• Police seek suspects in deadly birthday party shooting
  • Lawmakers launch inquires into U.S. boat strike
  • Nov. 29, 2025, 10:07 PM EST / Updated Nov. 30, 2025,…
  • Mark Kelly says troops ‘can tell’ what orders…

Be that!

contact@bethat.ne.com

 

Be That ! Menu   ≡ ╳
  • Home
  • Travel
  • Culture
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Contact Us
  • Politics Politics
☰

Be that!

Shots fired as man drives U-Haul toward Coast Guard base

admin - Latest News - October 25, 2025
admin
28 views 7 secs 0 Comments



Shots fired as man drives U-Haul toward Coast Guard base



Source link

TAGS:
PREVIOUS
Oct. 24, 2025, 6:50 PM EDTBy Daniel Arkin, Chloe Atkins, Jonathan Dienst, Erik Ortiz and Rich SchapiroFederal prosecutors allege a Georgia man named John Mazzola — nickname “John South” — played on the “Cheating Team” in rigged poker games in Manhattan and Miami. The brazen, high-tech scheme was backed by the Mafia and raked in millions of dollars, according to an indictment unsealed this week.At least some of this came as news to Mazzola’s wife.“We don’t even own our own home. He drives a piece-of-crap truck. They can check every account,” Tasha Mazzola said in a phone interview Friday.“I can tell you, he doesn’t even know half of those people on the list,” she added, referring to the 30 other defendants charged in what investigators dubbed “Operation Royal Flush.” She said her husband hasn’t played poker in New York City “in years” after he was robbed of his shoes and other belongings at gunpoint during a game.The government’s 22-page indictment suggests there is more to the story. In prosecutors’ telling, Mazzola was part of a criminal plot to lure big-fish gamblers to ritzy tables surreptitiously outfitted with card-scanning devices, X-rays and other cheating equipment. Mazzola, 43, also allegedly participated in an armed robbery to steal a manipulated shuffling machine.He is charged with wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy and robbery conspiracy. He appeared before a judge Thursday, and he was released with what authorities called a substantial bail package.The defendants’ backstories and their alleged criminal enterprise were starting to come into focus Friday, a day after federal officials announced two extraordinary investigations into the parallel worlds of illegal underground gambling and insider sports betting.The poker probe ensnared Chauncey Billups, head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, and a dozen associates of the “Five Families,” the Italian Mafia clans that have long ruled organized crime in the New York area.“The fraud is mind-boggling,” FBI Director Kash Patel told reporters at a news conference Thursday, referring to the alleged wrongdoing as a “criminal enterprise that envelops both the NBA and La Cosa Nostra.” At least one of the mobsters charged is an alleged captain in the Gambino crime family whose first felony conviction dates back to 1999.But some defendants appear to have been living in relative anonymity. Officials have released little information about Sophia Wei — nickname “Pookie” — the only woman charged in the poker ring case.In an interview on Friday, Wei’s former landlord in Queens, New York, said he formed a negative impression of her during the decade she lived in his building.“She was nasty. She was arrogant. She was a diva. She wouldn’t let me come upstairs if I needed to do a repair,” said Ashley Scharge, 66, who lives in Bayside. “Then she skipped out on me. She left my place in shambles, stuff all over the place — clothes, food.”Wei did not return requests for comment on Friday.In the indictment, federal prosecutors characterized Wei as a member of a “Cheating Team.” Billups was a “Face Card,” a high-profile person who the orchestrators believed could help draw in unsuspecting gamblers to fixed tables.Billups and Wei can be seen together in a photograph obtained by NBC News. The picture was taken in May 2019 during a game organized by Wei at a high-end hotel in New York City, where cocktail waitresses offered massages and beverages to the attendees as they played.Chauncey Billups and Sophia Wei, also known as “Pookie,” playing poker.Obtained by NBC NewsThe raft of court documents unsealed Thursday sketch out how the alleged cheating worked — and, in at least one case, when it came close to going off the rails.In the middle of a game in Las Vegas in 2019, Wei and other defendants realized Billups was winning too many improbable hands — thanks to the rigged shuffling machine. In text messages that were included in the government’s detention memorandum, Wei suggests that Billups attempt to avert suspicion by losing on purpose.In all, prosecutors say the scheme netted more than $7 million over six years.The FBI said it is still pursuing other leads.