Anthony Marrocco loses bid to host parties, watch movies while serving corruption sentence (2024)

The most severely wounded survivor of the 2018 massacre at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School now owns shooter Nikolas Cruz’s name. Under his recent lawsuit settlement with Anthony Borges, Cruz must also turn over any money he might receive as a beneficiary of a relative’s life insurance policy, participate in any scientific studies of mass shooters and donate his body to science after his death. The agreement means that Cruz cannot benefit from movies, books or other media about him. Borges' attorney says the goal was to shut Cruz down. Borges was shot five times and has undergone more than a dozen surgeries. Now 21, he still lives in pain.

Some COVID-19 statistics are at a pandemic-era low, but cases seem to be ticking up in a few places. About 300 COVID-19-associated deaths were occurring weekly in May. That’s the lowest since the beginning of the pandemic. The COVID-19 hospitalization rate is 1.5 per 100,000 hospital visits. It peaked at 35 in early 2022. Individual COVID-19 cases are no longer tracked, but health officials can analyze wastewater to help them get a big-picture look at where the virus may be spreading. The CDC describes current wastewater levels as “low” nationwide, but higher levels are being found in Florida, Utah, California and Hawaii.

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The U.S. Center for SafeSport has released its 2023 annual report. The center points to an ever-growing surge in abuse reports and the impact of inflation in claiming it needs a 40% increase in funding. CEO Ju’Riese Colon said the center needed an additional $10 million each year on top of its $24.8 million in revenues from 2023. The center opened in 2017 to manage sex-abuse cases in Olympic sports. It received 7,533 reports in 2023, which marked a 32% increase over the previous year. The report said that since 2020, the center has seen a 100% increase in reports while spending power has decreased by 17%.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland says federal officials are investigating a weekend demonstration against the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza that spiraled into violence outside a Los Angeles synagogue. Fighting between pro-Palestinian demonstrators and counterprotesters erupted Sunday outside the Adas Torah synagogue in the heavily Jewish Pico-Robertson neighborhood and police were called in to break it up. One person was arrested and police say their investigation is ongoing. Garland says the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California are collecting evidence.

As COVID-19 bubbles up in some parts of the country, health officials are setting course for a fall vaccination campaign. An influential government advisory panel on Thursday recommended a new round of shots for all Americans this fall. Officials acknowledge that the need for vaccinations is not as dire as it was only a few years ago. Most Americans have some degree of immunity. COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations last month were at about their lowest point since the pandemic first hit the United States in 2020. But immunity wanes and new coronavirus variants keep emerging. There are still hundreds of COVID-19-associated deaths and thousands of hospitalizations reported each week.

Two task forces charged with proposing ways to combat anti-Muslim, anti-Arab and antisemitism at Harvard University have delivered their preliminary recommendations to the school’s interim president. School officials say the recommendations issued Wednesday focus on more than a dozen areas needing quick action. The recommendations follow a tough academic year for the university. That included the resignation of Harvard president Claudine Gay following her congressional testimony on antisemitism and the formation of pro-Palestinian encampments on campus. The task forces reported to interim president Alan Garber that there's a perception that the university has fallen short of its stated values.

European Union leaders agree on top officials who will be the face of trading bloc in coming years, EU presidency says.

Federal prosecutors said they are willing to disclose whether they used a controversial surveillance program to foil a Florida neo-Nazi leader’s alleged plot to attack Baltimore’s power grid last year, but will only do so in secret, during a classified meeting with the judge handling the case.

A California law that bans drilling new oil wells near places like homes and schools will likely take effect in the coming days. California lawmamkers passed the law back in 2022. But it never took effect because the California Independent Petroleum Association gathered en ough signatures to place a referendum on the ballot asking voters to overturn it. Wednesday, the association announced it would withdraw the referendum from the ballot. Instead, they plan to file a lawsuit asking a judge to block the law. The law would go into effect five days after the referendum is withdrawn.

