New Jersey
Transgender woman sues USGA and LPGA after being denied entry into U.S. Women’s Open qualifier
HACKENSACK, N.J. (AP) — A transgender woman seeking to compete in women’s USGA events has filed a lawsuit claiming that a policy change adopted in 2024 unlawfully barred her from participating in a U.S. Women’s Open qualifier last year.
Hailey Davidson named the golf club hosting the qualifier along with the USGA, the LPGA and three LPGA officials in a lawsuit filed Thursday in New Jersey. She’s seeking unspecified damages.
The USGA and LPGA changed gender policies for events in 2025 and beyond, declaring that players must be assigned female at birth or have transitioned to female before going through male puberty to be eligible to compete.
The 33-year-old Davidson didn’t transition until after puberty. She competed in a U.S. Open qualifier and LPGA Qualifying School under a different policy in 2024, falling short in both efforts.
The LPGA said in a statement it was aware of the lawsuit and would “let that process play out on the proper forum.”
“The LPGA’s gender policy was developed through a thoughtful, expert-informed process and is grounded in protecting the competitive integrity of elite women’s golf,” the statement said.
Davidson claimed in the lawsuit that the new policy effectively bans transgender women from competing in USGA women’s events or the LPGA because many states prevent children from taking hormones or blocking puberty.
When the USGA denied her entry into the qualifier, Davidson claimed the Hackensack Golf Club violated the law by saying the USGA controlled all decisions regarding eligibility.
Davidson began hormone treatments in her early 20s in 2015 and in 2021 underwent gender-affirming surgery, which was required under the LPGA’s previous gender policy. She won two years ago on a Florida mini-tour until that circuit later announced that players had to be assigned female at birth.
Illinois
CTA lawsuit targets federal construction funding halted last fall
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The Chicago Transit Authority on Friday filed a federal lawsuit seeking restoration of $2 billion in commuter rail expansion funding that President Donald Trump’s administration stopped last fall.
The action, filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago, contends the administration acted arbitrarily in halting transit construction money for the city in an effort to restrict race- and gender-based contracting, which it believes is unconstitutional. It names the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Transportation Authority as defendants.
The Transportation Department responded that it is trying to choke off a “discriminatory” and “illegal” contracting process.
The lawsuit comes days after New York City authorities filed a lawsuit seeking resumption of similar federal transit funding to the tune of $60 million.
Critically affected in Chicago is a 5.3-mile (8.5 kilometer) extension of the Red Line of the elevated L rail system with four train stops to reach 100,000 additional residents in disadvantaged and largely Black neighborhoods.
Additionally, the federal dollars had been financing continued work on a North Side project that replaced century-old rails and built four new, accessible stations.
“We are fully committed to the success of these projects, and we will take every step necessary to ensure that they move forward,” CTA Acting President Nora Leerhsen said in a statement. “The Red Line extension is a historic investment into the far South Side of Chicago that will transform public transit and create new economic opportunity for the communities it will serve.”
In September, the Trump administration wrote a new rule removing race- and gender-based contracting preferences but applied the rule retroactively only to grants to Chicago and New York, according to the lawsuit. The grant funding was paused on Oct. 3, 2025, and the CTA provided requested documentation a few weeks later.
The Transportation Department requested additional records in December, and since the CTA responded, there has been no further communication, according to the lawsuit, which calls the government’s actions “unlawful many times over.”
It complains that the holdup penalizes the CTA for following the rules in place at the time and for failing to “explain why grants to the hundreds of other projects nationwide” that were following the same rules saw no interruption in funding.
The Transportation Department said in an email that it will fight “discriminatory, illegal, and wasteful contracting practices.”
“The American people don’t care what race or gender construction workers, pipefitters, or electricians are,” the department said. “They just want these important projects built quickly and efficiently.”
Pennsylvania
Lawsuit claims negligence in death of former Yankees baseball player’s son at Costa Rican resort
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A lawsuit filed Friday blames the owners and others associated with a resort in Costa Rica for the carbon dioxide-related death of former New York Yankees outfielder Brett M. Gardner’s teenage son last year.
Gardner and other relatives filed a negligence and wrongful death claim in Philadelphia federal court over the March 2025 death of 14-year-old Miller Gardner at the Arenas Del Mar Beachfront & Rainforest Resort in Manuel Antonio beach, located in Costa Rica’s Central Pacific.
The defendants include people who own and operate the resort, including David Callan and R. Scott Williams, as well as Hawk Opportunity Fund LP, a Newtown, Pennsylvania-based venture capital firm. Messages seeking comment were left Friday at businesses linked to the fund and the two men.
