New Jersey
US Attorney investigating governor over immigration enforcement policy
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — The top federal prosecutor in New Jersey says she has launched an investigation into Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy and state Attorney General Matt Platkin over the state’s directive to local law enforcement not to cooperate with federal agent conducting immigration enforcement.
Alina Habba, appointed last month by President Donald Trump as the interim U.S. attorney for the state, announced the investigation on Thursday evening on Fox News.
“I want it to be a warning for everybody that I have instructed my office today to open an investigation into Governor Murphy, to open an investigation into Attorney General Platkin,” she said.Murphy’s administration has been largely supportive of immigration.
Under his tenure, Platkin’s predecessor issued a guideline limiting cooperation between local New Jersey police and immigration officials. A bill that would make the directive state law is pending in the Legislature, but hasn’t advanced.
The policy and the pending bill have gotten renewed attention since Trump’s second administration began and immigration officials arrested people in Newark soon after the inauguration. The arrests led immigrant rights advocates to call out “Where’s Governor Murphy?” during a news conference held by Newark’s mayor to deride the immigration enforcement.
Habba took over the interim post from John Giordano, whom the president named to be the U.S. ambassador for the southwestern African country of Namibia.
A partner in a small New Jersey law firm near Trump’s Bedminster golf course, Habba served as a senior adviser for Trump’s political action committee, defended him in court in several civil lawsuits and acted as a spokesperson last year as he volleyed between courtrooms and the campaign trail.
Washington
States sue over Trump administration’s sudden halt of pandemic relief aid for schools
Public officials in 16 states and the District of Columbia sued the Trump administration Thursday to restore access to pandemic relief aid for schools, saying the Education Department’s abrupt halt of hundreds of millions of dollars of promised funding will force cuts to vital services.
The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan by a coalition of 16 Democratic attorneys general, led by New York’s Letitia James, plus Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, also a Democrat. It claims the administration’s refusal to release the aid violates federal law because it reversed a prior decision to allow states to access the money through March 2026.
States were notified late last month that the Education Department would not honor deadline extensions granted by the Biden administration to spend the remainder of COVID relief aid approved by by Congress to help schools and students recover from the lasting impacts of the pandemic. Schools were supposed to spend the last of the relief by January but many sought, and were granted, more time.
In announcing the reversal, Education Secretary Linda McMahon said schools had “ample time” to spend the money, but the agency would consider requests for extensions for individual projects. The department did not say how much money is left of the total $189 billion approved.
New York state lost access to $134 million, James’ office said in a press release. It said the relief funding has supported repairs and improvements to school buildings and the purchase of library books, playground equipment and wheelchair-accessible buses.
Districts also relied on the aid for programs and services for homeless students, as well as tutoring for students who fell behind because of missed classroom time.
Joining the lawsuit were the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, and the District of Columbia.
California
A jury finds Soulja Boy liable for abuse and sexual assault of ex-assistant, awards over $4 million
SANTA MONICA, Calif. (AP) — A jury on Thursday found that rapper Soulja Boy was liable for sexually assaulting and physically and emotionally abusing a former assistant, awarding the woman more than $4 million in damages.
The decision from the Los Angeles County jurors came after a three-week trial in Santa Monica, California.
The 34-year-old Soulja Boy, whose legal name is DeAndre Cortez Way, was found liable for assault, sexual battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Jurors did not find him liable for false imprisonment and other allegations. They found the woman should get about $4 million in compensatory damages and another $250,000 in punitive damages.
“Today’s verdict is just the beginning of justice for Soulja Boy’s victims, and other victims in the music industry,” plaintiff’s attorney Neama Rahmani said in a statement.
Lead defense attorney Rickey Ivie said in his own statement: “We maintain that the evidence does not support the verdict. It is unfortunate that aspersions and misperceptions of a culture were allowed to influence the trial. Mr. Way fully intends to pursue his post-trial remedies and to fight for a just result in this case.”
The woman was not identified by name in the lawsuit she filed in 2021, and The Associated Press does not typically name people who say they have been sexually abused.
She said she began working for Soulja Boy in 2018, and he agreed to pay her $500 a week for cleaning his house, cooking for him and doing other personal tasks. But she says she was never paid.
