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BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) -- One of 38 people charged in a global crime ring that allegedly stole personal information from unsuspecting Internet users has pleaded guilty to a federal fraud charge in Connecticut.
The Romanian citizen (Ovidiu-Ionut Nicola-Roman) faces a prison term of 46 to 57 months and possible fines and restitution payments when he is sentenced October 10th.
He also faces similar federal charges in California, where most of the defendants were indicted.
Authorities accuse the defendants of stealing names, Social Security numbers, credit card data and other information from Internet users. Federal indictments allege the Romania-based phishing scams sought to rip off thousands of consumers and hundreds of financial institutions.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Posted: 7:28pm EST July 22, 2008
Gas price dips
UNDATED (AP) -- The price of gasoline has dipped again.
Triple-A's Fuel-Gauge report this morning puts the national average price of a gallon of regular at $4.04 a gallon. That's down a little more than a penny from yesterday.
And it's seven cents better than the record high six days ago.
Premium is also down about a penny from yesterday, to $4.43 a gallon
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Posted: 5:33am EST July 23, 2008
NYC services to be offered in six foreign languages
NEW YORK (AP) -- New York City will start offering services in six foreign languages most commonly spoken in the city in addition to English. They are Spanish, Chinese, Russian, Korean, Italian and French Creole.
Many city services have been available for years in various foreign languages. Mayor Michael Bloomberg's order is the first uniform, city-wide policy requiring agencies to provide assistance and translation in additional languages.
Bloomberg argues that the nearly two million New Yorkers who struggle with speaking English should be able to interact more easily with government. He says diversity is "New York City's greatest historic strength."
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Posted: 5:32am EST July 23, 2008
Sony, Samsung and others to create one more high-def wireless standard
NEW YORK (AP) -- Tangles of cables following every TV set in the house could soon be a thing of the past.
Sony, Samsung and other consumer-electronics heavyweights are uniting behind a technology that could send high-definition video signals wirelessly from a single set-top box to screens around the home. In the new consortium, Sony, Samsung, Motorola, Sharp and Hitachi will develop an industry standard around technology from the Amimon company of Israel.
Amimon says it would allow a TV with the chip to access any source in the home, including gaming consoles, set-top boxes and DVD players.
The company expects TVs with Amimon's chips to reach stores next year, costing about $100 more than equivalent, non-wireless TVs.
Still, the dust hasn't settled in the debate. Sony and Samsung are also supporting a competing technology.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Posted: 12:18am EST July 23, 2008
No plastic bags in LA stores beginning July 2010
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Los Angeles shoppers soon won't hear the question, "Paper or plastic?" at the checkout line.
The City Council voted Tuesday to ban plastic shopping bags from stores beginning July 1, 2010. Shoppers can either bring their own bags or pay 25 cents for a paper bag.
City officials say the ban is meant to reduce waste in Los Angeles, which uses about 2.3 billion plastic bags a year.
The council's vote also puts pressure on the state, which is considering a bill that would ban plastic bags in 2012 and charge at least 15 cents per paper bag.
Last year, San Francisco passed the nation's first bag ban, which took effect in November.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Posted: 9:43pm EST July 22, 2008
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