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Stanford Protest Trial

The jury voted 9 to 3 to convict on a felony charge of vandalism and 8 to 4 to convict on a felony charge of conspiracy to trespass. After deliberating for five days, jurors said they could not reach a verdict.

Judge Hanley Chew asked each one if more time deliberating would help break the impasse, and all answered, "No."

"It appears that this jury is hopelessly deadlocked, and I'm now declaring a mistrial in counts one and two," Chen said. He then dismissed the jurors.

Demonstrators barricaded themselves inside the offices forseveral hours on June 5, 2024, the last day of spring classes at the university.

Thetrial in Santa Clara Countywas a rare instance of demonstrators facing felony charges from protests over the Israel-Hamas war that roiled campuses across the country. The two sides argued over free speech, lawful dissent and crime during the three-week trial.

Prosecutors said the defendants spray-painted the building, broke windows and furniture, disabled security cameras and splattered a red liquid described as fake blood on items throughout the offices.

Defense attorneys said the protest was protected speech and there was insufficient evidence of an intent to damage the property. They also said the students wore protective gear and barricaded the offices out of fear of being injured by police and campus security.

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If convicted, the defendants would have faced up to three years in prison and been obligated to pay restitution of over $300,000.

Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen said he would pursue a new trial.

"This case is about a group of people who destroyed someone else's property and caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage," Rosen said in a statement. "That is against the law and that is why we will retry the case."

Authorities initially arrested and charged 12 people in the case, but one pleaded no contest under an agreement that allows some young people to have their cases dismissed and records sealed if they successfully complete probation.

He testified for the prosecution, leading to a grand juryindictment of the others in Octoberof the others. Six of those accepted pretrial plea deals or diversion programs, and the remaining five pleaded not guilty and sought a jury trial.

Protests sprung up oncampuses across the countryover the Israel-Hamas conflict, with students setting up camps and demanding their universitiesstop doing businesswith Israel or companies that support its war effortsagainst Hamas.

About 3,200 people were arrested in 2024 nationwide. While some colleges ended demonstrations bystriking dealswith students or simply waited them out, others called in police. Most criminal charges were ultimately dismissed.

This story has been updated to correct the jury counts on the two charges.

NEED TO KNOW

• Products were distributed to foodservice clients, not retail stores, 28 states

• No injuries reported, but plastic fragments pose a choking risk

A recall of frozen tater tots over concerns about plastic contamination has expanded significantly, with federal officials now reporting that roughly 648,000 pounds of product are affected.

According to anupdated noticefrom the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued Tuesday, Feb. 10, the recall now includes more than 21,600 30-pound cases of bulk tater tots produced by McCain Foods in Idaho. The expanded action builds on anearlier voluntary recallannounced in January involving Ore-Ida Tater Tots and Sysco Imperial Potato Tater Barrels.

The FDA said the products may contain "clear, hard plastic fragments," which could pose choking hazards or cause mouth and throat injuries if consumed. So far, the agency has not reported any confirmed injuries linked to the recalled items.

MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty

Notably, the FDA clarified in its updated report that the affected products were distributed primarily to food service clients and were not sold in retail grocery stores, limiting potential exposure to the general public.

The newly expanded recall list includes 21,557 cases of Ore-Ida Tater Tots Shaped Potatoes (Item No. OIF00215A), packaged in clear, unlabeled poly bags containing six 5-pound bags per case, for a total net weight of 30 pounds per case. The UPC is 1 00 72714 00215 8. Additional batch codes now included are 1005475084, 1005476076, 1005477012 and 1005498350, with expanded use-by dates of E 20271006, E 20271007, E 20271008 and E 20271103.

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The updated recall also newly includes 67 cases of Sonic Tots (Item No. SON00543), also packaged in clear, unlabeled poly bags (six five-pound bags), with a 30-pound net weight per case. The UPC is 0 00 72714 00543 5, with batch code 1005486334 and production code B 292 / 5.

In total, the FDA said the products were distributed to vendors in 28 states, including Alaska, Arkansas, Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin.

Consumers or institutions seeking more information can visit the FDA's recall page or contact McCain Foods' customer service at 1 (877) 804-6198 for guidance on refunds or disposal.

The FDA continues to classify the recall as a Class II event, meaning exposure to the product may cause temporary or medically reversible health consequences, with the probability of serious adverse health effects considered unlikely.

Read the original article onPeople

Food Aid-SNAP

San Francisco-based U.S. District Judge Maxine Chesney last yearblocked the U.S. Department of Agriculturefrom requiring states to provide the data, including on the immigration status of people who receive benefits and applicants, after 22 states sued over the policy.

