Ohio
University trustees OK $100M settlement with hundreds of former students abused by doctor
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio State University agreed Wednesday to pay approximately $100 million to settle legal claims from hundreds of former student athletes who said they were sexually abused decades ago by a doctor at the university.
The school has fought lawsuits in federal court since 2018 brought by former student athletes against the university over its failure to stop abuse by Dr. Richard Strauss. Strauss worked at the school from 1978 to 1998 and also ran an off-campus clinic. He died in 2005.
During a meeting Wednesday, the school’s Board of Trustees approved a preliminary agreement with all but one of the 280 survivors with claims still involved in pending litigation. Once finalized, the settlement could mark the end of a lengthy legal battle and close a painful chapter in the school’s history.
“The survivors of the Strauss abuse are all Buckeyes, will always be a part of our family and our community, and I firmly believe that,” the school’s president, Ravi Bellamkonda, said during the meeting. “We continue to be very grateful to them for their courage in coming forward, and reaching a final resolution is very important to us and is an important step forward.”
Years ago, an independent report had concluded that scores of Ohio State personnel knew of complaints about Strauss’ conduct as early as 1979 but failed for years to investigate or take meaningful action.
In a joint statement Wednesday, the university and plaintiffs thanked mediators and said they were working to finalize the details of the settlements.
Ohio State already had settled with 317 survivors for more than $61 million, the school had said. Many former student athletes signed sealed agreements that kept their names a secret. Some former NFL players were among the victims, according to a lawyer in one of the lawsuits.
Georgia
DA challenges new law that removes party labels in Atlanta-area elections
ATLANTA (AP) — A Georgia district attorney said she is challenging the constitutionality of a law that requires nonpartisan elections for most local officials in the five most populous counties in the Atlanta area but not in the rest of the state.
DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston — flanked by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, Clayton County District Attorney Tasha Mosley and Cobb County District Attorney Sonya Allen — announced Wednesday at a park across the street from the state Capitol that she was filing a lawsuit challenging the law. Boston, the lone plaintiff in the lawsuit, asserted that the measure violates the state and federal constitutions and targets Democratic strongholds under the guise of taking politics out of those elections.
“Republicans here at the state Capitol want to make it harder for voters in our counties to choose the people who best represent us and our values,” Boston said. “But today we are here at the state Capitol to tell those lawmakers that we will not shy away from speaking up for the people of Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Gwinnett and Fulton counties.”
She dismissed the idea that the law is meant to improve public safety or remove politics from the equation.
“I think the intent of the law when you look at who they’ve targeted is very clear,” Boston said. “They have chosen to go after Democratic strongholds where Democratic DAs and Democratic officials have been successful in these races.”
The lawsuit was filed against the state of Georgia. In an emailed statement, Kara Murray, a spokesperson for state Attorney General Chris Carr, said, “We will defend the law as enacted and signed by the Governor.”
Willis and Boston had previously threatened to sue over the law when Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed it last month. They suggested that one reason Republicans were targeting those five counties was because they all have Black women as their elected district attorneys.
Willis has been a frequent target of Republican state lawmakers since she prosecuted President Donald Trump and others over attempts to overturn Democrat Joe Biden’s win in the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. That case was dismissed last year.
State Sen. John Albers, a Republican from the Atlanta suburb of Roswell who pushed the law, said during the legislative session that he believed it will promote public safety, though the counties’ elected sheriffs will continue to be elected under party labels. Albers did not immediately respond Wednesday to a message submitted online through his legislative office requesting comment on Boston’s lawsuit.
The law, which takes effect in 2028, would require nonpartisan elections for district attorneys, solicitors general, county commissioners, court clerks and tax commissioners.
It will move elections for all affected officials except district attorneys to May, when voters choose nonpartisan judges. That means a smaller electorate than in November, with turnout mostly driven by primaries for partisan offices that are held at the same time. If no candidate wins a majority, nonpartisan runoffs would be held in June.
The measure applies in Fulton County, which includes most of Atlanta, as well as the suburbs of Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb and Gwinnett counties. Fulton, DeKalb and Clayton counties are the three most important Democratic jurisdictions in the state.
Cobb and Gwinnett, once strongholds for Georgia Republicans, have increasingly voted for Democrats since 2016.
