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Judge orders 30-year prison sentence for key figure in Minnesota food fraud
National News
AP

Judge orders 30-year prison sentence for key figure in Minnesota food fraud

  • AP

A man who played a major role in defrauding a federal food program in Minnesota has been sentenced to 30 years in prison. It's the latest punishment in a scheme to collect millions of dollars during the COVID-19 pandemic by claiming to have fed needy children. Salim Said, who operated a restaurant that received government money for claims it provided thousands of meals, expressed remorse Wednesday. President Donald Trump has blamed Minnesota's Democratic governor for failing to catch the fraud. Said was accused of vastly overstating the number of meals when seeking payment for providing food to needy children.

US businessman whose firm invested in European soccer clubs pleads guilty to fraud
National
AP

US businessman whose firm invested in European soccer clubs pleads guilty to fraud

  • By LARRY NEUMEISTER - Associated Press

An American businessman whose firm invested in several European soccer clubs that struggled under its ownership has pleaded guilty to fraud charges in New York. Josh Wander co-founded the Miami-based investment firm 777 Partners. He entered the guilty plea to wire fraud and securities fraud charges in Manhattan federal court Thursday. Judge J. Paul Oetken set sentencing for March 1. Wander could face up to 40 years in prison. Wander’s firm moved heavily into soccer in 2021. It bought stakes in financially distressed clubs recovering from playing in empty stadiums during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2024, Wander and 777 failed to buy nine-time English champion Everton as investors raised questions about the firm.

Knicks champion Karl-Anthony Towns opens up about grief for World Mental Health Day
National
AP

Knicks champion Karl-Anthony Towns opens up about grief for World Mental Health Day

  • By JAMES POLLARD - Associated Press

Knicks champion Karl-Anthony Towns is still grieving the loss of his mother six years ago to COVID-19. The All-Star big man says he felt her calming presence entering game one of this year's NBA Finals. But he has had to do a lot of processing to find his love of basketball again. The nonprofit Project Healthy Minds, which hosted the festival where he spoke, hopes to inspire others with his example. It is part of a broader emphasis on athletes' role in breaking down the stigma around mental health.

Moscow’s secrecy about a suspected plague case follows a pattern from the Soviet era
International
AP

Moscow’s secrecy about a suspected plague case follows a pattern from the Soviet era

  • By The Associated Press

The Kremlin has long maintained a culture of secrecy when it comes to controlling public information, especially involving accidents -- from industrial disasters to health emergencies. The suspicious death last week of a worker at a research lab in Siberia that has fueled global concerns about suspected pneumonic plague is just the latest example of how leaders in Moscow manage the official narrative that can often cover up the truth for years. Scarce official information about the death, which unconfirmed reports in Russia blamed on pneumonic plague, follows Soviet-era patterns of secrecy in dealing with infectious diseases and other emergencies.

Hockey Romance Audiobooks Hockey
National
AP

Hockey Romance Audiobooks Hockey

  • Nathan Denette - The Canadian Press
  • Updated

FILE - An NHL logo is displayed on Aug. 14, 2020, prior to the NHL Eastern Conference Stanley Cup playoff hockey game in Toronto. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP, File)