Washington
Supreme Court turns back casino mogul Steve Wynn's appeal in defamation suit
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court turned back an appeal Monday from casino mogul Steve Wynn, who had challenged a landmark libel ruling as part of a lawsuit against The Associated Press.
The court declined to hear the case in a brief order without comment, as is typical. Wynn had sued over a story about reports to police of sexual misconduct allegations dating back to the 1970s.
His attorneys had asked the high court to reconsider the 1964 ruling known as New York Times v. Sullivan. It found that public figures in defamation suits must show that a statement is not only false, but was published knowing or with reckless disregard to it being untrue, a standard referred to as "actual malice."
Wynn, a billionaire developer of a luxury casino empire, has consistently denied sexual misconduct allegations first reported in January 2018 by The Wall Street Journal.
He resigned as CEO of Wynn Resorts after the reports became public, agreeing with Nevada gambling regulators to pay a $10 million fine with no admission of wrongdoing.
Wynn filed his defamation lawsuit in April 2018 against the AP and one of its reporters over a story that cited police documents. His attorneys argued the story failed to fully describe elements of one allegation that would have cast doubt on the account. A judge in a civil case against the accuser later found the claim to be without merit.
The Nevada Supreme Court upheld a ruling tossing out Wynn's lawsuit against the AP, finding the news organization had published "an article in a good-faith effort to inform their readers regarding an issue of clear public interest."
Nevada Supreme Court Justice Ron Parraguirre cited the actual malice standard and found that Wynn, a public figure, hadn't shown convincing evidence that cleared it.
Washington
Trump admin cancels grants focused on LGBTQ health questions
A surge of grant cancellations hit researchers focused on the health of gay, lesbian and transgender people last week, as the Trump administration continues to target what it describes as ideologically driven science.
Last week the U.S. government terminated at least 68 grants to 46 institutions totaling nearly $40 million when awarded, according to a government website. Some of the grant money has already been spent, but at least $1.36 million in future support was yanked as a result of the cuts, a significant undercount because estimates were available for less than a third of grants.
Most were in some way related to sexual minorities, including research focused on HIV prevention. Other canceled studies centered on cancer, youth suicide and bone health.
Health and Human Services spokesman Andrew Nixon said the agency is "dedicated to restoring our agencies to their tradition of upholding gold-standard, evidence-based science." The grants were awarded by the National Institutes of Health, an agency under HHS.
One canceled project at Vanderbilt University had been following the overall health of more than 1,200 LGBTQ people age 50 and older. Most of the money has been spent from the grant funding the project, but it was up for renewal in April, said Tara McKay, who leads Vanderbilt's LGBTQ+ Policy Lab.
She said the grant won't be renewed because of the termination, which jeopardizes any long-term results. Still, the Vanderbilt project had already generated two dozen published papers, including work used to train doctors to provide better care to LGBTQ people, increasing the likelihood of cancer screenings and other preventive care.
"That saves us a lot of money in health care and saves lives," McKay said.
Insights from minority populations can increase knowledge that affects everyone, said Simon Rosser, who studies cancer in gay and bisexual men at the University of Minnesota.
"We now no longer have anywhere studying LGBT cancer in the United States," said Rosser, who saw his grants canceled on Friday.
"When you decide to cancel all the grants on sexual minorities, you really slow down scientific discovery, for everyone," Rosser said. Young researchers will lose their jobs, and the field as a whole will suffer, he added.
"It's a loss of a whole generation of science," Rosser said.
Termination letters seen by The Associated Press gave as reasons that the research was "unscientific" or did "nothing to enhance the health of many Americans."
That language felt personal and stinging, McKay said.
"My project's been accused of having no benefit to the American people. And, you know, queer and trans folks are Americans also," McKay said.
Texas
NFL player sues former girlfriend who accused him of assault
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy sued his former girlfriend who accused him of attacking her, alleging the woman assaulted him and stole or destroyed more than $150,000 in cash and property.
Worthy filed the lawsuit Monday against Tia Jones in Williamson County, Texas, where the two lived and where Worthy played college football at the University of Texas.
Worthy was arrested earlier this month after Jones accused him of assaulting her, but the district attorney declined to file charges in that case after speaking to multiple witnesses.
In his lawsuit, Worthy alleges that Jones fabricated the allegations of abuse and that she became enraged after he asked her to move out of the home they were living in. He says in the lawsuit that Jones assaulted him, ripping out his hair, and destroyed his game room.
He also alleges that while he was in jail, Jones stole a handgun, $30,000 in cash, jewelry, a key to his Rolls Royce and other belongings.
An attorney for Jones, Angelica Cogliano, said Monday she had not seen the lawsuit and declined to comment.
Worthy is seeking between $250,000 and $1 million
"Plaintiff not only suffered bodily injuries and property damage as a result of this incident, but his credibility, veracity, and reputation suffered, and this narrative, although false, will always track his career and future in the NFL," the suit states.
Worthy was chosen by the Chiefs with the 28th overall pick in last year's draft after setting the record for the fastest 40-yard dash at the NFL combine. He got off to a quick start by scoring a pair of touchdowns in his NFL debut, and after a midseason lull, he became the Chiefs' go-to wide receiver as they chased an unprecedented third consecutive Super Bowl title.
Worthy finished with 59 catches for 638 yards and six TDs while running 20 times for 104 yards and three more scores.
