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Crime isn’t the full story: What else is affecting retailers in urban areas, in 4 charts

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:25:20 GMT

By Alex Leeds Matthews and Rachel Wilson | CNNTarget is closing nine stores in four metropolitan areas: the San Francisco Bay Area, Portland, Seattle, and New York. The big box retailer cited in its announcement organized retail crime and theft creating an “unsustainable business performance.”But Target is not alone, and it’s not just theft making it hard for retailers: other pressures triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic, like the migration of high earners out of major cities, the rise of e-commerce and a continued worker shortage, have changed business conditions in urban cores, according to CNN’s analysis of economic data.Even before the pandemic, closures of brick-and-mortar stores were increasing: 2019 saw more retail store closures than 2020 , according to data from Coresight Research. 2022 was the first year without a net loss in the number of stores since 2016.In a recent survey by the National Retail Federation, retailers reported that shrink — a measure of retail losses that...

Lafayette attorney indicted for alleged role in billion-dollar Ponzi scheme

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:25:20 GMT

(BCN) -- A Lafayette attorney has been indicted on 23 federal counts of fraud for his role in what the U.S. Attorney's Office is calling the biggest criminal fraud scheme in the history of the Eastern District of California, prosecutors announced Tuesday.Ari Lauer, 59, is a licensed California attorney who served as outside counsel for DC Solar, which was associated with a $1 billion dollar Ponzi scheme.A Martinez couple, Paulette and Jeff Carpoff, ran the scheme and used their gains to fund luxury real estate in Lake Tahoe, Las Vegas, the Caribbean and Cabo San Lucas; over 150 luxury and collector cars, their own private jet service, and lavish jewelry, prosecutors said.Lauer provided legal and business advice to DC Solar, which was bilking people out of millions.The crimes were sophisticated and complex, but involved mobile solar generators (MSGs) that were mounted on trailers. DC Solar claimed they could provide emergency power to cellphone towers and lighting at sporting and oth...

Dynamic Daniels leads No. 22 LSU against Auburn as SEC West race heats up

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:25:20 GMT

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — LSU coach Brian Kelly marvels at how much quarterback Jayden Daniels is doing to keep his team in contention in the SEC West.Daniels’ 35-yard touchdown run while playing through a rib injury in the fourth quarter of a 49-39 victory at Missouri last week was a case in point.“His ability to run when things are not there is unique,” Kelly said as No. 22 LSU (4-2, 3-1 SEC) prepared to host Auburn (3-2, 0-2) on Saturday night. “His speed, his durability, his toughness puts him up there with the great ones.”When Daniels arrived at LSU as a transfer from Arizona State in 2022, he was an exceptional scrambler — quick, agile, and explosive, with a graceful stride that disguises his breakaway speed.In the season and a half since, Daniels has demonstrated an increasing knack for knowing not just when to run, but whether to run laterally to extend passing opportunities or vertically to gain yards on the ground. He also has exhibited an increasing patience in the po...

De Kock’s century helps South Africa earn 134-run win over scrappy Australia at Cricket World Cup

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:25:20 GMT

LUCKNOW, India (AP) — Quinton de Kock smashed a second successive century at the Cricket World Cup to help South Africa beat a scrappy Australia team by 134 runs on Thursday.The 30-year-old de Kock, who will be retiring after the World Cup, followed up his hundred against Sri Lanka with another masterful 109 off 106 balls on an untested wicket in South Africa’s total of 311-7.Australia, which won the toss and elected to bowl on a relaid pitch, was sloppy on the field, dropping five catches before getting bowled out for 177 — its second below-200 total in the tournament.Fast bowler Kagiso Rabada picked up 3-33 and Keshav Maharaj clamped the batters by chipping in 2-30 in a 10-over spell.Only Glenn Maxwell (2-34) showed some spark with his offspin bowling in an otherwise poor day on the field for Australia, which had been seend as one of favorites to reach the semifinals.South Africa climbed on top of the points table with two wins from two games while Australia is without a poi...

No. 2 Michigan building momentum and isn’t expected to get slowed down by Indiana at home

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:25:20 GMT

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — No. 2 Michigan is building momentum, following up a 45-7 win over Nebraska with a 52-10 rout of Minnesota last week.“Feel like we can keep on that trajectory,” coach Jim Harbaugh said. “It’s very good to come out of that game seeing the evidence that the team is improving.”The Wolverines (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten) have won won 18 consecutive conference games, one short of the program record set from 1990 to 1992. They have taken advantage of a soft schedule by winning each game by at least 24 points.Michigan is not expected to slow down Saturday at home against Indiana (2-3, 0-2) in a game it is favored to win by nearly five touchdowns.CHANGING DIRECTIONSIndiana coach Tom Allen saw enough from his stagnant offense that on the first day of the bye week he fired coordinator Walt Bell and promoted Rod Carey from quality control coach to play-caller nearly two weeks ago. Carey, a former head coach at Northern Illinois and Temple, has promised he will make changes.“...

