wild horse casino oregon After only a few hours of deliberations, a jury delivered a crushing verdict for Santa Clara Vice Mayor Anthony Becker, finding him guilty of leaking an explosive civil grand jury report on the San Francisco 49ers’ influence on the city and then lying about it under oath. Becker was full of emotion as the decision was read aloud in Santa Clara County Superior Court in Morgan Hill on Thursday. His husband, Abel Cardona, watched from the front row of the courtroom. Becker, who remains free on his own recognizance, has maintained his innocence since he was first indicted in April 2023. Chris Montoya, a deputy public defender who is part of Becker’s five-person legal team, declined to comment until after sentencing on Jan. 31. Following the verdict, Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen said “the criminal justice system depends on people telling the truth.” “When an elected official lies under oath, it undermines the criminal justice system, and that’s what Mr. Becker did,” Rosen told reporters. Perjury, a felony, carries a maximum sentence of four years in prison, but Rosen said the crime doesn’t feel like “a state prison case.” “There does need to be some accountability whether that’s a combination of jail time and fines because this is very serious what the defendant did,” he said. Becker’s trial began a day after the Nov. 5 election in which the vice mayor came in dead last in a three-way race for his seat, and the prosecution called more than a dozen witnesses to prove its case. Becker opted not to take the stand, and his legal team called no witnesses in his defense. Rahul Chandhok, the San Francisco 49ers’ former chief of communications, served as the prosecution’s star witness. He testified at the beginning of the trial that Becker had leaked the bombshell Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury report, titled “Unsportsmanlike Conduct,” which accused Becker and other members of the council of having an improper relationship with the 49ers and holding closed door meetings with team lobbyists that potentially violated state law. That report was released a month shy of Election Day in 2022 when Becker unsuccessfully challenged Mayor Lisa Gillmor, a critic of the NFL team that began playing at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara in 2014, for her seat. The NFL team spent heavily on the election that year, shelling out more than $1.4 million trying to get Becker elected and another roughly $1 million attacking Gillmor. Chandhok testified that Becker sent him the report on Oct. 6, 2022, via Signal, an encrypted messaging app where the messages can be scheduled to disappear. The report was set to be released publicly on Oct. 10 but appeared in several media outlets on Oct. 7. The 49ers quickly worked to get ahead of the story, describing the report as a “hatchet job” and investigating whether any of the jurors were biased . Rosen criticized the 49ers outside of the courtroom on Thursday for attacking members of the civil grand jury. “We have a lot of large companies in this Valley: Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Amazon, the list goes on and on,” he said. “The behavior in this case of the 49ers is not something that I have seen with any of those other companies.” Brian Brokaw, a spokesperson for the 49ers, said in a statement on the verdict that they “respected the outcome of the legal process and look forward to continuing to work with Santa Clara to maximize the benefits of Levi’s Stadium for the community.” The civil grand jury investigated the leak in late 2022 but didn’t find the source. When testifying under oath to the civil grand jury, Becker said he didn’t leak the report. In a social media post, Gillmor said that Becker’s “felony conviction highlights a deeply troubling and consistent pattern of misconduct and betrayal of public trust in Santa Clara.” “As multiple Grand Jury reports have documented, it’s only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to undue influence and lack of transparency in the way the City Council and some City staff interact with the 49er organization,” Gillmor said. “The people of Santa Clara deserve a government that operates legally and ethically.” During closing arguments on Wednesday, Deputy District Attorney Jason Malinsky sought to persuade the jury that Chandhok had “no reason to lie” about Becker being the source of the leak. “What are his motivations?” Malinsky asked. “He was given immunity. He was actually forced under court order to testify.” Meanwhile, Montoya attempted to convince the jury “that the prosecution failed.” He argued that the defense revealed that evidence had been destroyed by the prosecution during the investigation, that they uncovered new evidence, and that the forensic team who reviewed Becker and Chandhok’s devices were unqualified. Montoya described the case against the vice mayor as circumstantial and said that many questions remained unanswered, such as why Councilmember Kevin Park had a seven-minute call with Chandhok just after 11:30 a.m. on Oct. 6 as the 49ers crafted their response. “They failed to complete a thorough investigation,” he said on Wednesday. “They failed to prove Mr. Becker is guilty.” While the prosecution was unable to find any message or email on Becker’s devices that pointed toward his leaking the report, Malinsky said that it wasn’t just one piece of evidence that proved his guilt. Santa Clara Councilmember Suds Jain corroborated Chandhok’s testimony, he noted. The recently re-elected councilmember testified that Becker told him in a phone call that he gave the report to Silicon Valley Voice, a local news outlet. “When you look at the totality of the evidence, there is only one conclusion — that Becker committed both of these crimes,” Malinsky said in his closing arguments. Vice Mayor Anthony Becker who was found guilty walks out of the courtroom with Grant Fondo, lawyer at Goodwin Procter, at South County Courthouse in Morgan Hill, Calif., on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group) Vice Mayor Anthony Becker was found guilty surrounded by Christopher Montoya, deputy public defender, Shavon Henry, lawyer Goodwin Procter, Hayes Hyde, lawyer at Goodwin Procter, at South County Courthouse in Morgan Hill, Calif., on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group) Vice Mayor Anthony Becker who was found guilty walks from the courtroom with Grant Fondo, lawyer at Goodwin Procter, at South County Courthouse in Morgan Hill, Calif., on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group) Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Javier Alcala, left, meets with Deputy District Attorney Jason Malinsky, second from left, and Santa Clara Vice Mayor Anthony Becker’s defense attorneys Christopher Montoya and Hayes Hyde, as they discuss whether to admit a piece of evidence during Becker’s trial at the Santa Clara County Superior Court in Morgan Hill, Calif., on Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group) Fernando Ramirez Jr., a criminalist with the Santa Clara County Crime Laboratory who performed a forensic analysis of Santa Clara Vice Mayor Anthony Becker’s phone, checks documents provided by Becker’s defense attorney, Christopher Montoya, as he testifies during Becker’s trial at the Santa Clara County Superior Court in Morgan Hill, Calif., on Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group) Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Jason Malinsky talks during Santa Clara Vice Mayor Anthony Becker’s trial at the South County Morgan Hill Courthouse on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group) Santa Clara Vice Mayor Anthony Becker’s attorney, Hayes Hyde, appears during Becker’s trial at the South County Morgan Hill Courthouse on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group) Russell Miller, a campaign finance attorney, who works with the San Francisco 49ers, takes the witness stand during Santa Clara Vice Mayor Anthony Becker’s trial at the South County Morgan Hill Courthouse on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group) Santa Clara County Judge Javier Alcala talks during Santa Clara Vice Mayor Anthony Becker’s trial at the South County Morgan Hill Courthouse on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group) Vice Mayor Anthony Becker who was found guilty walks out of the courtroom with Grant Fondo, lawyer at Goodwin Procter, at South County Courthouse in Morgan Hill, Calif., on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)

