UR MAG

Jalen Smith, 30, of Charlotte, was the first of 26 defendants to admit criminal wrongdoing, entering his plea on Monday, March 9, at a hearing in Philadelphia.

Smith was a "fixer" who recruited players "to underperform and help ensure their team failed to cover the spread in games during the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 NCAA men's basketball seasons," federal prosecutors said in a statement.

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Smith was one of the primary figures in the operation, responsible for "recruiting, managing, and paying players for their roles," according to the statement.

Former Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley was suspended in 2022 after the NFL determined he had placed bets on games the season prior. Ridley played in only five games during the 2021 season, citing mental health issues. During Ridley's time away, Ridley acknowledged he bet on NFL games for a total of $1,500. He was reinstated in the league in 2023 and was traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Ippei Mizuhara, left, Shohei Ohtani's former longtime interpreter and confidant, was sentenced to 57 months in federal prison in 2025 after stealing nearly $17 million from baseball's two-way global superstar to pay off sports gambling debts. Mizuhara, 40, utilized his proximity to Ohtani's personal information and his role tending to many of the superstar's off-field affairs to siphon funds from accounts and, as prosecutors allege, impersonate Ohtani in bank communications.

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Betting scandals that have shaken up every major sports league over the century

Former Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley wassuspended in 2022after the NFL determined he had placed bets on games the season prior. Ridley played in only five games during the 2021 season,citing mental health issues. During Ridley's time away,Ridley acknowledged he bet on NFL games for a total of $1,500. He was reinstated in the league in 2023 and wastraded to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Theoperation involved 39 playersonmore than 17 Division I teamsfrom 2022-2025, with bettors wagering millions of dollars on at least 29 different games,according to the original indictment in January. Payments to players ranged from $10,000 to $30,000 per game.

The fraud charges carry a maximum sentence of up to 20 years. The bribery charges have a maximum sentence of five years. Smith also pleaded guilty to illegal possession of a firearm.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:College basketball point-shaving 'fixer' enters guilty plea

APTOPIX Vatican Pope

Bishop Emanuel Shaleta pleaded not guilty to 17 felony charges during his arraignment in court in California on Monday. Many of his supporters were present.

Shaleta is accused of embezzling $270,000 from the St. Peter Chaldean Catholic Cathedral in El Cajon.

Shaleta was detained March 5 at the San Diego International Airport, attempting to leave the country, and jailed, the San Diego County Sheriff's office had said. The office said it acted after someone from Shaleta's church provided a statement and documentation "showing potential embezzlement from the church."

The judge set bail at $125,000. Prosecutor Joel Madero said Shaleta was a flight risk, but his attorney said the flight was pre-planned.

During a recent Mass, Shaleta addressed allegations against him, saying he has never "abused any penny of the church money."

"On the contrary, I have done my best to preserve and manage the donations of the church properly," he said at the time.

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Shaleta's lawyer, Sharon Appelbaum, said she planned on showing that the allegations were false. The priests of the Chaldean Catholic Eparchy of St. Peter the Apostle released a statement in solidarity with Shaleta.

Madero, the prosecutor, said the allegations against Shaleta are connected to monthly rental payments of over $30,000 from a tenant of the church's social hall that allegedly were missing. He said there were discrepancies in church accounts. He said Shaleta "provided completely unreasonable tales of where that money was going" and could not give proof of where it went.

The Vatican said in its daily bulletin Tuesday that Leo had accepted Shaleta's resignation under the code of canon law for Eastern Rite churches, which allows for the pope to agree if a bishop asks to step down.

Leo actually accepted the resignation when Shaleta presented it in February, but an announcement was not made until Tuesday, according to the Vatican embassy in Washington. The Holy See appears to have waited to announce the decision to avoid interfering with the police investigation.

Leo named Bishop Saad Hanna Sirop as a temporary administrator.

Shaleta, 69, was ordained a priest of the Chaldean Catholic Church in Detroit in 1984. He was named to the San Diego branch of the Eastern Rite Catholic Church in the U.S. in 2017.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP'scollaborationwith The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Israel attacked oil depots on Sunday, igniting huge fires that smothered Tehran in thick, choking smoke, amid what residents have said is the heaviest bombing of the war so far.