Public officials in New Orleans are praising the memory of Jaquelyn Brechtel “Jackie” Clarkson — a former Louisiana legislator and three-term New Orleans City Council member who died this week at age 88. Mayor LaToya Cantrell and City Council President Helena Moreno and members of the Louisiana congressional delegation are among those who praised Clarkson. They noted Clarkson's support of the New Orleans Recreation Department and her preservation efforts for the city's French Quarter as among her accomplishments. She died Wednesday. Clarkson was the mother of Academy Award-nominated actor Patricia Clarkson.

Former Arkansas state legislator Joyce Elliott has undergone surgery after experiencing a stroke. Elliott's family on Thursday said she experienced the stroke in Dallas, Texas, and has since been transferred to Little Rock. Her family said they expected her to begin a rehabilitation program as soon as she is able. Elliott served in the state House and Senate and was the Democratic Party's nominee for the 2nd Congressional District in 2010 and 2020. She is the executive director of Get Loud Arkansas, a group that mobilizes and registers voters. She is 73.

The Alaska Supreme Court is weighing a case that challenges as unconstitutional laws that have allowed families with children in home-study programs to use public money for education-related expenses at private schools. The court heard arguments Thursday in Anchorage. That came more than two months after a lower court judge sided with a group of parents and teachers who brought the challenge. The case centers on provisions of state law passed a decade ago. Those provisions have allowed families with children in correspondence school programs to receive thousands of dollars a year in reimbursem*nts for instruction-related costs.

LAWRENCE, Kan. — University of Kansas freshman Johnny Furphy was selected in the second round of the 2024 NBA draft by the Indiana Pacers on Thursday.

Prosecutors have charged a second inmate in connection with a fight that left a counselor at Wisconsin's youth prison brain-dead. Seventeen-year-old Rian Nyblom was charged Thursday in Lincoln County Circuit Court with being a party to felony murder-battery and being a party to battery by a prisoner in connection with Monday's fight at Lincoln Hills-Copper Lake Schools. According to court documents, a 16-year-old inmate threw conditioner at a counselor, punched her, and then punched counselor Corey Proulx, who fell and hit his head on concrete. Proulex was declared brain dead Tuesday. According to a criminal complaint, Nyblom gave the 16-year-old the conditioner knowing he planned to attack the first counselor. Nyblom's attorney didn't immediately return a message.

ATLANTA — As Atlanta faces the daunting and expensive task of updating its aging water system, a new influx of cash is coming to help — and it’s from a surprising source.

LOS ANGELES — The NFL suffered a huge setback Thursday and was ordered to pay about $4.7 billion in damages for violating antitrust law in a class-action suit over pricing of DirecTV’s “Sunday Ticket” packages.

A small Texas university has gone to court to object to the $2.77 billion settlement proposal that would erase a set of antitrust claims against the NCAA and the nation’s largest conferences and clear the way for schools to begin steering millions of dollars directly to athletes as soon as fall 2025. Houston Christian filed its motion in federal court in California, arguing the settlement would divert funds from academics and marginalized and underserved populations as well as putting big-money college sports the over the needs of non-athlete students.

Hundreds of ultra-Orthodox Jewish men have blocked a major highway in central Israel for two hours. They're protesting a recent decision by the country's high court ordering young religious men to enlist for military service. Protesters sat on the highway Thursday and lay on the ground as police dragged them away. Officers mounted on horseback charged into the crowd. Many demonstrators held signs and chanted “To prison! Not to the army!” It's compulsory for most Jewish men and women to do military service in Israel. But politically powerful ultra-Orthodox parties have won exemptions that allow their followers to study at religious seminaries instead. The broader public resents this, especially now during the eight-month war against Hamas in Gaza.

DENVER — Xcel Energy plans to ramp up its Colorado wildfire mitigation plan by increasing weather awareness and preemptive power shut-offs, investing in new equipment and adding customer support systems, according to a proposal submitted today. But these upgrades come with a price tag for cu…

BALTIMORE — One week after she began serving home detention, former Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby is seeking permission to travel for a paid speaking gig in New Orleans that will help advance her consulting company, her lawyer wrote in a new court filing.