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ORLANDO, Fla. , Dec. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2025 AIUM Annual Convention , hosted by the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM), will explore the cutting edge of medical technology through keynote presentations on space exploration, medical innovation, and neurotherapeutics. Taking place from March 29 to April 1 in Orlando, Florida , the 2025 Ultrasound Event will showcase groundbreaking developments in ultrasound technology and its expanding role in space medicine and advancements in brain health, like treating addiction, Parkinson's disease, and Alzheimer's disease. "With leaders like Dr. Chiao, Dr. Dulchavsky, and Dr. Rezai guiding our keynote sessions, we are not just imagining the future of ultrasound; we are helping create it," said Richard A. Hoppmann , MD, FACP, FAIUM, President of the AIUM. "The work of our speakers reflects the commitment to progress that defines our field, and opens new avenues for improving patient care." Dr. Leroy Chiao , PhD , a former National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) astronaut and International Space Station commander, will kick off the event with his keynote presentation, "Is It SADS, or Am I in Space? Medical Considerations for Spaceflight" . Drawing on his personal experiences in space, Dr. Chiao will explore the physiological effects of space environments and the development of countermeasures and diagnostics for space missions. He will also highlight how advancements in space medicine contribute to healthcare solutions on Earth. Dr. Chiao was one of the first astronauts to use ultrasound in space. "From understanding space-related medical conditions to adapting ultrasound technologies for use in space, we continue to learn and innovate in ways that enhance healthcare for all," said Dr. Chiao. Scott Dulchavsky , MD, PhD , a NASA principal investigator and Surgeon in Chief at Henry Ford Health, will follow with his keynote, "Extraterrestrial Medical Care." Dr. Dulchavsky will explore how ultrasound has become an essential tool in diagnosing a wide range of conditions during manned space missions and how these lessons translate into groundbreaking advancements in healthcare on Earth. "Ultrasound has proven to be an invaluable tool in space medicine," said Dr. Dulchavsky. "What we have learned in space is already transforming medical care back on Earth." Ali R. Rezai , MD , Executive Chair and Director of the WVU Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, will present "Focused Ultrasound: Breaking Barriers in Neurotherapeutics." Dr. Rezai will discuss the groundbreaking potential of focused ultrasound in treating neurological conditions such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and addiction, offering new hope through non-invasive treatments. "Focused ultrasound has the power to revolutionize how we treat neurological disorders," Dr. Rezai stated. "I look forward to sharing the advancements we are making in brain health and demonstrating how ultrasound technology is leading the way to more effective, less invasive treatments." The 2025 Ultrasound Event invites attendees to Orlando for in-depth discussions on the latest breakthroughs in medical technologies, setting the stage for the evolution of medical ultrasound. Convention topics will cover obstetric ultrasound, gynecologic ultrasound, musculoskeletal ultrasound, point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS), artificial intelligence (AI) in ultrasound, and many more. For registration and more information about The Ultrasound Event 2025, please visit the event's website . If you're interested in partnering with or sponsoring the event, follow this link . About the AIUM The American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM) is a multidisciplinary medical association of more than 7,000 physicians, sonographers, radiologists, scientists, students, and other healthcare professionals. With over 70 years of experience, the AIUM is dedicated to empowering and cultivating a global multidisciplinary community engaged in the use of medical ultrasound through raising awareness, education, sharing information, and research. Learn more about the AIUM's membership , AIUM's Journal of Medical Ultrasound , AIUM Accreditation , and educational offerings . View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/exploring-space-and-neurotherapeutics-at-the-2025-ultrasound-event-a-journey-into-the-future-of-medical-ultrasound-302332900.html SOURCE American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM)

Washington: The Japanese tech titan SoftBank will invest $100 billion in the United States, creating at least 100,000 jobs, US President-elect Donald Trump said Monday, in a boost to his incoming administration. "This historic investment is a monumental demonstration of confidence in America's future," Trump said during a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida. "It will help ensure that artificial intelligence, emerging technologies and other industries of tomorrow are built, created and grown right here in the USA," added Trump, who takes office from US President Joe Biden next month. Speaking alongside Trump, SoftBank's chief executive Masayoshi Son confirmed the investment company's financial commitment and pledged to create 100,000 jobs, adding that Trump's victory had "tremendously increased" his confidence in the American economy. "I am truly excited to make this happen," added Son, 67.

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