New York
AG sues Counter-Strike game developer saying ‘loot boxes’ promote gambling
NEW YORK (AP) — New York’s attorney general has sued video game developer Valve, claiming the “loot boxes” found in Counter-Strike and other popular video game franchises illegally promote gambling.
State Attorney General Letitia James said in a lawsuit filed Wednesday in New York state court that games such as Counter-Strike 2, Team Fortress 2 and Dota 2 illegally charge users for the chance to win rare items held in the virtual containers.
In Counter-Strike, the process even resembles a slot machine, with an animated spinning wheel that eventually rests on a selected item, James’ office said.
“Valve has made billions of dollars by letting children and adults alike illegally gamble for the chance to win valuable virtual prizes,” James said in a statement. “These features are addictive, harmful, and illegal.”
Messages seeking comment were left Wednesday for the Bellevue, Washington-based company.
“Loot box” items are generally cosmetic, such as a hat for a player’s character or an artistic skin for weapons. They usually don’t serve any vital function in the games, but James’ office said the items can still be sold online for significant sums.
Some of the rarest items can go for thousands of dollars online, according to James’ office. One item, an AK-47 Counter-Strike skin, recently sold for more than $1 million.
James’ suit says Valve is violating New York’s constitution by promoting gambling in its games. It wants the company to stop the practice and pay restitution and damages to users, as well as a fine worth three times the amount of its profits from the features.
The attorney general argues that research has found children introduced to gambling are four times more likely to develop a gambling problem later in life than those who are not.
“Loot boxes, like other forms of gambling, can lead to addiction and result in real harm,” the suit reads. “But Valve’s loot boxes are particularly pernicious because they are popular among children and adolescents, who are lured into opening loot boxes by the prospect of winning expensive virtual items that convey status in the gaming world.”
James’ office said demand for “loot box” prizes has drawn interest not just from online speculators and investors that have helped values soar, but also thieves targeting third-party, online marketplaces where the virtual items can be sold for cash.
Valve facilitates those third-party marketplaces, as well as operating its own, the Steam Community Market, where players can sell their items and use the proceeds to buy other video games, gaming hardware or other virtual items.
New York
Pakistani man on trial over Trump assassination plot with ties to Iran, prosecutors say
NEW YORK (AP) — The trial began this week of a Pakistani man who U.S. prosecutors say had ties to the Iranian government and traveled to New York to meet with men he thought he was recruiting to carry out political assassinations on American soil, including potentially of President Donald Trump.
Asif Merchant, 47, faces a life sentence if he’s convicted of terrorism charges. His trial got underway Wednesday in a federal court in Brooklyn.
Prosecutors said in court filings that a man who Merchant initially met when he arrived in New York in April 2024 later notified authorities about the plot and became a confidential informant, The New York Times reported. Merchant later paid a $5,000 advance to two would-be assassins who were actually undercover FBI agents, prosecutors said.
At the time, Merchant did not specify who the target would be, but court filings show the potential targets included high-level officials such as Trump.
Merchant, who has maintained his innocence, is a deeply religious man who frequently traveled to Iran and Pakistan, where he has separate families, which his lawyers noted is legal in both countries he calls home. They told jurors Wednesday that there was simply not enough evidence to show their client was involved in some type of plot.
Prosecutors told jurors that Merchant sketched out his plans by putting objects on a hotel napkin to represent people and places in a potential assassination plot, including the target, crowd and buildings. The killing would have occurred during the run-up to the 2024 presidential election.
The FBI has foiled several alleged attacks through sting operations in which agents posed as terror supporters, supplying advice or equipment. Critics say the strategy can amount to entrapment of mentally vulnerable people who wouldn’t have the wherewithal to act alone.
Washington
Trump administration asks Supreme Court to allow an end to legal protections for Syrian migrants
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Thursday to allow it to end legal protections for migrants from Syria for now, in the latest emergency appeal to the nation’s highest court.
The Department of Justice wants the court to lift a New York judge’s ruling halting the Department of Homeland Security’s decision to end temporary protected status for Syrians.
An appeals court left the ruling in place. The justices, though, have previously allowed immigration authorities to end legal protections for migrants from Venezuela while lawsuits continue to play out. The federal government argued that the Syria case is similar.
About 6,100 people from Syria have temporary legal status after fleeing armed conflict, according to court documents. Ending those protections could halt their authorization to work legally in the United States and expose them to possible deportation.
California
Federal judge allows lawsuit against state AG over ExxonMobil remarks
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal judge in Texas has ruled that ExxonMobil can bring a defamation lawsuit against California’s attorney general over comments about the company’s plastic recycling efforts.
