Fox, Dominion reach $787M settlement over election claims

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Fox and Dominion Voting Systems have reached a $787 million settlement in the voting machine company’s defamation lawsuit. The agreement averts a trial in a case that exposed how the top-rated network chased viewers by promoting lies about the 2020 presidential election. Dominion lawyer Justin Nelson said the deal shows that truth matters and lies have consequences. Dominion had asked for $1.6 billion in arguing that Fox had damaged its reputation by helping peddle phony conspiracy theories about its equipment switching votes from former President Donald Trump to Democrat Joe Biden.

Ralph Yarl shedding ‘buckets of tears,’ shooter in custody

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — As 16-year-old Ralph Yarl struggles to come to grips with being shot for going to the wrong house to pick up his younger brothers, the white Kansas City, Missouri homeowner who shot the Black teenager is now in custody. Eighty-four-year-old Andrew Lester surrendered Tuesday at the Clay County Detention Center Tuesday, a day after being charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action. Meanwhile, Yarl is home recovering from his wounds. His mother, Cleo Nagbe, told “CBS Mornings” co-host Gayle King that Yarl is doing “considerably well,” but “mostly he just sits there and stares and the buckets of tears just rolls down his eyes.”

‘Like an earthquake’: Parking garage falls in NYC, killing 1

NEW YORK (AP) — Mayor Eric Adams says one person has been killed in the collapse of a parking garage in lower Manhattan’s Financial District. Five people have been injured. The collapse happened around 4 p.m. Tuesday at a building a few blocks from the Brooklyn Bridge. Bystander video showed cars hanging precariously from a buckled upper deck. People nearby described a fearsome rumbling, followed by screams. Acting Buildings Commissioner Kazimir Vilenchik says the garage is “pancaked” and collapsed all the way to the cellar floor. Officials say one worker was trapped on an upper floor and was rescued via a neighboring roof.

US charges 4 Americans, 3 Russians in election discord case

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Four Americans affiliated with a Black empowerment and political organization have been charged along with three Russians with conspiring to covertly sow discord in U.S. society, spread Russian propaganda and interfere in U.S. elections. An indictment unsealed Tuesday adds the new defendants to an existing case in Tampa, Florida, federal court involving Aleksandr Ionov, described by prosecutors as the founder of a Moscow-based organization funded by the Russian government to carry out an influence campaign in the U.S. The four Americans are all part of the African People’s Socialist Party and Uhuru Movement, which has locations in St. Petersburg, Florida, and St. Louis.

Republicans object to replacing Feinstein on Judiciary panel

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans have blocked a Democratic request to temporarily replace California Sen. Dianne Feinstein on the Senate Judiciary Committee, leaving Democrats with few options for moving some of President Joe Biden’s stalled judicial nominees. South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, objected Tuesday to a resolution offered by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer that would have allowed another senator to take Democrat Feinstein’s place on the panel while she recuperates from a case of shingles. She has been absent since February and her office has given no date for her return.

Coroner: Aaron Carter drowned in tub due to drug, inhalant

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A coroner’s report says singer and rapper Aaron Carter accidentally drowned in his bathtub due to sedatives he’d taken and gas used in spray cleaners that he had inhaled. Carter, the younger brother of the Backstreet Boys’ Nick Carter, was found submerged and dead in the bathtub of his home in Lancaster, California, on Nov. 5. According to the autopsy report from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, a medical sedative was found in his system, as was a compressed gas that the coroner says is commonly used as a propellant in air spray cleaners. The report says the gas “can induce feelings of euphoria when inhaled.”

Oklahoma sheriff says recording of killing talk was illegal

An Oklahoma sheriff’s office says the recording in which the sheriff and others are reportedly heard discussing killing two journalists was illegal and predicted felony charges will be filed. A post on the sheriff’s office Facebook page is the first public statement since the comments by Sheriff Kevin Clardy and others were reported by the McCurtain Gazette-News. It doesn’t address the recorded comments about killing journalists and hanging Black people, but says the recording was illegal and alleges the audio was altered. McCurtain Gazette-News publisher Bruce Willingham says the recording was made March 6 because he suspected county business was being conducted in violation of the state’s Open Meeting Act and he spoke with attorneys to be sure he was doing nothing illegal.

Restored Tennessee Rep. Pearson charts progressive path

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee Rep. Justin Pearson never guessed he’d be expelled for leading a gun control protest on the House floor after a school shooting left three children and three adults dead. Nor did he predict he’d be propelled into the national spotlight, placing Tennessee at the forefront of the conversation on gun regulations. Involved in activism since his teens, Pearson says he’s now focused on achieving gun control legislation in what’s likely the last week of the legislative session. Then, Democrats have to decide how to allocate campaign donations and manage the kind of attention that has eluded them for years.

Littlest intruder: Toddler crawls through White House fence

WASHINGTON (AP) — A curious toddler on Tuesday earned the title of one of the tiniest White House intruders after he squeezed through the metal fencing on the north side of the executive mansion. U.S. Secret Service Uniformed Division officers, who are responsible for security at the White House, walked across the North Lawn to retrieve the tot and reunite him with his parents on Pennsylvania Avenue. Access to the complex was briefly restricted while officers conducted the reunification. Officers questioned the parents before allowing them to continue on their way. It may be the first successful intrusion onto the complex since the White House fence was doubled in height to roughly 13 feet (3.96-meters) after a series of security breaches over the last several years.

Damar Hamlin cleared to play, 4 months after cardiac arrest

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin took to the podium and declared he’s ready to resume his football career some four months after going into cardiac arrest and having to be resuscitated on the field during a game. Hamlin says his “heart is still in the game,” and adds that what happened on the field in Cincinnati isn’t the end of his story. He spoke after participating in the team’s voluntary workout program on Tuesday. Bills general manager Brandon Beane says Hamlin was cleared to play after meeting with a third and final specialist on Friday. The second-year player from the Pittsburgh area collapsed on the field after making what appeared to be a routine tackle in a Jan. 2 game against the Bengals.

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