Supreme Court turns back casino mogul Steve Wynn's appeal in defamation suit
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court turned back an appeal Monday from casino mogul Steve Wynn, who had challenged a landmark libel ruling as part of a lawsuit against The Associated Press.
The court declined to hear the case in a brief order without comment, as is typical. Wynn had sued over a story about reports to police of sexual misconduct allegations dating back to the 1970s.
His attorneys had asked the high court to reconsider the 1964 ruling known as New York Times v. Sullivan. It found that public figures in defamation suits must show that a statement is not only false, but was published knowing or with reckless disregard to it being untrue, a standard referred to as "actual malice."
Wynn, a billionaire developer of a luxury casino empire, has consistently denied sexual misconduct allegations first reported in January 2018 by The Wall Street Journal.
He resigned as CEO of Wynn Resorts after the reports became public, agreeing with Nevada gambling regulators to pay a $10 million fine with no admission of wrongdoing.
Wynn filed his defamation lawsuit in April 2018 against the AP and one of its reporters over a story that cited police documents. His attorneys argued the story failed to fully describe elements of one allegation that would have cast doubt on the account. A judge in a civil case against the accuser later found the claim to be without merit.
The Nevada Supreme Court upheld a ruling tossing out Wynn's lawsuit against the AP, finding the news organization had published "an article in a good-faith effort to inform their readers regarding an issue of clear public interest."
Nevada Supreme Court Justice Ron Parraguirre cited the actual malice standard and found that Wynn, a public figure, hadn't shown convincing evidence that cleared it.
Washington
Trump admin cancels grants focused on LGBTQ health questions
A surge of grant cancellations hit researchers focused on the health of gay, lesbian and transgender people last week, as the Trump administration continues to target what it describes as ideologically driven science.
Last week the U.S. government terminated at least 68 grants to 46 institutions totaling nearly $40 million when awarded, according to a government website. Some of the grant money has already been spent, but at least $1.36 million in future support was yanked as a result of the cuts, a significant undercount because estimates were available for less than a third of grants.
Most were in some way related to sexual minorities, including research focused on HIV prevention. Other canceled studies centered on cancer, youth suicide and bone health.
Health and Human Services spokesman Andrew Nixon said the agency is "dedicated to restoring our agencies to their tradition of upholding gold-standard, evidence-based science." The grants were awarded by the National Institutes of Health, an agency under HHS.
One canceled project at Vanderbilt University had been following the overall health of more than 1,200 LGBTQ people age 50 and older. Most of the money has been spent from the grant funding the project, but it was up for renewal in April, said Tara McKay, who leads Vanderbilt's LGBTQ+ Policy Lab.
She said the grant won't be renewed because of the termination, which jeopardizes any long-term results. Still, the Vanderbilt project had already generated two dozen published papers, including work used to train doctors to provide better care to LGBTQ people, increasing the likelihood of cancer screenings and other preventive care.
"That saves us a lot of money in health care and saves lives," McKay said.
Insights from minority populations can increase knowledge that affects everyone, said Simon Rosser, who studies cancer in gay and bisexual men at the University of Minnesota.
"We now no longer have anywhere studying LGBT cancer in the United States," said Rosser, who saw his grants canceled on Friday.
"When you decide to cancel all the grants on sexual minorities, you really slow down scientific discovery, for everyone," Rosser said. Young researchers will lose their jobs, and the field as a whole will suffer, he added.
"It's a loss of a whole generation of science," Rosser said.
Termination letters seen by The Associated Press gave as reasons that the research was "unscientific" or did "nothing to enhance the health of many Americans."
That language felt personal and stinging, McKay said.
"My project's been accused of having no benefit to the American people. And, you know, queer and trans folks are Americans also," McKay said.
Texas
NFL player sues former girlfriend who accused him of assault
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy sued his former girlfriend who accused him of attacking her, alleging the woman assaulted him and stole or destroyed more than $150,000 in cash and property.
Worthy filed the lawsuit Monday against Tia Jones in Williamson County, Texas, where the two lived and where Worthy played college football at the University of Texas.
Worthy was arrested earlier this month after Jones accused him of assaulting her, but the district attorney declined to file charges in that case after speaking to multiple witnesses.
In his lawsuit, Worthy alleges that Jones fabricated the allegations of abuse and that she became enraged after he asked her to move out of the home they were living in. He says in the lawsuit that Jones assaulted him, ripping out his hair, and destroyed his game room.
He also alleges that while he was in jail, Jones stole a handgun, $30,000 in cash, jewelry, a key to his Rolls Royce and other belongings.
An attorney for Jones, Angelica Cogliano, said Monday she had not seen the lawsuit and declined to comment.
Worthy is seeking between $250,000 and $1 million
"Plaintiff not only suffered bodily injuries and property damage as a result of this incident, but his credibility, veracity, and reputation suffered, and this narrative, although false, will always track his career and future in the NFL," the suit states.
Worthy was chosen by the Chiefs with the 28th overall pick in last year's draft after setting the record for the fastest 40-yard dash at the NFL combine. He got off to a quick start by scoring a pair of touchdowns in his NFL debut, and after a midseason lull, he became the Chiefs' go-to wide receiver as they chased an unprecedented third consecutive Super Bowl title.
Worthy finished with 59 catches for 638 yards and six TDs while running 20 times for 104 yards and three more scores.