U.S. District Judge Michael J. Truncale in the Eastern District of Texas said in a ruling earlier this month that California Attorney General Rob Bonta cannot claim official immunity in regards to several statements he made, including one in a campaign email sent to Texas residents.
Bonta sued Exxon in September 2024, saying that the oil giant encouraged consumers to purchase plastics products with the promise that the products would be recycled. He said less than 5% of plastic is recycled into another plastic product, and that recycling processes touted by Exxon don’t work. Exxon said the problem is with California’s recycling system.
Exxon later sued Bonta in his individual capacity and environmental groups for defamation, saying that the comments harmed current and future business contracts. The lawsuit was filed in Texas, near its principal place of business.
Truncale dismissed the lawsuit against the environmental groups but allowed it to proceed against Bonta.
The judge pointed to a campaign email Bonta sent to Texas residents saying that only 5% is recycled and the rest ends up in the environment and in our bodies: “Exxon Mobil knew, and Exxon Mobil lied.” Bonta, a Democrat, argued he was simply updating email recipients on his office’s activities.
But Truncale said a campaign contribution link on the email turned the communication into a campaign activity not protected by immunity in Bonta’s official capacity as attorney general.
“Here, the contribution request betrays the email’s true nature: a campaign promotion. Campaigning is not within Bonta’s scope of employment,” the judge wrote.
Bonta has filed a notice of appeal.
“The Attorney General looks forward to vigorously litigating this case, and is proud to advance his lawsuit against ExxonMobil,” his press office said.
ExxonMobil said in a statement that the “campaign of lies designed to derail our advanced recycling business must stop.”
Ohio
University of Cincinatti sues ex-QB following his transfer to Texas Tech
The University of Cincinnati is suing Brendan Sorsby, accusing the former Bearcats quarterback of breaching his name, image and likeness contract following his transfer to Texas Tech.
The university filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio on Wednesday.
According to the lawsuit, Sorsby signed an NIL agreement in July 2025 covering the 2025 and ‘26 seasons and that there would be a $1 million buyout if Sorsby transferred, payable within 30 days. Sorsby announced on Dec. 15 that he was entering the transfer portal and announced on Jan. 4 that he would be attending Texas Tech.
Sorsby received the most lucrative deal of the portal period — a reported $5 million — to return to his home state for his final season.
“In his lucrative NIL agreement with Cincinnati Athletics, Brendan Sorsby committed to stay and play for two seasons as a proud Bearcat representative,” the university said in a statement. “He also agreed that if he left the university before that time, he would pay the university a specific amount for the substantial harm that his breach would cause. Cincinnati Athletics intends to enforce that contractual commitment.”
Sorsby’s agent, Ron Slavin, said pursuing legal action against his client is misguided and that Sorsby intends to fight the lawsuit and any resulting damages.
Sorsby passed for 2,800 yards, 27 touchdowns and five interceptions last season. He also ran for 580 yards and nine TDs. The Bearcats started 7-1 before losing their final five games.
Slavin said Sorsby was paid $875,800 by Cincinnati under its revenue-sharing structure for the 2025 season.
“In that time, he generated millions in value for the program. Attempting to recover those funds now sends the wrong message to current and future student-athletes and risks damaging the long-term credibility of Cincinnati football,” Slavin wrote in an email. “This is further disappointing given that Brendan parted ways with UC in what was a mutually agreeable manner. The money the university seeks to recover from him is nothing more than an unlawful penalty under Ohio law.”
This is at least the third case this year in which a school has sought a legal remedy related to an NIL deal with a quarterback.
Duke and Darian Mensah were engaged in a legal fight until reaching a settlement last month. Mensah signed a two-year contract in July 2025 before he led the Blue Devils to their first outright Atlantic Coast Conference title since 1962. A judge granted Duke’s request for a temporary restraining order to block Mensah from doing anything beyond entering his name into the transfer portal until both sides came to an agreement. Mensah ended up transferring to Miami.
Demond Williams Jr. had planned to transfer from Washington, then changed his mind two days later as the Huskies were preparing to file a lawsuit to enforce a buyout of nearly $4 million.
Sorsby began his career at Indiana before transferring to Cincinnati. In 35 career games, including 31 starts, he has passed for 7,208 yards and 60 touchdowns, along with 1,295 rushing yards and 22 TDs.
Sorsby and the Red Raiders, who won the Big 12 last season and reached the College Football Playoff for the first time in school history, will play at Cincinnati on Oct. 24 during the university’s 100th homecoming celebration.