“It’s like anything. You peel back the onion, there’s more layers,” said Christopher Raia, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s New York field office. “This investigation is very much ongoing.”Daniel ArkinDaniel Arkin is a national reporter at NBC News.Chloe AtkinsChloe Atkins reports for the NBC News National Security and Law Unit, based in New York.Jonathan DienstJonathan Dienst is chief justice contributor for NBC News and chief investigative reporter for WNBC-TV in New York.Erik OrtizErik Ortiz is a senior reporter for NBC News Digital focusing on racial injustice and social inequality.Rich Schapiro Rich Schapiro is a reporter with the NBC News national security unit.Kate Reilly contributed.
NEXT
Border Patrol commander appears to throw tear gas
Related Post
October 4, 2025
Oct. 4, 2025, 12:37 PM EDTBy Jo YurcabaStudents who attend Pentagon-operated schools on or near military bases are among those feeling the effects of the government shutdown, which started just after midnight Wednesday and will leave some federal employees without paychecks and national parks partially closed.The Department of Defense Education Activity, or DoDEA, which operates 161 schools on or near military bases worldwide, has halted all extracurricular activities, including sports, for more than 67,000 students. Dylan McDonald, a 17-year-old senior and co-captain of his soccer team at Kentucky’s Fort Campbell Army base, fears he may have played the last game of his high school career after the government shutdown halted all extracurriculars. He and his mother worry that missing upcoming games, including next week’s district tournament, could hurt his chances of being recruited to play in college. “I put countless hours and blood, sweat and tears into this, and to not be able to finish properly based off of something that is uncontrollable to myself and my teammates and our families, yet still so directly affects us, is truly devastating,” Dylan said of the shutdown’s impact. To further complicate matters, missing the tournament could also cost him a spot at this year’s local all-district team, a roster of top players that he’s been a part of the past two seasons.Dylan McDonald said canceled soccer games means fewer opportunities for college recruiters to see him play.Courtesy Jennifer McDonaldDylan and his mother Jennifer McDonald are among the eight parents and students at DoDEA schools who told NBC News how the government shutdown is affecting them, describing cancellations of sports practices and games, as well as afterschool tutoring and student theater productions. Katie Fox, whose husband is a retired Marine, said her 15-year-old son’s homecoming dance at the DoDEA-operated Stuttgart High School in Germany was supposed to be this weekend. They already paid for tickets, his outfit and provided donations to help support the event. Then, due to the shutdown, it was postponed to later this month — assuming a funding bill is passed by then. She said she’s frustrated, because Congress could pass a targeted appropriations bill to allow for extracurricular activities to continue. “That’s my biggest frustration,” she said. “I know that there’s a solution, but it’s like we’re not being heard.”Katie Fox’s son, who is on the football team, already paid for homecoming tickets and an outfit, but the dance has been postponed.Courtesy Katie FoxFox added that student athletes at DoDEA schools abroad are especially affected when sports games are canceled, because, unlike in the U.S., they can only compete against other DoDEA schools, meaning there are typically fewer games overall. Maribel Jarzabek, whose husband is in the Air Force and based in Belgium, said her daughter Cassie, a junior at the DoDEA-operated SHAPE High School, only has six cross-country meets a year before the championship meet, compared to U.S. schools’ cross-country teams, which have around eight to 10 meets before the championships.This means that Cassie, who is favored to win this year’s DoDEA European championship in cross-country, her mom said, has fewer chances to impress college recruiters than students with longer seasons and more chances to compete. Cassie said she’s afraid the championships, which are scheduled for later this month, could also be affected, which could be devastating for her because they are the most important for recruiters. “As a military kid, we already have to deal with the pressures of moving every couple years and starting completely fresh, not having any friends,” Cassie said. “So this is just another thing added on to the adversity we already have to