The Gardners were on a family vacation when Miller Gardner died and Brett Gardner and others were sickened. Costa Rican authorities blamed carbon monoxide poisoning.
Randall Zúñiga, director of that country’s Judicial Investigation Agency, said last year tests showed Miller Gardner had high levels of carboxyhemoglobin, a compound generated when carbon monoxide binds to hemoglobin in the blood.
The lawsuit alleges the machine room was not properly ventilated and carbon monoxide from it caused Miller Gardner’s death and injuries to his family members.
Brett Gardner was drafted by the Yankees in 2005 and spent his entire playing career with the organization. He batted .256 with 139 homers, 578 RBIs, 274 steals and 73 triples in 14 seasons from 2008-2021.
New?York
Police video of Timberlake’s 2024 drunken driving arrest released
NEW YORK (AP) — Justin Timberlake struggled to perform field sobriety tests requiring him to walk a straight line and stand on one leg after he was pulled over in New York’s Hamptons in 2024 by police officers who suspected him of driving drunk, according to video footage released Friday.
The pop star tells officers at one point, “these are like really hard tests.”
The footage, which runs roughly eight hours, includes Timberlake’s initial stop after Sag Harbor police said he ran a stop sign in the village center, veered out of his lane and got out of his BMW smelling of alcohol that June.
Timberlake, who ultimately pleaded guilty to a lesser charge, is asked by officers to walk heel-to-toe in a straight line on the road and lift one leg. At times he seems flustered listening to the instructions. He apologizes to officers and tells them his heart is racing.
The release by Sag Harbor Police comes after the village and Timberlake’s lawyers agreed to disclose a redacted version of the footage. The Associated Press was among several media outlets that filed a records request seeking the release of the video.
Timberlake’s lawyers had sued to block the release of the video, arguing it would “devastate” Timberlake’s privacy by revealing “intimate, highly personal, and sensitive details.” They also said it would cause “severe and irreparable harm” to his reputation by subjecting him to “public ridicule and harassment.”
But in a joint filing with the village Friday, Timberlake’s lawyers acknowledged the video “does not constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy under” the state’s public information law and agreed to its release.
Timberlake pleaded guilty to impaired driving in September 2024.
The Tennessee native agreed to give a public safety announcement against the perils of drunken driving as part of the plea deal that knocked down his initial misdemeanor charge to a noncriminal traffic violation.
He was also sentenced to a $500 fine, 25 hours of community service and a 90-day suspension of his license.
Mississippi
Former pro wrestler Ted DiBiase Jr. acquitted in welfare scandal
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A former professional wrestler accused of misspending millions of welfare dollars in part of Mississippi’s largest public corruption scandal was found not guilty by a jury Friday.
Ted “Teddy” DiBiase Jr. was facing 13 charges related to conspiracy, wire fraud, theft and money laundering.
“It’s, I think, just a weight off his chest,” said Sidney Lampton, who represented DiBiase. “The jury got it right.”
A federal indictment had accused DiBiase of fraudulently obtaining millions of federal welfare dollars and using the money for his own personal gain, including the purchase of a vehicle, boat and home down payment.
“While I remain confident in our case, I respect the jury’s verdict,” U.S. Attorney Baxter Kruger said. “I commend the prosecution team for their diligent efforts.”
DiBiase, a WWE wrestler in the 2000s and 2010s, is the only person charged in the scandal to face trial.
The welfare scandal came to light in 2020 when the former director of the Mississippi Department of Human Services, John Davis, was indicted on fraud and embezzlement charges alongside several others, including DiBiase’s brother, former pro wrestler Brett DiBiase.
Federal indictments accused Davis of directing the federal dollars to two nonprofits, which then awarded “sham contracts” to various people and organizations, including several companies owned by DiBiase, for social services that were never provided.
DiBiase’s companies were awarded more than $2 million in contracts for services that included leadership outreach, an emergency food assistance assessment and a program for inner-city youth, according to the indictment.
Much of the money came from two federal safety-net programs, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and the Emergency Food Assistance Program, and was intended to help some of the poorest people in the nation.
More than $77 million in TANF funds were misspent, according to the Mississippi state auditor.
Davis, multiple nonprofit executives and Brett DiBiase have all pleaded guilty to charges related to the scheme.
The scandal also ensnared several high-profile individuals, including former Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant and retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre. Both Bryant and Favre have denied wrongdoing and neither have been criminally charged.
Favre, the DiBiase brothers and their father, a former pro wrestler known as the “Million Dollar Man,” Ted DiBiase Sr., are among dozens of defendants in a lawsuit filed by the Mississippi Department of Human Services in an attempt to recover more than $20 million in misspent money.
