizado, la migración y el comercio en América del Norte.

Uno de los episodios más ásperos ocurrió a finales de abril, cuando el Departamento de Justicia de Estados Unidos dio a conocer acusaciones por cargos de narcotráfico contra 10 funcionarios y exfuncionarios del estado mexicano de Sinaloa, entre ellos, el gobernador Rubén Rocha. Todos los aludidos rechazan los señalamientos y el Gobierno de Sheinbaum consideró que Estados Unidos no presentó pruebas suficientes para justificar que esas personas fueran detenidas provisionalmente para ser extraditadas.

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

By Aleks Klosok, Kyle Feldscher

(CNN) – Argentina is into the final!

This team never knows when it’s beaten and has yet again performed a miracle escape act to win this dramatic semifinal at the death.

For so long in this game, Lionel Messi and Co. looked devoid of ideas but Lionel Scaloni’s substitutions have turned this game into the most dramatic of circumstances.

Argentina goes to New Jersey to set up a Sunday showdown with Spain as it seeks to win back-to-back World Cups.

When its back is against the wall, it seems to bring about the very best in Argentina.

Even when it found itself behind, like its coach Lionel Scaloni, the side didn’t panic or waver in its belief that it could get back into this contest.

It stuck to its guns and dug deep to bring about a spectacular turn of events to swing this match in its favor.

In truth, Thomas Tuchel’s decision to go ultra-defensive early gave Scaloni’s side license to attack at will.

It created more opportunities and space for Lionel Messi, who flourished and turned this game on its head.

And when you have strikers of the caliber of Lautaro Martínez waiting in the wings to pounce, there’s always a chance and he most certainly took his.

Some light shoving after the final whistle from some England players toward Argentina players, who are gleefully celebrating.

The roar of relief, joy, pride and everything that came out of the lungs of these Argentinian fans encapsulated more emotion than can be put into words. Once again, the world champions simply cannot be killed.

On the other end of the pitch, the English look crushed. They were so close to finally getting over the hump and have suffered a soul-crushing defeat. Some players are watching the Argentines celebrate, most are staring at the turf.

It’s truly a story of two sides to this stadium and the split in emotion could not be more stark.

A somber England applauds its fans, who stand and cheer them back. What a way for this journey to end.

Somber Three Lions players head down the tunnel, underneath where the loudest Argentina fans are situated. They’re met by huge whistles and curses as they head to the locker room.

Once the English are gone, the attention turns to the man of the match, Lionel Messi. Thousands of arms wave as his fans and players bow down to their little magician. He’s lifted into the air as all of Argentina’s contingent stays on the pitch.

Lionel Messi, who faced England for the first time in all of his 205 games for Argentina, provided both assists. With eight goals this tournament, he remains tied with France’s Kylian Mbappé.

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

The post Argentina shocks England 2-1 to advance to the World Cup final against Spain appeared first on News Channel 3-12.

…RED FLAG WARNING THROUGH THURSDAY MORNING ACROSS THE INTERIOR
MOUNTAINS OF LOS ANGELES, VENTURA, SANTA BARBARA COUNTIES, AS
WELL AS SOUTHERN SANTA BARBARA COUNTY FOR HOT, DRY, AND GUSTY
CONDITIONS…

.Gusty northwest to north winds, hot temperatures, and low
relative humidity will produce the potential for critical fire-
weather conditions through early Thursday.

* WINDS…Northwest to north winds 20 to 30 mph with gusts of 30
to 50 mph, strongest in Sundowner wind prone areas of southern
Santa Barbara County.

* RELATIVE HUMIDITY…10 to 25 percent.

* IMPACTS…If fire ignition occurs, conditions are favorable
for extreme fire behavior, rapid fire growth, and long range
spotting, which could threaten life and property. The hot air
mass will also contribute to the potential for significant
vertical plume growth.
A Red Flag Warning means that critical fire weather conditions
are either occurring now, or will shortly. Use extreme caution
with anything that can spark a wildfire. Residents near wildland
interfaces should be prepared to evacuate if a wildfire breaks
out. See readyforwildfire.org and wildfirerisk.org for
information.

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High-interest debt can be difficult to get ahead of, especially when there are credit card balances involved. Federal Reserve data shows more than $1 trillion in revolving credit card debt is currently outstanding across U.S. households, so you’re far from alone if you’re looking for ways to manage large balances.

If you own your home, the equity you’ve built may provide a way to address those balances. Using home equity to pay off debt entails accessing a portion of your home’s value and using those funds to eliminate higher-interest obligations, such as credit card debt or medical bills.

There is more than one way to accomplish this, including one method that doesn’t add a monthly payment. If you’re considering different ways to put your home equity to use, this guide from Splitero explains how using home equity to pay off debt works, the available options, and how to decide which approach best fits your goals.

Key Takeaways

• Using home equity to pay off debt entails accessing the value you’ve built in your home and using it to eliminate existing balances.
• Home equity loans, HELOCs, and home equity investments all access home equity differently, but the biggest differences come down to whether you make monthly payments and how you qualify.
• Whether or not it makes sense to use home equity to pay off debt depends on the size of your balances, your monthly budget, and which financing structure is the best fit for you.

Why homeowners use home equity to pay off debt

Homeowners use home equity to pay off debt because it can quickly make an impact on high-interest balances, which can be expensive to carry over time. In the first quarter of 2026, the average APR on credit card accounts was 21.52%, according to Federal Reserve data. Meanwhile, data from TransUnion shows that the average American with credit card debt carried a balance of $6,715 in the fourth quarter of 2025. Together, those figures help explain why interest charges can make it difficult to make meaningful progress on paying down balances.

For many, the goal is consolidation. Instead of managing multiple credit card balances, medical bills, or other obligations with different due dates and interest rates, they use home equity to pay them off at the same time. If you’re deciding which balances to tackle first, understanding the different types of debt and how to prioritize them can help.

This approach can simplify your finances and, in some cases, reduce how much of each payment goes toward interest. You may also be looking to improve your overall financial picture by repairing your credit and creating more room in your monthly budget.

Credit card debt is often the primary focus because it tends to carry the highest interest rates, but homeowner