Boston said the law violates Georgia’s uniformity clause, which she said requires laws to work the same way throughout the state. It also violates the equal protection clauses of the state and federal constitutions because lawmakers gave no valid reason for treating those five counties and their voters and elected officials differently, she said. And, she said, lawmakers violated procedural laws when they voted to pass it.
Texas
Murder trial underway for teenager accused of fatally stabbing a track athlete at school meet
DALLAS (AP) — Opening statements were set for Thursday in the murder trial of a former Texas high school athlete accused of taking out a knife during a track meet and fatally stabbing a 17-year-old competitor from a rival team in the stadium’s bleachers.
The killing last year stunned an affluent Dallas suburb where the teenagers attended school and quickly drew wider attention, in part over social media posts that amplified the case in racial terms.
Karmelo Anthony, now 19, faces up to life in prison if convicted in the killing of Austin Metcalf. According to an arrest report, Anthony told police he was protecting himself when the teenagers got into a confrontation during a high school track meet in Frisco, a booming city in Dallas’ sprawling north suburbs.
A jury was seated this week under increased security at a Collin County courthouse and a judge has set strict rules over the proceedings, including prohibiting attorneys from discussing the case publicly.
“We know this case has struck a deep nerve — here in Collin County and beyond,” Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis said while announcing the indictment against Anthony last year.
The stabbing happened on a rainy morning in April 2025. Witnesses told police the confrontation began when Anthony sat under a tent belonging to Metcalf’s team, according to an arrest report. The teens went to different high schools in Frisco.
When Metcalf told Anthony that he needed to move, Anthony reached inside his bag and allegedly replied: “Touch me and see what happens,” the report said.
A short time later, Metcalf allegedly grabbed Anthony, who then pulled out a knife and stabbed the other teenager in the chest, the report said.
A police officer said in the report that Anthony told him that Metcalf had put his hands on him, and that he was protecting himself.
Mike Howard, Anthony’s attorney, said following the indictment last summer that he expects prosecutors would “not be able to rule out the reasonable doubt” that his client may have acted in self-defense once the full details of the confrontation come out.
The parents of both teens have said they were good students who planned to go to college.
Metcalf’s father has condemned those who have seized on the race of the teenagers after the killing. Anthony is Black; Austin Metcalf was white.
“This was not a race thing. This is not a political thing. Please do not comment if you do not know what happened,” Metcalf’s father, Jeff Metcalf, said on Fox News’ “America Reports.”
“This is a human being thing,” he said. “This person made a bad choice and it affected both his family and my family forever.”
Authorities have also issued warnings about online discussions surrounding the killing. Frisco Police Chief David Shilson has urged people to beware of posts spreading “misinformation, hate, fear, and division.”’
Minnesota
ICE protesters who interrupted church service won’t face state charges, prosecutor says
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Dozens of anti-immigration enforcement protesters who face federal criminal charges after they interrupted a Minnesota church service in January, accompanied by former CNN journalist Don Lemon, will not additionally face state charges, a prosecutor said Wednesday.
St. Paul City Attorney Irene Kao said in a statement that “current evidence is insufficient to meet that standard for criminal charges under Minnesota state statutes,” a determination heavily criticized by the lead pastor at Cities Church, where the protest occurred.
“This decision should not be interpreted as an endorsement of unlawful behavior or public disorder,” Kao said. “The right to peacefully protest is protected, as is the right to exercise one’s religious beliefs. Balancing these equally important rights is paramount to our decision today.”
The U.S. Justice Department brought federal civil rights charges against 39 people, including Lemon and another independent journalist, after a livestreamed video showed a group of people interrupting services at Cities Church on Jan. 18 by chanting “ICE out” and “Justice for Renee Good.” Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, was fatally shot by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Minneapolis amid a surge in federal immigration enforcement.
The protesters had learned that one of the church pastors was also an ICE official who had been overseeing the intensive operation in Minnesota.
“According to the St. Paul City Attorney’s logic, it is perfectly fine for agitators to invade a mosque, a cathedral, or a temple, intimidate the families and children inside, and shut down their religious gathering. Just call it a ‘protest,’” Cities Church lead pastor Jonathan Parnell said in a written statement.
Violence, destruction of property and threats to public safety remain serious concerns, Kao said, but none of that occurred during the demonstration.
Attorneys for the church said that just because the protesters did not break windows or destroy property doesn’t mean they didn’t break the law.
At least four states — Idaho, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Kansas — adopted laws this year making it a crime to disrupt worship services.