The two began a romantic relationship, and soon after he began abusing her, raping her, kicking her, punching her and threatening her with violence and death, her lawsuit alleges.
She believed she was in love with him, and he manipulated her into staying until 2020 despite repeated acts of violence, the lawsuit says.
She was beaten and raped again when she returned to retrieve her things months after leaving him, the lawsuit says.
Pennsylvania
Judge refuses to dismiss Central Park Five’s defamation case against Trump
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A federal judge has rejected President Donald Trump ‘s effort to dismiss a defamation lawsuit against him filed by the men formerly known as the Central Park Five who were exonerated after spending more than a decade in prison for the 1989 rape and beating of a woman who was jogging.
U.S. District Judge Wendy Beetlestone in Philadelphia denied Trump’s motion to dismiss in a brief Thursday night order.
The five men the sued Trump in the midst of last fall’s presidential election campaign, accusing him of making “false and defamatory statements” about them during the Sept. 10 debate in Philadelphia with then-Vice President Kamala Harris.
Trump misstated key facts of the case when Harris brought up the matter, saying “They admitted, they said, they pled guilty. And I said, ‘well, if they pled guilty they badly hurt a person, killed a person ultimately. And if they pled guilty — then they pled we’re not guilty,’” Trump said.
The men — Yusef Salaam, Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise — never pleaded guilty; they were convicted after jury trials. Also, no victim died.
In a statement, their lawyer, Shanin Specter, said they are “gratified by the Court’s ruling and thorough analysis and look forward to discovery, trial and the ultimate vindication of these five fine men.”
Trump’s lawyer did not immediately respond to an inquiry Friday.
The men had asked for compensatory and punitive damages, saying Trump had knowingly defamed them, purposefully made false statements about them and sought to inflict severe emotional distress on them.
Judge Beetlestone’s order dismissed one of the claims, for intentional infliction of emotional distress.
In the request to dismiss the case, Trump’s lawyer had said the president’s statements were protected under Pennsylvania laws that grant civil immunity over statements made on a “matter of public concern.”
The request to dismiss also said Trump’s statements were “substantially true,” that he didn’t dispute the men were ultimately exonerated and that he had intended to portray his thinking in 1989 when, following the men having confessed, Trump purchased a full-page ad in The New York Times calling for the reinstatement of the death penalty.
At the time, many in New York believed Trump’s ad was akin to calling for the teens to be executed.
The five men had been teenagers when they were accused of the rape and beating of a white woman jogging in New York City’s Central Park. The five, who are Black and Latino, said they confessed to the crimes under duress. They later recanted, pleading not guilty in court, and were later convicted after jury trials. Their convictions were vacated in 2002 after another person confessed to the crime.
When the lawsuit was filed, Specter said Trump “defamed them in front of 67 million people, which has caused them to seek to clear their names all over again.”
A Trump campaign spokesperson attacked it at the time as a “frivolous election interference lawsuit.”
New?York
Ex-Abercrombie CEO has dementia and is unfit for sex trafficking trial, prosecutors and defense say
NEW YORK (AP) — The former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch is suffering from dementia and isn’t competent to stand trial on sex trafficking charges, according to prosecutors and his lawyers.
Michael Jeffries requires round-the-clock care because the 80-year-old has Alzheimer’s disease, Lewy body dementia and the “residual effects of a traumatic brain injury,” defense attorneys wrote in a letter filed Thursday in a New York federal court, citing recent evaluations by medical professionals.
Prosecutors and defense lawyers want a federal judge in Central Islip to place Jeffries in the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons for up to four months so that he can be hospitalized and receive treatment that might allow his criminal case to proceed.
Jeffries has been free on a $10 million bond since pleading not guilty in October to federal sex trafficking and interstate prostitution charges.
Prosecutors say Jeffries, his romantic partner and a third man lured men to drug-fueled sex parties in New York City, the Hamptons and other locations by dangling the promise of modeling for the retailer’s ads.
In their letter, Jeffries’ lawyers said at least four medical professionals concluded that their client’s cognitive issues are “progressive and incurable” and that he will not “regain his competency and cannot be restored to competency in the future.”
They said the doctors found that his cognitive issues “significantly impair” his ability to understand the charges against him, and to consult and participate with his counsel in his defense.
Jeffries left Abercrombie in 2014 after leading the company for more than two decades.