Transgender woman sues USGA and LPGA after being denied entry into U.S. Women’s Open qualifier
HACKENSACK, N.J. (AP) — A transgender woman seeking to compete in women’s USGA events has filed a lawsuit claiming that a policy change adopted in 2024 unlawfully barred her from participating in a U.S. Women’s Open qualifier last year.
Hailey Davidson named the golf club hosting the qualifier along with the USGA, the LPGA and three LPGA officials in a lawsuit filed Thursday in New Jersey. She’s seeking unspecified damages.
The USGA and LPGA changed gender policies for events in 2025 and beyond, declaring that players must be assigned female at birth or have transitioned to female before going through male puberty to be eligible to compete.
The 33-year-old Davidson didn’t transition until after puberty. She competed in a U.S. Open qualifier and LPGA Qualifying School under a different policy in 2024, falling short in both efforts.
The LPGA said in a statement it was aware of the lawsuit and would “let that process play out on the proper forum.”
“The LPGA’s gender policy was developed through a thoughtful, expert-informed process and is grounded in protecting the competitive integrity of elite women’s golf,” the statement said.
Davidson claimed in the lawsuit that the new policy effectively bans transgender women from competing in USGA women’s events or the LPGA because many states prevent children from taking hormones or blocking puberty.
When the USGA denied her entry into the qualifier, Davidson claimed the Hackensack Golf Club violated the law by saying the USGA controlled all decisions regarding eligibility.
Davidson began hormone treatments in her early 20s in 2015 and in 2021 underwent gender-affirming surgery, which was required under the LPGA’s previous gender policy. She won two years ago on a Florida mini-tour until that circuit later announced that players had to be assigned female at birth.
Illinois
CTA lawsuit targets federal construction funding halted last fall
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The Chicago Transit Authority on Friday filed a federal lawsuit seeking restoration of $2 billion in commuter rail expansion funding that President Donald Trump’s administration stopped last fall.
The action, filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago, contends the administration acted arbitrarily in halting transit construction money for the city in an effort to restrict race- and gender-based contracting, which it believes is unconstitutional. It names the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Transportation Authority as defendants.
The Transportation Department responded that it is trying to choke off a “discriminatory” and “illegal” contracting process.
The lawsuit comes days after New York City authorities filed a lawsuit seeking resumption of similar federal transit funding to the tune of $60 million.
Critically affected in Chicago is a 5.3-mile (8.5 kilometer) extension of the Red Line of the elevated L rail system with four train stops to reach 100,000 additional residents in disadvantaged and largely Black neighborhoods.
Additionally, the federal dollars had been financing continued work on a North Side project that replaced century-old rails and built four new, accessible stations.
“We are fully committed to the success of these projects, and we will take every step necessary to ensure that they move forward,” CTA Acting President Nora Leerhsen said in a statement. “The Red Line extension is a historic investment into the far South Side of Chicago that will transform public transit and create new economic opportunity for the communities it will serve.”
In September, the Trump administration wrote a new rule removing race- and gender-based contracting preferences but applied the rule retroactively only to grants to Chicago and New York, according to the lawsuit. The grant funding was paused on Oct. 3, 2025, and the CTA provided requested documentation a few weeks later.
The Transportation Department requested additional records in December, and since the CTA responded, there has been no further communication, according to the lawsuit, which calls the government’s actions “unlawful many times over.”
It complains that the holdup penalizes the CTA for following the rules in place at the time and for failing to “explain why grants to the hundreds of other projects nationwide” that were following the same rules saw no interruption in funding.
The Transportation Department said in an email that it will fight “discriminatory, illegal, and wasteful contracting practices.”
“The American people don’t care what race or gender construction workers, pipefitters, or electricians are,” the department said. “They just want these important projects built quickly and efficiently.”
Pennsylvania
Lawsuit claims negligence in death of former Yankees baseball player’s son at Costa Rican resort
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A lawsuit filed Friday blames the owners and others associated with a resort in Costa Rica for the carbon dioxide-related death of former New York Yankees outfielder Brett M. Gardner’s teenage son last year.
Gardner and other relatives filed a negligence and wrongful death claim in Philadelphia federal court over the March 2025 death of 14-year-old Miller Gardner at the Arenas Del Mar Beachfront & Rainforest Resort in Manuel Antonio beach, located in Costa Rica’s Central Pacific.
The defendants include people who own and operate the resort, including David Callan and R. Scott Williams, as well as Hawk Opportunity Fund LP, a Newtown, Pennsylvania-based venture capital firm. Messages seeking comment were left Friday at businesses linked to the fund and the two men.