The department kept pushing for it, telling states in December thatit would stop paying state administrative costsfor the program if they didn't comply. It also issued new protocols for securing the data, which the states rejected.

The federal government said the previous ruling did not apply to its latest demands.

Chesney said during a hearing Friday that she intends to issue an order that says the federal government cannot act on its letters to the states from last year.

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The Trump administration contends that the information is needed to stamp outfraud and waste, which it asserts is a major problem in the nation's biggest food aid program.

The states argued that the Agriculture Department could share the data with immigration enforcement authorities, which they say would be illegal.

SNAP is a major part of the U.S. social safety net, helping about 42 million Americans, about 1 in 8, buy groceries. People in the country illegally are not eligible for benefits.

Most states, including one that sued — Nevada — have complied with the federal government's request. Kansas has not complied, but also has not joined the lawsuit. All the states involved in the lawsuit, besides Nevada, have Democratic governors.

The administration has not released detailed information on the data submitted by states, but says it shows higher levels of fraud than previously believed.

The battle over SNAP records is one of several areas where the administration has sought tocut off some federal fundingto states led by Democrats, often in the name of preventing fraud.

Tipping off the festivities on Friday is the time-honored fan favorite NBA All-Star Celebrity Game, where novice players with varying levels of fame — and athletic ability — face off against each other. Public personas in past editions of the games have ranged from actors and musicians to retired athletes, to politicians.

So, who will be playing in this year's Celebrity All-Star Game, and how can you watch? Here is everything you need to know.

Oct. 26: The Brooklyn Nets' Michael Porter Jr. dunks in front of the San Antonio Spurs' Victor Wembanyama at Frost Bank Center.

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Dribble into this collection of dunk photos as NBA stars posterize opponents

When is the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game?

• When: Friday, Feb. 13, 7 p.m. ET

• Where: Kia Forum (Inglewood, California)

• Channel: ESPN

• Streaming: ESPN App, ESPN+, Fubo

Who is playing in the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game?

The All-Star Celebrity Game rosters are headlined by actor and comedian Keegan-Michael Key, actor Simu Liu, rapper GloRilla, "Love Island USA" star Nicolas Vansteenberghe, Grammy-award winning producer and LA native Mustard and ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania.

Also in the mix are current professional athletes such asDetroit Lionswide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown andLos Angeles Chargerswide receiver Keenan Allen alongside retired legends such as Jason "White Chocolate" Williams and two-time FIFA World Cup champion Cazzu.

The teams will be coached by the Antetokounmpo brothers,Los Angeles Dodgersshortstop Mookie Betts, Anthony Anderson, Lethal Shooter and NBA player development trainer Chris Brickley.

You can find the full rosters and coaches for the Celebrity Gamehere.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:How to watch NBA All-Star Celebrity Game tonight: TV channel, streaming

The Big Ten reportedly shared an internal document detailing how it sees a 24-team CFP playing out with the conference's athletic directors and head coaches. ESPN also received a copy of the document, reporting on the details.

The document, which the conference is referring to as the "24 team CFP Format Compromise," wants to see the CFP expand to 16 teams for 2027 and 2028 and to 24 teams no later than the 2029 season.

The Southeastern Conference reportedly was willing to grow the field to 16 teams for the upcoming season, but the Big Ten would only agree if the SEC agreed to a future 24-team playoff in the near future -- which the SEC refused to do.

In the proposed 16-team format, there would be five automatic bids and 11 at-large spots. The bottom four teams would play the second weekend of December, No. 13 vs. No. 16 and No. 14 vs. No. 15.

There would then be six on-campus games in the next round, with the top-two seeds earning byes to the quarterfinals held at traditional New Year's Six bowl locations on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1.

That would align with a mid-January national title game, much like it has the last few seasons. It would maintain conference championship games the first weekend of December.

Those would not remain in the proposed 24-team format, which would not have any automatic bids, according to the Big Ten's vision.

Instead of conference title games, the top eight teams would receive byes while the remaining 16 would play on-campus games, ideally the second weekend of December.

That would be followed by eight more on-campus second-round games, hosted by the eight teams who earned first-round byes.

Like the current format, quarterfinals would be played around New Year's, semifinals the following week and a mid-January national championship would follow.

The Big Ten also believes that regular-season rematches should be avoided in this 24-team format, although conference opponents who didn't face off that season could be paired up for opening-round games.

Much of the Big Ten's desire for a larger playoff stems from its belief that a larger field would allow for more room for error.

"In today's transfer portal/player movement era, teams may lose a game or two early and gel together later in the season -- more playoff opportunities late provides an appropriate safety net," the Big Ten's document said.

The debate about expansion will rage without a likely resolution in the coming months. ESPN has mandated a Dec. 1 deadline in order for the 2027 CFP format to be finalized.

