Things to Do in L.A. Tap to enable a layout that focuses on the article. Dana Williamson, Gov. Gavin Newsom's former chief of staff, leaves the Robert T. Matsui United States Courthouse in Sacramento after being arrested in a federal public corruption probe involving multiple counts of bank and wire fraud on Wednesday. This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here . Newsom's former chief of staff and two political operatives face federal corruption charges for fraud, including misusing campaign funds for luxury purchases.

NBA stars, mobsters, and marks with fat wallets are all part of an alleged ring of rigged poker games. Here's how these games are assembled, who attends, and how the purported cheating happens. Former NBA player and Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups (center) exits the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse after his arraignment on October 23, 2025, in Portland, Oregon. To the uninitiated, the arrests of Chauncey Billups and Damon Jones last week for allegations of involvement in rigged illegal poker games may have appeared like an unusual collision of worlds. How could prosecutors claim that former NBA players (one a current coach), professional gamblers, and even mafia members all ended up rubbing elbows as part of the same high-tech cheating scheme that allegedly began in 2019 and ran for several years?

WIRED recently demonstrated how to cheat at poker by hacking the Deckmate 2 card shufflers used in casinos. The mob was allegedly using the same trick to fleece victims for millions. Security researcher Joseph Tartaro demonstrates how he can insert a hacking device into a USB on the back of the shuffler that alters its code, then transmits the deck's order via Bluetooth to a phone app. The Deckmate 2 automatic card shufflers used in casinos, cardhouses, and high-end private poker games around the world are designed to shuffle a deck in seconds with perfect, computer-generated randomness, vastly speeding up play. They're also, amazingly, sold with a camera inside that can observe every card in the deck before it's dealt--a fact that's become very convenient for poker-cheating hackers and, allegedly, members of the Cosa Nostra mafia.

In the indictment, prosecutors claim Tyler Robinson planned Kirk's killing in advance, citing rooftop surveillance, engraved bullets, and a written note as they seek the death penalty. A TV monitor displays a picture of Tyler Robinson, a suspect in the killing of Charlie Kirk in Orem, Utah. Utah County prosecutors on Tuesday charged Tyler Robinson in the shooting death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University, a murder officials say was politically motivated. They intend to seek the death penalty. Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray announced the indictment at a midday news conference, listing charges of aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury, and commission of a violent offense in the presence of a child.

Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com. A California man was federally charged for allegedly scamming more than 2 million from people over popular dating apps by posing as someone who was "financially successful and knowledgeable about investments," prosecutors said. Christopher Earl Lloyd, 39, of Whittier, is now facing a 14-count federal indictment in connection with the alleged scheme he carried out for nearly three years on dating apps such as Tinder, Hinge and Bumble, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Central District of California. "According to the indictment that a federal grand jury returned on July 2, from April 2021 to February 2024, Lloyd used dating apps and websites to befriend and engage in romantic relationships with his victims. Lloyd lied to his victims to give them the impression that he was financially successful and knowledgeable about investments," the Attorney's Office said.

Jim Harbaugh joins Colin Cowherd to discuss the culture he's created with the Los Angeles Chargers, Justin Herbert's mentality and the'dog-eat-dog' chaos of the AFC West. Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh was added Friday to a lawsuit against his former employer, the University of Michigan, and a former assistant football coach accused of hacking into computer systems to acquire photos of college athletes. Attorneys claim Harbaugh allowed Matt Weiss to continue working as co-offensive coordinator in a national playoff game after Weiss was seen viewing private information on a computer in December 2022. "The university's delay in taking meaningful protective action until after a high-stakes game sends a clear message: Student welfare was secondary," said Parker Stinar, the lead lawyer in a class-action lawsuit arising from a criminal investigation of Weiss. "Had Harbaugh implemented basic oversight of his staff, plaintiffs and the class would have been protected against predators such as Weiss," the updated lawsuit states.

William Phelps was at work when he got the call from the FBI that he had to return home at once. It was December 2023 and his wife, Aurora Phelps, was in big trouble, something to do with a fraud scheme. About a dozen agents turned his apartment upside down looking for evidence in their case, and William Phelps wouldn't see his wife again. That is, until this week, when William came to learn the scope of the allegations against his wife. According to federal prosecutors, Aurora was the perpetrator of a deadly romance scam, connecting with older men on the internet, then drugging them and stealing from their bank accounts.

In hundreds of videos since taken down by YouTube, right-wing influencers working for Tenet Media--a company the US Department of Justice alleges was financed and guided by a state-backed Russian news network--showed interest in a highly specific set of topics, according to a WIRED analysis. Using closed captioning of the videos we downloaded before the videos were removed, we've compiled lists of terms frequently mentioned in them, along with a searchable database: The content of these videos was described by prosecutors as "consistent" with Russia's aim of sowing political discord in the US. Among the areas covered: free speech, illegal immigrants, diversity in video games, supposed racism toward white people, and Elon Musk. While an indictment unsealed earlier this week does not name Tenet, WIRED and other outlets were able to identify it because prosecutors gave its motto as that of a business identified as "U.S. Company-1." Prosecutors allege that two employees of the state-backed Russian network RT, Kostiantyn Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyeva, who are charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act, paid Tenet and its parent company 9.7 million to produce and distribute videos supporting Russian aims.

A North Carolina man is facing fraud charges after allegedly uploading hundreds of thousands of AI-generated songs to streaming services and using bots to play them billions of times. Michael Smith is said to have received over 10 million in royalties since 2017 via the scheme. Smith, 52, was arrested on Wednesday. An indictment [PDF] that was unsealed the same day accuses him of using the bots to steal royalty payments from platforms including Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music. Smith has been charged with wire fraud conspiracy, wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy.

Police seized ketamine hidden inside life-size Transformer robots in Thailand. A woman who was previously caught trying to ship meth hidden in a food processing machine was trying to send the robots to Taiwan. Thai prosecutors said Wednesday former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra will be indicted for defaming the monarchy, three months after he was freed on parole on other charges. Thaksin will not yet be indicted because he had filed a request to postpone his original appointment on Wednesday with proof that he has COVID-19, Prayuth Bejraguna, a spokesperson for the Office of the Attorney General, said at a news conference. The attorney general's office scheduled a new appointment for Thaksin's indictment on June 18, Prayuth said, adding that Thaksin will also be indicted for violating the Computer Crime Act.