University trustees OK $100M settlement with hundreds of former students abused by doctor
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio State University agreed Wednesday to pay approximately $100 million to settle legal claims from hundreds of former student athletes who said they were sexually abused decades ago by a doctor at the university.
The school has fought lawsuits in federal court since 2018 brought by former student athletes against the university over its failure to stop abuse by Dr. Richard Strauss. Strauss worked at the school from 1978 to 1998 and also ran an off-campus clinic. He died in 2005.
During a meeting Wednesday, the school’s Board of Trustees approved a preliminary agreement with all but one of the 280 survivors with claims still involved in pending litigation. Once finalized, the settlement could mark the end of a lengthy legal battle and close a painful chapter in the school’s history.
“The survivors of the Strauss abuse are all Buckeyes, will always be a part of our family and our community, and I firmly believe that,” the school’s president, Ravi Bellamkonda, said during the meeting. “We continue to be very grateful to them for their courage in coming forward, and reaching a final resolution is very important to us and is an important step forward.”
Years ago, an independent report had concluded that scores of Ohio State personnel knew of complaints about Strauss’ conduct as early as 1979 but failed for years to investigate or take meaningful action.
In a joint statement Wednesday, the university and plaintiffs thanked mediators and said they were working to finalize the details of the settlements.
Ohio State already had settled with 317 survivors for more than $61 million, the school had said. Many former student athletes signed sealed agreements that kept their names a secret. Some former NFL players were among the victims, according to a lawyer in one of the lawsuits.
Georgia
DA challenges new law that removes party labels in Atlanta-area elections
ATLANTA (AP) — A Georgia district attorney said she is challenging the constitutionality of a law that requires nonpartisan elections for most local officials in the five most populous counties in the Atlanta area but not in the rest of the state.
DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston — flanked by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, Clayton County District Attorney Tasha Mosley and Cobb County District Attorney Sonya Allen — announced Wednesday at a park across the street from the state Capitol that she was filing a lawsuit challenging the law. Boston, the lone plaintiff in the lawsuit, asserted that the measure violates the state and federal constitutions and targets Democratic strongholds under the guise of taking politics out of those elections.
“Republicans here at the state Capitol want to make it harder for voters in our counties to choose the people who best represent us and our values,” Boston said. “But today we are here at the state Capitol to tell those lawmakers that we will not shy away from speaking up for the people of Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Gwinnett and Fulton counties.”
She dismissed the idea that the law is meant to improve public safety or remove politics from the equation.
“I think the intent of the law when you look at who they’ve targeted is very clear,” Boston said. “They have chosen to go after Democratic strongholds where Democratic DAs and Democratic officials have been successful in these races.”
The lawsuit was filed against the state of Georgia. In an emailed statement, Kara Murray, a spokesperson for state Attorney General Chris Carr, said, “We will defend the law as enacted and signed by the Governor.”
Willis and Boston had previously threatened to sue over the law when Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed it last month. They suggested that one reason Republicans were targeting those five counties was because they all have Black women as their elected district attorneys.
Willis has been a frequent target of Republican state lawmakers since she prosecuted President Donald Trump and others over attempts to overturn Democrat Joe Biden’s win in the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. That case was dismissed last year.
State Sen. John Albers, a Republican from the Atlanta suburb of Roswell who pushed the law, said during the legislative session that he believed it will promote public safety, though the counties’ elected sheriffs will continue to be elected under party labels. Albers did not immediately respond Wednesday to a message submitted online through his legislative office requesting comment on Boston’s lawsuit.
The law, which takes effect in 2028, would require nonpartisan elections for district attorneys, solicitors general, county commissioners, court clerks and tax commissioners.
It will move elections for all affected officials except district attorneys to May, when voters choose nonpartisan judges. That means a smaller electorate than in November, with turnout mostly driven by primaries for partisan offices that are held at the same time. If no candidate wins a majority, nonpartisan runoffs would be held in June.
The measure applies in Fulton County, which includes most of Atlanta, as well as the suburbs of Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb and Gwinnett counties. Fulton, DeKalb and Clayton counties are the three most important Democratic jurisdictions in the state.
Cobb and Gwinnett, once strongholds for Georgia Republicans, have increasingly voted for Democrats since 2016.