Residents in the capital told ABC News the streets were quiet on Monday, with many people having left or else sheltering indoors fearful of airstrikes. The toxic smoke from the oil depot fire had dissipated somewhat because of rain, they said, but still lingered. There were many checkpoints set up by government forces and a heavy security presence around the city.

ABC News is not identifying the people by their real names over concerns they could face retaliation.

"The city is almost emptied out. Shops are open hoping against hope for customers. But many have left Tehran," a man, who ABC News is calling Amir, said Monday. "It's mostly silence unless there's an attack."

An internet blackout imposed by the regime makes it difficult to communicate with people inside Iran, but some people are succeeding, connecting for a few hours by Starlink and VPNs.

Golshan Fathi wrote on social media that bakeries are packed and that the city was still feeling the effects of the huge oil depot fire.

"The air is heavy," she wrote. "Tehran smells of smoke, of metal and fuel and a city trapped under a giant glass dome. The streets are emptier than ever, but the city isn't calm. In cities gripped by fear, calm is just a façade."

Iranians were also digesting the announcement of Mojtaba Khamenei as the successor to his late father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the opening day of the strikes by Israel and the U.S. A group of senior Iranian officials and clerics, called the Council of Experts, said it had voted to select Mojtaba, who is seen as a hard-line figure. He is likely to continue his father's unyielding approach.

MORE: What to know about Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran's next supreme leader

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The residents who spoke to ABC News are among the educated, middle class. They have been critical of the government and expressed shock at Mojtaba's appointment, saying they feared it meant a compromise to end the war was less likely and that the regime may act more violently inside Iran.

Amir said his more liberal circle felt caught between the regime and the war unleashed by the U.S. and Israel.

"Most of us feel entrapped between an oppressive regime and warmonger nutters in Israel and the U.S. It's all very tiring for our agency, our lives," Amir said. "The hardliners have succeeded in implanting their guy mostly because at the time of war civil society is sidelined. It's frustrating."

Thousands of Iranians on Monday gathered for rallies in different cities to celebrate the new supreme leader's appointment. Most observers say the regime retains a hardcore base of conservative, religious supporters, despite the large-scale protests that shook the country in January. Those protests were crushed in a crackdown by security forces that killed thousands, according to rights groups.

Signs and posters cheering Mojtaba's appointment have gone up around Tehran, according to Fathi. "The military presence is much more visible than in previous days; plainclothes agents, Basij [paramilitary] forces, and anti-riot units are stationed at key points," she wrote.

MORE: What a 2nd week of war could mean for Iran

More than a thousand people have been killed in Iran since the U.S. and Israel began bombing on Feb. 28, according to Iranian officials. Over 160 schoolgirls were killed in a missile strike that hit a school in the southern city of Minab, according to local authorities. Multiple media investigations, including by The New York Times and Reuters, have suggested the U.S. military was responsible for the strike, although President Donald Trump has sought to blame Iran.

Other Iranians who spoke to ABC News expressed clear support for the American-Israeli war and the strikes, which have also targeted key institutions of repression, including prisons and security service headquarters.

"Everyone in Iran rejoiced over Khamenei's death, especially families whose children were killed in protests in the last two months," one woman, who asked to use the alias B16, told ABC News. She said she was "very happy about this war and the attacks by America and Israel," seeing it as a "hope for freedom from the evil of the Islamic Republic."

Some Iranians said their fear now is that the war could devastate the country but still leave the regime intact and more violent toward dissent.

"I think mostly people are worried about a failed state situation, that infrastructure is gone and the regime is in place," said Mehdi Yahyanejad, an activist based in the U.S. who has worked to set up technologies to help Iranians evade government censorship. "That would be the worst combination if it happens."

Canada US Consulate Gunfire

No injuries have been reported.

Toronto police said they responded to reports at around 5:30 a.m. that someone shot a gun at the U.S. consulate.

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In a post on social media, police said they were at the scene near University Avenue and Queen Street West.

"Evidence of a firearm discharge has been located," police said in the post.

No suspect information has been released.

The reported shooting comes after two Toronto-area synagogues were struck by gunfire last weekend.

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"Dario ‌has a very good relationship with the president, one of great trust... He is ‌a great ​public administrator," ​said ​Haddad, who had ‌previously announced he ​would ​step down ahead of Brazil's general ​elections ‌in October.

(Reporting by Isabel ​Teles; Editing by ​Gabriel Araujo)