--Field Level Media

He'll have to do it in a backup Chevrolet after his preferred No. 24 was damaged in a qualifying race at Daytona International Speedway.

No big deal, though: Byron won his first Daytona 500 in 2024 in a Hendrick Motorsports backup car.

"We've won this race with a backup car, so I'm not super worried on that aspect," Byron said. "But it does suck that you put a lot of work into the primary and you don't get to race it."

He will start 39th in the 41-car field in NASCAR's season opener but isn't concerned about being in the back of the pack. Byron was hardly dominant in winning the last two Daytona 500s — he led a total combined 14 laps in both victories — and his success has been rooted in being in the right place at the right time.

No driver in 67 previous Daytona 500s has won "The Great American Race" three years in a row. Richard Petty in 1975, Cale Yarborough in 1985, Sterling Marlin in 1996 and Denny Hamlin in 2021 all came up short.

"It's hard. You're going to need things to fall your way," Hamlin said of Byron's chances. "In 2021, I legit thought we were going to get (it). We led the most laps in that race, was really fast, but didn't work out on the last pit sequence.

"There's an element of fortune there that has to fall your way. Last year, he was fortunate on the last lap there, but if you put yourself in the top eight you can get fortunate at times. He puts himself in the top eight, which is what matters."

Byron came from nowhere last year — he was ninth at the start of the final lap of overtime — when a monstrous wreck in front of him allowed Byron to squeeze through and snag the win after leading all of 10 laps the entire day.

He led only four laps in 2024 — and dropped as low as 34th during the race — but again was in position to pounce when it mattered. He navigated a last-lap scramble to take the lead right before a caution flag froze the field to win under yellow.

Luck? Maybe. But it takes skill to be able to capitalize when the opportunity arises.

"It just feels like I've been, at this track in particular, able to have some things go my way and also make good decisions in those moments that I had opportunities," Byron said. "It's a mix of being in the right place and then having those chances to make good decisions."

His two-year run is a remarkable turnaround for Byron, who has only finished half of his 16 career starts at Daytona, crashing out eight times.

"I feel like for a while it was a joke; I couldn't finish a race here," Byron said. "My first six years, I couldn't finish the race, but I was always in the mix. I think it's kind of finally tipped the other way."

Byron has five career victories at drafting tracks — two at Atlanta and three at Daytona (he won the summer race in 2020). But he thinks his ability to master the draft and navigate through traffic turned in his favor at Talladega, where he has five top-five finishes.

"I feel like we've had some things go our way, and then we've been good at the speedways. Really, it started at Talladega. I think we were better at Talladega for a while," Byron said. "We weren't finishing at Daytona, and once we figured out a way to finish the races at Daytona, it seemed like it started to go the other way.

"You just try to do the best job you can, learning the little nuances of the draft. I don't think I'm the best at drafting at the moment. I think there's still more to learn."

Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick, winner of a NASCAR-record 20 Daytona 500s, doesn't believe Byron's success at Daytona has been tied solely to luck. He noted that Byron has raced for the NASCAR championship the last three years and has racked up 16 career victories in the No. 24 Chevrolet.

"I don't know if you can really luck into it. You've got to put yourself in position to do it," Hendrick said. "William is probably underestimated as a plate racer; he's one of the best out there. If you watch his way through traffic and the success he's had, not just because he's won the two Daytona's back-to-back, because he's been up there, he's just getting more mature — not mature — more seasoned."

Busch tries to end drought

Kyle Busch starts on the polefor the first time in his 21 attempts to win the Daytona 500, and at 0 for 20, his drought is the longest among active drivers in the field.

Even worse, Busch takes a 93-race losing streak into Sunday that dates to 2023, his first season driving for Richard Childress Racing. It's a frustrating drought for Busch, a two-time NASCAR champion with 63 career Cup wins.

His 10-year-old son, Brexton, a budding racer, watched his father win the pole from the family motorhome in the infield and fell back onto a couch in anxiousness after watching his dad's qualifying run. Busch said he badly wants to win for his family.

"It's been a rough stretch. It's no secret, right? Seeing my son and his passion that he has, he really, really is probably my biggest cheerleader," Busch said. "He wants to see me run well. He wants to see me win races. He wants to celebrate in victory lane like he sees other drivers' kids being able to do. So there's nothing more that drives me every single weekend than seeing him see me, be proud of me."

The pole-winning run comes as RCR tries to return to its championship-contending form, which has been spotty in the 25 years since Dale Earnhardt was killed in a last-lap crash at the Daytona 500. Earnhardt won six championships and one Daytona 500 driving for Childress.