Jason Day will finally make it to an Olympics while a brother-and-sister combination are two of the other three golfers set to play for Australia at the Paris Games. Day was ranked world No. 1 in 2016 when he decided not to play at the Rio Olympics, saying he was concerned about going to Brazil with the Zika virus spreading while his wife was pregnant. The Australian Olympic Committee said Friday that Min Woo Lee would join Day on the men’s team while Minjee Lee and Hannah Green will form the women’s team. The two Lees are brother and sister.

CHESAPEAKE, Va. — It’s been mostly business as usual in the days leading up to former President Donald Trump’s expected appearance, but city officials say the event could bring thousands to the area and they anticipate road closures and heavy traffic Friday, and Sentara Healthcare announced …

Firefighters in Connecticut are seeking millions from 3M, DuPont and other companies for being exposed to toxic levels of "forever chemicals" in firefighting gear.

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin underwent hip replacement surgery in Oak Brook on Thursday, according to a statement from his office.

BOSTON — The man accused of raping a child at an immigrant shelter in Rockland has been released on $500 bail ahead of ICE agents who wanted to take him into custody for possible deportation.

Dr. Jennifer "Jen" Ashton is hanging up her stethoscope after 13 years with "Good Morning America" and ABC News.

LOS ANGELES — Just when you thought Mexico’s soccer team couldn’t sink any lower, El Tri takes out a shovel and tunnels a little deeper.

After being left in the NBA draft green room Wednesday night at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center while going undrafted in the first round, Duke’s Kyle Filipowski finally heard his name called on Thursday in lower Manhattan.

Former President Donald Trump took to his own social media platform ahead of Thursday night’s debate, posting an ad attacking President Joe Biden as well as a text document that appears to highlight several of his own talking points on climate change.

CHICAGO — After nearly quadrupling in just three years, Chicago’s hate crime levels remain high, city leaders said Thursday.

BASEBALL

Jury rules NFL violated antitrust laws in 'Sunday Ticket' case, awards nearly $4.7 billion in damages.

ATLANTA — The Hawks have a second-round pick after all.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — North Carolina has officially entered a flash drought, with more than half of the state classified as in moderate drought, according to the N.C. Drought Management Advisory Council.

The North Carolina House on Thursday passed a constitutional amendment that, if ratified, would remove the Jim-Crow era literacy test for voting from the state constitution.

Abortion-rights supporters are going to court to try to overturn Michigan’s longtime ban on taxpayer-funded abortions for low-income residents. They're arguing that the ban can't stand after voters in 2022 approved a sweeping constitutional amendment that ensures access to abortion. Michigan’s Medicaid program pays for childbirth, birth control and sterilization, but not abortion. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of YWCA Kalamazoo, which pays for abortions sought by women in the Medicaid program. The anti-abortion group Right to Life of Michigan criticized the lawsuit, saying abortion-rights supporters are trying to sidestep the Legislature's authority.

Researchers say doctors are prescribing antibiotics to most kids and teens who have pink eye, despite guidelines that discourage their use. In a study published Thursday, more than two-thirds of children who saw a doctor for pink eye left with a prescription for antibiotic eye drops. Pink eye usually clears up on its own, and antibiotics don't work against viruses, the most common cause of an infection. Pink eye causes red, swollen and sometimes itchy eyes. Often, a chilled, wet towel and artificial tears are enough to ease symptoms.

Oklahoma's top education official is ordering public schools to incorporate the Bible into lessons for grades 5 through 12. State Superintendent Ryan Walters issued a memo Thursday to school superintendents across the state. The directive is the latest effort by conservatives to incorporate religion into the classroom. Walters said in the memo that his mandate is compulsory and “immediate and strict compliance is expected.” Walters was elected in 2022. He has embraced culture-war issues and fighting what he says is “woke ideology” in public schools as a central theme of his administration. His directive faced immediate backlash from civil rights groups and others.

Mexico’s incoming President Claudia Sheinbaum has announced five more members of her future cabinet. Luz Elena González, an expert in sustainable development and finance, will be the secretary of energy. Renowned researcher David Kershenobich will be the next secretary of health and Jesús Antonio Esteva Medina will lead communications and transportation. Last week, Sheinbaum presented six other members of her cabinet, maintaining her commitment to an even gender distribution, as well as a heavy presence from academia and her prior administration as Mexico City’s mayor.