AG sues Counter-Strike game developer saying ‘loot boxes’ promote gambling
NEW YORK (AP) — New York’s attorney general has sued video game developer Valve, claiming the “loot boxes” found in Counter-Strike and other popular video game franchises illegally promote gambling.
State Attorney General Letitia James said in a lawsuit filed Wednesday in New York state court that games such as Counter-Strike 2, Team Fortress 2 and Dota 2 illegally charge users for the chance to win rare items held in the virtual containers.
In Counter-Strike, the process even resembles a slot machine, with an animated spinning wheel that eventually rests on a selected item, James’ office said.
“Valve has made billions of dollars by letting children and adults alike illegally gamble for the chance to win valuable virtual prizes,” James said in a statement. “These features are addictive, harmful, and illegal.”
Messages seeking comment were left Wednesday for the Bellevue, Washington-based company.
“Loot box” items are generally cosmetic, such as a hat for a player’s character or an artistic skin for weapons. They usually don’t serve any vital function in the games, but James’ office said the items can still be sold online for significant sums.
Some of the rarest items can go for thousands of dollars online, according to James’ office. One item, an AK-47 Counter-Strike skin, recently sold for more than $1 million.
James’ suit says Valve is violating New York’s constitution by promoting gambling in its games. It wants the company to stop the practice and pay restitution and damages to users, as well as a fine worth three times the amount of its profits from the features.
The attorney general argues that research has found children introduced to gambling are four times more likely to develop a gambling problem later in life than those who are not.
“Loot boxes, like other forms of gambling, can lead to addiction and result in real harm,” the suit reads. “But Valve’s loot boxes are particularly pernicious because they are popular among children and adolescents, who are lured into opening loot boxes by the prospect of winning expensive virtual items that convey status in the gaming world.”
James’ office said demand for “loot box” prizes has drawn interest not just from online speculators and investors that have helped values soar, but also thieves targeting third-party, online marketplaces where the virtual items can be sold for cash.
Valve facilitates those third-party marketplaces, as well as operating its own, the Steam Community Market, where players can sell their items and use the proceeds to buy other video games, gaming hardware or other virtual items.
New York
Pakistani man on trial over Trump assassination plot with ties to Iran, prosecutors say
NEW YORK (AP) — The trial began this week of a Pakistani man who U.S. prosecutors say had ties to the Iranian government and traveled to New York to meet with men he thought he was recruiting to carry out political assassinations on American soil, including potentially of President Donald Trump.
Asif Merchant, 47, faces a life sentence if he’s convicted of terrorism charges. His trial got underway Wednesday in a federal court in Brooklyn.
Prosecutors said in court filings that a man who Merchant initially met when he arrived in New York in April 2024 later notified authorities about the plot and became a confidential informant, The New York Times reported. Merchant later paid a $5,000 advance to two would-be assassins who were actually undercover FBI agents, prosecutors said.
At the time, Merchant did not specify who the target would be, but court filings show the potential targets included high-level officials such as Trump.
Merchant, who has maintained his innocence, is a deeply religious man who frequently traveled to Iran and Pakistan, where he has separate families, which his lawyers noted is legal in both countries he calls home. They told jurors Wednesday that there was simply not enough evidence to show their client was involved in some type of plot.
Prosecutors told jurors that Merchant sketched out his plans by putting objects on a hotel napkin to represent people and places in a potential assassination plot, including the target, crowd and buildings. The killing would have occurred during the run-up to the 2024 presidential election.
The FBI has foiled several alleged attacks through sting operations in which agents posed as terror supporters, supplying advice or equipment. Critics say the strategy can amount to entrapment of mentally vulnerable people who wouldn’t have the wherewithal to act alone.
Washington
Trump administration asks Supreme Court to allow an end to legal protections for Syrian migrants
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Thursday to allow it to end legal protections for migrants from Syria for now, in the latest emergency appeal to the nation’s highest court.
The Department of Justice wants the court to lift a New York judge’s ruling halting the Department of Homeland Security’s decision to end temporary protected status for Syrians.
An appeals court left the ruling in place. The justices, though, have previously allowed immigration authorities to end legal protections for migrants from Venezuela while lawsuits continue to play out. The federal government argued that the Syria case is similar.
About 6,100 people from Syria have temporary legal status after fleeing armed conflict, according to court documents. Ending those protections could halt their authorization to work legally in the United States and expose them to possible deportation.
California
Federal judge allows lawsuit against state AG over ExxonMobil remarks
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal judge in Texas has ruled that ExxonMobil can bring a defamation lawsuit against California’s attorney general over comments about the company’s plastic recycling efforts.