No driver has ever won the race for the first time in more than 20 attempts — the number it took the Earnhardt to win it in 1998.

"It's a box we've got to check," said Busch, who finished second to then-teammate Hamlin in 2019. "This is an opportunity to be able to do that. I've come down here a lot of years. I think I finished in about every position possible. It would be nice to (open) 2026 with a victory here in the Daytona 500."

Hamlin goes for No. 4

Hamlinmissed his shot to win three straight Daytona 500s but still has records to chase.

Another victory would be his fourth and tie him with Yarborough for second-most all-time victories in NASCAR's biggest race. Only seven-time winner Richard Petty, also a seven-time NASCAR champion, has more.

"Every win that you get here puts you in a certain list," Hamlin said. "The list is so small at that four number, it certainly was on my mind on the last lap last year when we were leading, that we are going to get another one. I feel as though the opportunity will be there, and hopefully we can put ourselves in position to move ourselves up that Daytona 500 winners board."

Keselowski races hurt

Brad Keselowskiis 0 for 16 in the Daytona 500 and doesn't have great odds Sunday because of a fall he took while on a family ski trip in December.

Keselowski slipped on ice and broke his right leg, and the injury caused him to miss last week's preseason exhibition race. He arrived in Daytona using a cane to walk as he's hurried his recovery time to ensure he wouldn't miss any points-paying races.

"When I'm in the car, I know I've got an injury, don't get me wrong, but I feel the best in the car," he said. "The seat is molded to me really well and you get a little adrenaline flowing, so I felt pretty good."

He's raced hurt before: Keselowski broke his ankle in a 2011 crash but raced to a victory at Pocono a few days later. He said the injuries are extremely different.

"This is way more serious. When I broke my ankle that sucked. Don't get me wrong, it was very painful, but in a couple weeks, I was fairly mobile," he said. "This is a much more significant injury, unfortunately. It's hard to explain to people that have never broken their femur before what it's like.

"A normal broken leg is eight to 12 weeks. This is more like six months, so it's just totally different."

Odds and ends

Joey Logano and Chase Elliott won their qualifying races earlier in the week to emerge as strong contenders. ... Dale Jarrett is the last driver to win from the pole in 2000. ... Jimmie Johnson and rookie Connor Zilisch start side-by-side in 31st and 32nd as row 16 pairs the oldest and youngest drivers in the field. Johnson is 50 and Zilisch is 19. ... Logano and his Team Penske teammate Ryan Blaney are the betting favorites at plus-1200.

AP auto racing:https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

BOSTON, Feb 13 (Reuters) - A U.S. federal judge on Friday ordered the Trump administration to facilitate the return of a Honduran college student who was deported in ‌violation of a court order, a step the government had previously refused to take.

Boston-based U.S. ‌District Judge Richard Stearns gave the administration two weeks to enable the return of Any Lucia Lopez Belloza, a student ​from Babson College in Massachusetts who was deported after being detained at Boston's Logan Airport while traveling to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with her family in Texas.

"Wisdom counsels that redemption may be found by acknowledging and fixing our own errors," Stearns wrote. "In this unfortunate case, the government commendably admits that it did wrong. Now ‌it is time for the government ⁠to make amends."

Stearns, who was appointed by Democratic President Bill Clinton, said he had hoped to avoid holding anyone in civil contempt by giving the administration ⁠a chance to correct what he said everyone acknowledged was a "mistake."

But the State Department last week called the judge's recommendation to issue her a new student visa "unfeasible," and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement declined to facilitate her ​return, ​prompting Friday's order.

Stearns gave the administration until February 27 ​to facilitate the student's return. Todd Pomerleau, ‌Lopez Belloza's lawyer, welcomed the ruling, calling her a "remarkable, resilient young woman deserving of this outcome."

A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, in a statement did not address whether or how it would comply with Stearns' order but said Lopez Belloza had received due process.

"There was no 'mistake,'" the spokesperson said.

The 20-year-old college freshman is a Honduran national who was brought to the U.S. by ‌her mother, who was seeking asylum, when she was ​8 years old. Babson is located in Wellesley, Massachusetts.

Lopez Belloza ​has said she was unaware she was subject ​to a final order of removal, which was the basis for her arrest.

She ‌was flown to Honduras on November 22 ​even though her lawyer had ​secured a court order in Massachusetts on the previous day barring Lopez Belloza from being deported or transferred out of the state for 72 hours. She remains in Honduras with her ​grandparents.

A lawyer for the government at ‌a January hearing apologized for the violation of the court's order, attributing it to ​a "mistake" by an ICE officer who did not properly flag it.

(Reporting by Nate Raymond ​in Boston; Editing by Ethan Smith and Jonathan Oatis)