The Gardners were on a family vacation when Miller Gardner died and Brett Gardner and others were sickened. Costa Rican authorities blamed carbon monoxide poisoning.
Randall Zúñiga, director of that country’s Judicial Investigation Agency, said last year tests showed Miller Gardner had high levels of carboxyhemoglobin, a compound generated when carbon monoxide binds to hemoglobin in the blood.
The lawsuit alleges the machine room was not properly ventilated and carbon monoxide from it caused Miller Gardner’s death and injuries to his family members.
Brett Gardner was drafted by the Yankees in 2005 and spent his entire playing career with the organization. He batted .256 with 139 homers, 578 RBIs, 274 steals and 73 triples in 14 seasons from 2008-2021.
New?York
Police video of Timberlake’s 2024 drunken driving arrest released
NEW YORK (AP) — Justin Timberlake struggled to perform field sobriety tests requiring him to walk a straight line and stand on one leg after he was pulled over in New York’s Hamptons in 2024 by police officers who suspected him of driving drunk, according to video footage released Friday.
The pop star tells officers at one point, “these are like really hard tests.”
The footage, which runs roughly eight hours, includes Timberlake’s initial stop after Sag Harbor police said he ran a stop sign in the village center, veered out of his lane and got out of his BMW smelling of alcohol that June.
Timberlake, who ultimately pleaded guilty to a lesser charge, is asked by officers to walk heel-to-toe in a straight line on the road and lift one leg. At times he seems flustered listening to the instructions. He apologizes to officers and tells them his heart is racing.
The release by Sag Harbor Police comes after the village and Timberlake’s lawyers agreed to disclose a redacted version of the footage. The Associated Press was among several media outlets that filed a records request seeking the release of the video.
Timberlake’s lawyers had sued to block the release of the video, arguing it would “devastate” Timberlake’s privacy by revealing “intimate, highly personal, and sensitive details.” They also said it would cause “severe and irreparable harm” to his reputation by subjecting him to “public ridicule and harassment.”
But in a joint filing with the village Friday, Timberlake’s lawyers acknowledged the video “does not constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy under” the state’s public information law and agreed to its release.
Timberlake pleaded guilty to impaired driving in September 2024.
The Tennessee native agreed to give a public safety announcement against the perils of drunken driving as part of the plea deal that knocked down his initial misdemeanor charge to a noncriminal traffic violation.
He was also sentenced to a $500 fine, 25 hours of community service and a 90-day suspension of his license.
Mississippi
Former pro wrestler Ted DiBiase Jr. acquitted in welfare scandal
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A former professional wrestler accused of misspending millions of welfare dollars in part of Mississippi’s largest public corruption scandal was found not guilty by a jury Friday.
Ted “Teddy” DiBiase Jr. was facing 13 charges related to conspiracy, wire fraud, theft and money laundering.
“It’s, I think, just a weight off his chest,” said Sidney Lampton, who represented DiBiase. “The jury got it right.”
A federal indictment had accused DiBiase of fraudulently obtaining millions of federal welfare dollars and using the money for his own personal gain, including the purchase of a vehicle, boat and home down payment.
“While I remain confident in our case, I respect the jury’s verdict,” U.S. Attorney Baxter Kruger said. “I commend the prosecution team for their diligent efforts.”
DiBiase, a WWE wrestler in the 2000s and 2010s, is the only person charged in the scandal to face trial.
The welfare scandal came to light in 2020 when the former director of the Mississippi Department of Human Services, John Davis, was indicted on fraud and embezzlement charges alongside several others, including DiBiase’s brother, former pro wrestler Brett DiBiase.
Federal indictments accused Davis of directing the federal dollars to two nonprofits, which then awarded “sham contracts” to various people and organizations, including several companies owned by DiBiase, for social services that were never provided.
DiBiase’s companies were awarded more than $2 million in contracts for services that included leadership outreach, an emergency food assistance assessment and a program for inner-city youth, according to the indictment.
Much of the money came from two federal safety-net programs, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and the Emergency Food Assistance Program, and was intended to help some of the poorest people in the nation.
More than $77 million in TANF funds were misspent, according to the Mississippi state auditor.
Davis, multiple nonprofit executives and Brett DiBiase have all pleaded guilty to charges related to the scheme.
The scandal also ensnared several high-profile individuals, including former Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant and retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre. Both Bryant and Favre have denied wrongdoing and neither have been criminally charged.
Favre, the DiBiase brothers and their father, a former pro wrestler known as the “Million Dollar Man,” Ted DiBiase Sr., are among dozens of defendants in a lawsuit filed by the Mississippi Department of Human Services in an attempt to recover more than $20 million in misspent money.