Top-ranked Georgia looking to stay perfect visiting struggling Vanderbilt

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:25:20 GMT

No. 1 Georgia (6-0, 3-0 SEC) at Vanderbilt (2-5, 0-3), Saturday, 12 p.m. ET (CBS)Line: Georgia by 31 1/2, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.Series record: Georgia leads 60-20-2.WHAT’S AT STAKE?The top-ranked Georgia Bulldogs can extend their school record winning streak to 24 straight and their record of consecutive wins in the regular season to 34 with a win Saturday. The Bulldogs’ 33 straight wins currently is the longest active streak in the Football Bowl Subdivision. A win also will keep the Bulldogs undefeated and cruising toward an open date before the annual showdown with Florida. Vanderbilt wants to snap a five-game skid this season and against the Bulldogs. KEY MATCHUPGeorgia’s stout defense against Vanderbilt’s offense. The Bulldogs have shut out Vanderbilt in each of the last two games between these SEC Eastern teams with Georgia winning by a combined 117-0. The Commodores are scoring an average of 28.9 points a game. This might be Georgia’s opportun...

UK police on the scene after plane from Nairobi diverted to land at Stansted Airport

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:25:20 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Police are on the scene after a plane from Nairobi bound for London’s Heathrow Airport was diverted to land at Stansted airport instead.Stansted said the Kenya Airways 787 landed safely on Thursday afternoon and is parked at a remote stand, away from the terminal.The Essex Police force says officers are “attending an incident” at Stansted. It says the airport remains open.Stansted is some 30 miles (40 kilometers) north of London, and is used for flights when there are security incidents because of its remote location.Source

Colorado looks to extend winning streak over Stanford to 4 in a row

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:25:20 GMT

Stanford (1-4, 0-3 Pac-12) at Colorado (4-2, 1-2), Friday, 10 p.m. ET (ESPN)Line: Colorado by 11 1/2, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.Series record: Tied at 6-6.WHAT’S AT STAKE?A win over Stanford would move Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes a step closer to bowl eligibility after the team went 1-11 last season. The Buffaloes haven’t won a bowl game since 2004. Stanford, coming off a bye week, is looking to avoid its worst overall start since 2006, when the Cardinal began 0-9. They’ve lost three straight to Colorado by a combined 11 points. Their last win over the Buffaloes was in 2015 and featured San Francisco 49ers running back and Denver native Christian McCaffrey.KEY MATCHUPThe Cardinal offense continues to search for ways to get the ball in the end zone. They’re ranked first in conference for field goals (11) and 12th for touchdowns (nine). Their 19.2 points per game would be the lowest since 1996 (19 points per game), according to Pac-12 research. They face a Col...

Milroe, SEC West leader No. 11 Alabama host sliding Arkansas team

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:25:20 GMT

Arkansas (2-4, 0-3 SEC) at No. 11 Alabama (5-1, 3-0), Saturday, noon ET (ESPN). Line: Alabama by 20 1/2, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.Series record: Alabama leads 26-7.WHAT’S AT STAKE?Alabama is the only SEC West team without a league defeat. Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide want to remain in the driver’s seat and keep their national championship hopes alive. The Razorbacks are seeking their first SEC win and to snap a four-game losing streak — the last three to divisional rivals. Beating the Crimson Tide for the first time since Saban arrived would certainly be a nice way to halt that skid. KEY MATCHUPThe Arkansas blockers against Alabama’s front seven. The Razorbacks haven’t been able to protect quarterback KJ Jefferson or give Raheim Sanders & Co. any room to run. Thanks partly to 12 sacks, Arkansas has averaged only 1.1 yards on 68 rushes over the past two games. An Alabama defense led by linebackers Dallas Turner and Chris Braswell has produced 22 sacks ...

CFPB, FTC fine TransUnion $23M for tenant screening and security freeze failures

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:25:20 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Federal regulators fined credit-reporting agency TransUnion a total of $23 million for tenant screening and security freeze failures on Thursday.The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission fined TransUnion $15 million because the company did not take steps to ensure the rental background checks that landlords use to decide who gets housing were accurate. They fined the company another $8 million for falsely telling consumers they had placed or removed security freezes and locks on their credit reports. TransUnion told tens of thousands of consumers their requests were completed when, in reality, the requests were dumped into a yearslong backlog. “Americans across the country were put at risk of wrongful housing denials because TransUnion failed to follow the law,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra. “We are ordering TransUnion to cease its yearslong illegal activity, clean up its broken business practices, redress its victims, and pay penal...