Boston said the law violates Georgia’s uniformity clause, which she said requires laws to work the same way throughout the state. It also violates the equal protection clauses of the state and federal constitutions because lawmakers gave no valid reason for treating those five counties and their voters and elected officials differently, she said. And, she said, lawmakers violated procedural laws when they voted to pass it.
Texas
Murder trial underway for teenager accused of fatally stabbing a track athlete at school meet
DALLAS (AP) — Opening statements were set for Thursday in the murder trial of a former Texas high school athlete accused of taking out a knife during a track meet and fatally stabbing a 17-year-old competitor from a rival team in the stadium’s bleachers.
The killing last year stunned an affluent Dallas suburb where the teenagers attended school and quickly drew wider attention, in part over social media posts that amplified the case in racial terms.
Karmelo Anthony, now 19, faces up to life in prison if convicted in the killing of Austin Metcalf. According to an arrest report, Anthony told police he was protecting himself when the teenagers got into a confrontation during a high school track meet in Frisco, a booming city in Dallas’ sprawling north suburbs.
A jury was seated this week under increased security at a Collin County courthouse and a judge has set strict rules over the proceedings, including prohibiting attorneys from discussing the case publicly.
“We know this case has struck a deep nerve — here in Collin County and beyond,” Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis said while announcing the indictment against Anthony last year.
The stabbing happened on a rainy morning in April 2025. Witnesses told police the confrontation began when Anthony sat under a tent belonging to Metcalf’s team, according to an arrest report. The teens went to different high schools in Frisco.
When Metcalf told Anthony that he needed to move, Anthony reached inside his bag and allegedly replied: “Touch me and see what happens,” the report said.
A short time later, Metcalf allegedly grabbed Anthony, who then pulled out a knife and stabbed the other teenager in the chest, the report said.
A police officer said in the report that Anthony told him that Metcalf had put his hands on him, and that he was protecting himself.
Mike Howard, Anthony’s attorney, said following the indictment last summer that he expects prosecutors would “not be able to rule out the reasonable doubt” that his client may have acted in self-defense once the full details of the confrontation come out.
The parents of both teens have said they were good students who planned to go to college.
Metcalf’s father has condemned those who have seized on the race of the teenagers after the killing. Anthony is Black; Austin Metcalf was white.
“This was not a race thing. This is not a political thing. Please do not comment if you do not know what happened,” Metcalf’s father, Jeff Metcalf, said on Fox News’ “America Reports.”
“This is a human being thing,” he said. “This person made a bad choice and it affected both his family and my family forever.”
Authorities have also issued warnings about online discussions surrounding the killing. Frisco Police Chief David Shilson has urged people to beware of posts spreading “misinformation, hate, fear, and division.”’
Minnesota
ICE protesters who interrupted church service won’t face state charges, prosecutor says
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Dozens of anti-immigration enforcement protesters who face federal criminal charges after they interrupted a Minnesota church service in January, accompanied by former CNN journalist Don Lemon, will not additionally face state charges, a prosecutor said Wednesday.
St. Paul City Attorney Irene Kao said in a statement that “current evidence is insufficient to meet that standard for criminal charges under Minnesota state statutes,” a determination heavily criticized by the lead pastor at Cities Church, where the protest occurred.
“This decision should not be interpreted as an endorsement of unlawful behavior or public disorder,” Kao said. “The right to peacefully protest is protected, as is the right to exercise one’s religious beliefs. Balancing these equally important rights is paramount to our decision today.”
The U.S. Justice Department brought federal civil rights charges against 39 people, including Lemon and another independent journalist, after a livestreamed video showed a group of people interrupting services at Cities Church on Jan. 18 by chanting “ICE out” and “Justice for Renee Good.” Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, was fatally shot by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Minneapolis amid a surge in federal immigration enforcement.
The protesters had learned that one of the church pastors was also an ICE official who had been overseeing the intensive operation in Minnesota.
“According to the St. Paul City Attorney’s logic, it is perfectly fine for agitators to invade a mosque, a cathedral, or a temple, intimidate the families and children inside, and shut down their religious gathering. Just call it a ‘protest,’” Cities Church lead pastor Jonathan Parnell said in a written statement.
Violence, destruction of property and threats to public safety remain serious concerns, Kao said, but none of that occurred during the demonstration.
Attorneys for the church said that just because the protesters did not break windows or destroy property doesn’t mean they didn’t break the law.
At least four states — Idaho, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Kansas — adopted laws this year making it a crime to disrupt worship services.