overcome. It just really hurts.” Cassie Jarzabek said the shutdown has canceled all of her cross-country practices just three weeks ahead of the championships.Courtesy Maribel JarzabekCrystal Noga — whose son Aiden Ward is a senior and a co-captain of Fort Campbell High School’s soccer team alongside Dylan McDonald — said that in the past, she has sent videos of her kids playing sports to their dad when he has been deployed overseas, and now some kids’ parents could be deprived of that, too. She said if the team is forced to forfeit their first district game against their rivals next week, she won’t have any other chances to see Aiden play soccer in high school. “Not only is it taken from them, it’s taken from me as a parent,” Noga said. “Once he leaves high school, that’s it. They’re thrown into the real world. So you’re taking away my last opportunity as well to see my kid be a kid.”Aiden Ward stopped playing football to dedicate more of his time to soccer, his mom Crystal Noga said.Courtesy Crystal NogaDylan McDonald, left, and Aiden Ward, right, had to end their soccer season early due to the shutdown.Courtesy Crystal NogaIn the meantime, team captains like Dylan, Aiden and Cassie have to organize practices for their teams on their own, and they have to emphasize that they are not mandatory, their parents said. At the same time, most of their parents are living on the paycheck they received this week until the government passes a spending bill.As Democrats and Republicans in Congress blame each other for the shutdown, the parents who spoke with NBC News all shared a similar sentiment: They don’t care which party is at fault — they want this fixed for their kids.“If you can’t come to an agreement, putting the burden on other people’s lives, whether it be their paycheck, whether it be sports, whether it be anything, is absolutely unjust,” Noga said. Jo YurcabaJo Yurcaba is a reporter for NBC Out.
October 8, 2025
Oct. 8, 2025, 4:26 PM EDTBy Bracey Harris, Aarne Heikkila and Steve PattersonRENO, Nev. — On the western edge of Nevada, it’s hard not to think about water. The driest state in the country is often hit by droughts, but that hasn’t stopped developers from buying up ranches and farmland to build homes or businesses.Today, Reno, “the Biggest Little City in the World,” is poised to become a new player in the nation’s data center construction boom. At least three data center projects have been approved since 2024, with more in a nearby industrial park. The giant computing facilities are essential to the internet as we know it, providing the digital infrastructure for cloud storage and for emerging artificial intelligence systems. They also require massive amounts of energy to run and often need hundreds of thousands of gallons of water to stay cool. Some community leaders, like Reno Vice Mayor Kathleen Taylor, have celebrated data centers, which can bring jobs and tax revenue. Earlier this year, officials projected a $25 million deficit in the upcoming budget year. But opponents argue that data centers can also bring consequences, if they raise electricity costs or cause water shortages down the road. For more on this story, watch “Hallie Jackson NOW” on NBC News NOW tonight at 5 p.m. ET/4 p.m. CT.It’s part of a wider tension accompanying the infrastructure needed in the global artificial intelligence race. A Bloomberg investigation found that two-thirds of all new data centers are being built in water-stressed regions, like Nevada, where severe drought is a major concern. Community members wary of the data center push have focused their attention on a vote this week that will decide whether developers of a new project on the outskirts of Reno can dramatically scale back its housing to allow more than half of its land to go to industrial uses — including data centers.Originally pitched as a cozy enclave of 5,000 homes with a scenic view, the new proposal would include roughly 12 million square feet for industrial and commercial use (up from 1.2 million square feet in the original proposal) and 1,350 housing units.“I’m not anti-data center,” said Olivia Tanager, director of the Toiyabe Chapter of the Sierra Club, who has spearheaded opposition to the revised proposal. “My organization is not anti-data center. But we are anti-huge amounts of potable water being gobbled up by data centers.”
November 4, 2025
Police make arrests in Harvard explosion
November 5, 2025
Democrats expand majority in Virginia House of Delegates, building on statewide wins
Comments are closed.
Scroll To Top
  • Home
  • Travel
  • Culture
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Contact Us
  • Politics
© Copyright 2025 - Be That ! . All Rights Reserved