US Attorney investigating governor over immigration enforcement policy
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — The top federal prosecutor in New Jersey says she has launched an investigation into Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy and state Attorney General Matt Platkin over the state’s directive to local law enforcement not to cooperate with federal agent conducting immigration enforcement.
Alina Habba, appointed last month by President Donald Trump as the interim U.S. attorney for the state, announced the investigation on Thursday evening on Fox News.
“I want it to be a warning for everybody that I have instructed my office today to open an investigation into Governor Murphy, to open an investigation into Attorney General Platkin,” she said.Murphy’s administration has been largely supportive of immigration.
Under his tenure, Platkin’s predecessor issued a guideline limiting cooperation between local New Jersey police and immigration officials. A bill that would make the directive state law is pending in the Legislature, but hasn’t advanced.
The policy and the pending bill have gotten renewed attention since Trump’s second administration began and immigration officials arrested people in Newark soon after the inauguration. The arrests led immigrant rights advocates to call out “Where’s Governor Murphy?” during a news conference held by Newark’s mayor to deride the immigration enforcement.
Habba took over the interim post from John Giordano, whom the president named to be the U.S. ambassador for the southwestern African country of Namibia.
A partner in a small New Jersey law firm near Trump’s Bedminster golf course, Habba served as a senior adviser for Trump’s political action committee, defended him in court in several civil lawsuits and acted as a spokesperson last year as he volleyed between courtrooms and the campaign trail.
Washington
States sue over Trump administration’s sudden halt of pandemic relief aid for schools
Public officials in 16 states and the District of Columbia sued the Trump administration Thursday to restore access to pandemic relief aid for schools, saying the Education Department’s abrupt halt of hundreds of millions of dollars of promised funding will force cuts to vital services.
The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan by a coalition of 16 Democratic attorneys general, led by New York’s Letitia James, plus Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, also a Democrat. It claims the administration’s refusal to release the aid violates federal law because it reversed a prior decision to allow states to access the money through March 2026.
States were notified late last month that the Education Department would not honor deadline extensions granted by the Biden administration to spend the remainder of COVID relief aid approved by by Congress to help schools and students recover from the lasting impacts of the pandemic. Schools were supposed to spend the last of the relief by January but many sought, and were granted, more time.
In announcing the reversal, Education Secretary Linda McMahon said schools had “ample time” to spend the money, but the agency would consider requests for extensions for individual projects. The department did not say how much money is left of the total $189 billion approved.
New York state lost access to $134 million, James’ office said in a press release. It said the relief funding has supported repairs and improvements to school buildings and the purchase of library books, playground equipment and wheelchair-accessible buses.
Districts also relied on the aid for programs and services for homeless students, as well as tutoring for students who fell behind because of missed classroom time.
Joining the lawsuit were the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, and the District of Columbia.
California
A jury finds Soulja Boy liable for abuse and sexual assault of ex-assistant, awards over $4 million
SANTA MONICA, Calif. (AP) — A jury on Thursday found that rapper Soulja Boy was liable for sexually assaulting and physically and emotionally abusing a former assistant, awarding the woman more than $4 million in damages.
The decision from the Los Angeles County jurors came after a three-week trial in Santa Monica, California.
The 34-year-old Soulja Boy, whose legal name is DeAndre Cortez Way, was found liable for assault, sexual battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Jurors did not find him liable for false imprisonment and other allegations. They found the woman should get about $4 million in compensatory damages and another $250,000 in punitive damages.
“Today’s verdict is just the beginning of justice for Soulja Boy’s victims, and other victims in the music industry,” plaintiff’s attorney Neama Rahmani said in a statement.
Lead defense attorney Rickey Ivie said in his own statement: “We maintain that the evidence does not support the verdict. It is unfortunate that aspersions and misperceptions of a culture were allowed to influence the trial. Mr. Way fully intends to pursue his post-trial remedies and to fight for a just result in this case.”
The woman was not identified by name in the lawsuit she filed in 2021, and The Associated Press does not typically name people who say they have been sexually abused.
She said she began working for Soulja Boy in 2018, and he agreed to pay her $500 a week for cleaning his house, cooking for him and doing other personal tasks. But she says she was never paid.
The two began a romantic relationship, and soon after he began abusing her, raping her, kicking her, punching her and threatening her with violence and death, her lawsuit alleges.