U.S. District Judge Michael J. Truncale in the Eastern District of Texas said in a ruling earlier this month that California Attorney General Rob Bonta cannot claim official immunity in regards to several statements he made, including one in a campaign email sent to Texas residents.
Bonta sued Exxon in September 2024, saying that the oil giant encouraged consumers to purchase plastics products with the promise that the products would be recycled. He said less than 5% of plastic is recycled into another plastic product, and that recycling processes touted by Exxon don’t work. Exxon said the problem is with California’s recycling system.
Exxon later sued Bonta in his individual capacity and environmental groups for defamation, saying that the comments harmed current and future business contracts. The lawsuit was filed in Texas, near its principal place of business.
Truncale dismissed the lawsuit against the environmental groups but allowed it to proceed against Bonta.
The judge pointed to a campaign email Bonta sent to Texas residents saying that only 5% is recycled and the rest ends up in the environment and in our bodies: “Exxon Mobil knew, and Exxon Mobil lied.” Bonta, a Democrat, argued he was simply updating email recipients on his office’s activities.
But Truncale said a campaign contribution link on the email turned the communication into a campaign activity not protected by immunity in Bonta’s official capacity as attorney general.
“Here, the contribution request betrays the email’s true nature: a campaign promotion. Campaigning is not within Bonta’s scope of employment,” the judge wrote.
Bonta has filed a notice of appeal.
“The Attorney General looks forward to vigorously litigating this case, and is proud to advance his lawsuit against ExxonMobil,” his press office said.
ExxonMobil said in a statement that the “campaign of lies designed to derail our advanced recycling business must stop.”
Ohio
University of Cincinatti sues ex-QB following his transfer to Texas Tech
The University of Cincinnati is suing Brendan Sorsby, accusing the former Bearcats quarterback of breaching his name, image and likeness contract following his transfer to Texas Tech.
The university filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio on Wednesday.
According to the lawsuit, Sorsby signed an NIL agreement in July 2025 covering the 2025 and ‘26 seasons and that there would be a $1 million buyout if Sorsby transferred, payable within 30 days. Sorsby announced on Dec. 15 that he was entering the transfer portal and announced on Jan. 4 that he would be attending Texas Tech.
Sorsby received the most lucrative deal of the portal period — a reported $5 million — to return to his home state for his final season.
“In his lucrative NIL agreement with Cincinnati Athletics, Brendan Sorsby committed to stay and play for two seasons as a proud Bearcat representative,” the university said in a statement. “He also agreed that if he left the university before that time, he would pay the university a specific amount for the substantial harm that his breach would cause. Cincinnati Athletics intends to enforce that contractual commitment.”
Sorsby’s agent, Ron Slavin, said pursuing legal action against his client is misguided and that Sorsby intends to fight the lawsuit and any resulting damages.
Sorsby passed for 2,800 yards, 27 touchdowns and five interceptions last season. He also ran for 580 yards and nine TDs. The Bearcats started 7-1 before losing their final five games.
Slavin said Sorsby was paid $875,800 by Cincinnati under its revenue-sharing structure for the 2025 season.
“In that time, he generated millions in value for the program. Attempting to recover those funds now sends the wrong message to current and future student-athletes and risks damaging the long-term credibility of Cincinnati football,” Slavin wrote in an email. “This is further disappointing given that Brendan parted ways with UC in what was a mutually agreeable manner. The money the university seeks to recover from him is nothing more than an unlawful penalty under Ohio law.”
This is at least the third case this year in which a school has sought a legal remedy related to an NIL deal with a quarterback.
Duke and Darian Mensah were engaged in a legal fight until reaching a settlement last month. Mensah signed a two-year contract in July 2025 before he led the Blue Devils to their first outright Atlantic Coast Conference title since 1962. A judge granted Duke’s request for a temporary restraining order to block Mensah from doing anything beyond entering his name into the transfer portal until both sides came to an agreement. Mensah ended up transferring to Miami.
Demond Williams Jr. had planned to transfer from Washington, then changed his mind two days later as the Huskies were preparing to file a lawsuit to enforce a buyout of nearly $4 million.
Sorsby began his career at Indiana before transferring to Cincinnati. In 35 career games, including 31 starts, he has passed for 7,208 yards and 60 touchdowns, along with 1,295 rushing yards and 22 TDs.
Sorsby and the Red Raiders, who won the Big 12 last season and reached the College Football Playoff for the first time in school history, will play at Cincinnati on Oct. 24 during the university’s 100th homecoming celebration.
