Las Vegas telemarketing company chief Richard Zeitlin was given 10 years in prison after being found guilty of a fraudulent fundraising campaign he ran with computers that mimicked human voices. Zeitlin tried to get money out of people for Vietnam veterans, police dogs, breast cancer victims, missing children, kids with cancer and disabled children, David A. Fahrenthold and Camille Baker reported in The New York Times. "He raised more than $145 million, mainly small gifts from small donors, but he kept at least 80 percent of it," the report said. "For the most part, Mr. Zeitlin did that legally — exploiting loose rules and lax regulation of fund-raisers, and becoming an infamous example of how donors’ generosity could be quietly siphoned into private hands." ALSO READ: Your tax dollars are funding a $64 billion scam He also set up a website to criticize any reporter who investigated him and would sue any regulator. The whole thing came crumbling down. The report walked through his rags-to-riches story of going from a kid working at a telemarketing company that used voice actors who would never mess up the script. “It’s actually so easy to conduct highly exploitative and harmful activities as a charity fund-raiser, without breaking the law at all,” said Laurie Styron , the executive director of a watchdog group, Charity Watch. Zeitlin's one rule was not to lie. "They were free to mislead callers by implication, telling donors they were calling for a cancer charity, then keeping most of the money themselves. But they could not tell a provable, specific falsehood — saying, for instance, that the donors’ money would be used to buy cancer drugs if it would not," said the report. Many of his clients were quickly shuttered by lawsuits after being proved as get-rich-quick scams pretending to be nonprofits. "By 2016, Mr. Zeitlin was raising $19.6 million for charity and keeping $17.3 million of it, according to federal charity filings," the report said. Even when states came after him, he would pay minimal fees to resolve the situation and move on. Then, the FTC blocked soundboard recordings in charity fundraising. In politics, however, they are still allowed, so he went to work for political action committees. It wasn't as lucrative as people didn't want to give money to politics the way they did for children and puppies. He then violated his one rule — and switched up the script. “Your support helps the handicapped and disabled veterans by working on getting them the medical needs the V.A. doesn’t provide,” said a call script for a PAC called the U.S. Veterans Assistance Foundation. The feds pounced on the slip. On Tuesday afternoon in a New York courtroom, Zeitlin begged U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, “My whole life, I’ve been afraid of being broke. It made me make some very bad decisions." “You have been a liar your whole life,” Judge Kaplan clapped back. “And I’m not persuaded that I haven’t just heard more of it.” He was sentenced to 10 years in prison and ordered to pay an $8.9 million fine. Read the full report here.Kindergarten students at Mary, Mother of the Redeemer School stuff Christmas stockingsfamily circus 。

The decision to register Dembélé in January comes down to a calculated risk for Barcelona. By registering him, the club would secure his services for the remainder of the season and maintain the possibility of negotiating a transfer fee for him in the future. However, this would also mean committing to a player whose long-term future at the club is uncertain, risking another injury setback or a decline in form.

After falling 62%, this leading ASX 200 share could be gearing up for growth!The United States has long been the largest contributor to NATO, both in terms of financial support and military capabilities. Trump has repeatedly criticized other member countries for not meeting the agreed-upon defense spending target of 2% of GDP. This has led to tensions within the alliance and raised questions about the U.S.'s continued involvement in NATO.Stonehill earns 90-83 win over New Hampshire

NEW YORK (AP) — Juan Soto appears on a timetable to decide on where to sign either before or during baseball's winter meetings in Dallas, which run from Dec. 8-12. Soto met with the New York Yankees, New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays, a person familiar with the negotiations said last week, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because details were not announced. Soto's agent, Scott Boras, asked teams to submit initial offers by Thanksgiving, a second person familiar with the talks said, also on condition of anonymity because it was not announced. Soto is the top player available among this year's free agents . A four-time All-Star, Soto finished third in AL MVP voting after hitting .288 with 41 homers, 109 RBIs and 129 walks. He has a .285 career average with 201 homers, 592 RBIs and 769 walks over seven major league seasons. Soto turned down a $440 million, 15-year offer from Washington in 2022, prompting the Nationals to trade him to San Diego, which then dealt him to the Yankees last December. Soto then combined with Aaron Judge to lead New York to the World Series, where the Yankees lost to the Dodgers . In his pitch to teams, Boras highlighted that Soto joined Mickey Mantle as the only players with seven RBIs in a World Series at age 21 or younger when he was with Washington, and at 20 became the youngest player with five postseason homers. Soto's .906 postseason OPS through age 25 topped Mantle (.900) and Derek Jeter (.852). Soto is likely to seek a record contract, topping Shohei Ohtani's $700 million, 10-year agreement with the Los Angeles Dodgers last December. That might not mean Soto gets more than $700 million, though. Because Ohtani's deal included $680 million in deferred money payable through 2043, it can be valued by different methods. For instance, Ohtani's contract is valued at $46.1 million per season ($461 million total) under MLB's luxury tax system, which used a 4.43% discount rate. The players' association uses a 5% rate, which puts Ohtani's contract at $43.8 million per year. For MLB's regular payroll calculations, a 10% discount rates values Ohtani's deal at just $28.2 million. Which means if Soto gets even $462 million without deferred payments, there's an argument that his deal is the most valuable in MLB history. By average annual value, pitchers Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander are tied for second in baseball history at $43.33 million as part of contracts they signed with the New York Mets, deals that expired at the end of the 2024 season. In terms of total value, Ohtani surpassed outfielder Mike Trout’s $426.5 million, 12-year contract with the Los Angeles Angels through 2030. MLB’s longest contract is outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr.’s 14-year deal with the San Diego Padres through 2034. The Mets, Yankees, Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies all are likely to enter 2025 having paid luxury tax for three straight years, putting them at the highest rate: a 50% surcharge on payroll between $241 million and $261 million, 62% from $261 million to $281 million, 95% from $281 million to $301 million and 110% for each dollar above $301 million. Toronto may have dropped below the initial tax threshold this year, pending final figures next month. If the Blue Jays did fall under, their rates next year would reset to 20%, 32%, 62.5% and 80% for the four thresholds. If Soto reaches or announces an agreement at the winter meetings in Dallas' Hilton Anatole, it would be a familiar location for a big Boras deal. Alex Rodriguez's record $252 million, 10-year contract with the Texas Rangers was announced in December 2000 at what then was called the Wyndham Anatole Hotel. A-Rod's deal more than doubled MLB's previous high, a $121 million, eight-year contract between pitcher Mike Hampton and Colorado that was announced just two days earlier. “In two days, we’ve doubled a new highest salary,′′ said Sandy Alderson, then an executive vice president in the commissioner’s office. ”I don’t like the exponentiality of that." Rodriguez was 25 at the time of the agreement with Texas, a free agent before entering his likely prime, like Soto. Third baseman Alex Bregman, first basemen Pete Alonso and Christian Walker, and outfielders Anthony Santander and Teoscar Hernández are among the significant bats available to pursue and likely would interest some of the teams who fail to sign Soto. Bregman and Alonso, like Soto, are represented by Boras. AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Get local news delivered to your inbox!

As a respected figure in the world of football, Ferdinand's words carry weight and resonate with fans who are eager to see their beloved club return to its former glory. His call for Manchester United to be ruthless in dealing with underperforming players is a timely reminder that sentimentality should not come at the expense of success. The club's management would do well to heed his advice and take the necessary steps to ensure that only the best and most dedicated players represent Manchester United on the pitch.