She believed she was in love with him, and he manipulated her into staying until 2020 despite repeated acts of violence, the lawsuit says.
She was beaten and raped again when she returned to retrieve her things months after leaving him, the lawsuit says.
Pennsylvania
Judge refuses to dismiss Central Park Five’s defamation case against Trump
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A federal judge has rejected President Donald Trump ‘s effort to dismiss a defamation lawsuit against him filed by the men formerly known as the Central Park Five who were exonerated after spending more than a decade in prison for the 1989 rape and beating of a woman who was jogging.
U.S. District Judge Wendy Beetlestone in Philadelphia denied Trump’s motion to dismiss in a brief Thursday night order.
The five men the sued Trump in the midst of last fall’s presidential election campaign, accusing him of making “false and defamatory statements” about them during the Sept. 10 debate in Philadelphia with then-Vice President Kamala Harris.
Trump misstated key facts of the case when Harris brought up the matter, saying “They admitted, they said, they pled guilty. And I said, ‘well, if they pled guilty they badly hurt a person, killed a person ultimately. And if they pled guilty — then they pled we’re not guilty,’” Trump said.
The men — Yusef Salaam, Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise — never pleaded guilty; they were convicted after jury trials. Also, no victim died.
In a statement, their lawyer, Shanin Specter, said they are “gratified by the Court’s ruling and thorough analysis and look forward to discovery, trial and the ultimate vindication of these five fine men.”
Trump’s lawyer did not immediately respond to an inquiry Friday.
The men had asked for compensatory and punitive damages, saying Trump had knowingly defamed them, purposefully made false statements about them and sought to inflict severe emotional distress on them.
Judge Beetlestone’s order dismissed one of the claims, for intentional infliction of emotional distress.
In the request to dismiss the case, Trump’s lawyer had said the president’s statements were protected under Pennsylvania laws that grant civil immunity over statements made on a “matter of public concern.”
The request to dismiss also said Trump’s statements were “substantially true,” that he didn’t dispute the men were ultimately exonerated and that he had intended to portray his thinking in 1989 when, following the men having confessed, Trump purchased a full-page ad in The New York Times calling for the reinstatement of the death penalty.
At the time, many in New York believed Trump’s ad was akin to calling for the teens to be executed.
The five men had been teenagers when they were accused of the rape and beating of a white woman jogging in New York City’s Central Park. The five, who are Black and Latino, said they confessed to the crimes under duress. They later recanted, pleading not guilty in court, and were later convicted after jury trials. Their convictions were vacated in 2002 after another person confessed to the crime.
When the lawsuit was filed, Specter said Trump “defamed them in front of 67 million people, which has caused them to seek to clear their names all over again.”
A Trump campaign spokesperson attacked it at the time as a “frivolous election interference lawsuit.”
New?York
Ex-Abercrombie CEO has dementia and is unfit for sex trafficking trial, prosecutors and defense say
NEW YORK (AP) — The former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch is suffering from dementia and isn’t competent to stand trial on sex trafficking charges, according to prosecutors and his lawyers.
Michael Jeffries requires round-the-clock care because the 80-year-old has Alzheimer’s disease, Lewy body dementia and the “residual effects of a traumatic brain injury,” defense attorneys wrote in a letter filed Thursday in a New York federal court, citing recent evaluations by medical professionals.
Prosecutors and defense lawyers want a federal judge in Central Islip to place Jeffries in the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons for up to four months so that he can be hospitalized and receive treatment that might allow his criminal case to proceed.
Jeffries has been free on a $10 million bond since pleading not guilty in October to federal sex trafficking and interstate prostitution charges.
Prosecutors say Jeffries, his romantic partner and a third man lured men to drug-fueled sex parties in New York City, the Hamptons and other locations by dangling the promise of modeling for the retailer’s ads.
In their letter, Jeffries’ lawyers said at least four medical professionals concluded that their client’s cognitive issues are “progressive and incurable” and that he will not “regain his competency and cannot be restored to competency in the future.”
They said the doctors found that his cognitive issues “significantly impair” his ability to understand the charges against him, and to consult and participate with his counsel in his defense.
Jeffries left Abercrombie in 2014 after leading the company for more than two decades.
