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Multiple celebrities are charged with paying to get their children accepted into big colleges.

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Hollywood actresses Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman are among 50 people charged in a $25 million college entrance exam cheating scheme, according to court documents unsealed in Boston on Tuesday.

The alleged scam focused on getting students admitted to elite universities as recruited athletes, regardless of their athletic abilities, and helping potential students cheat on their college exams, according to the indictment.

Authorities said the FBI investigation, code-named Operation Varsity Blues, uncovered a network of wealthy parents who paid thousands of dollars to a California man who boosted their children's chances of gaining entrance into elite colleges, such as Yale and Stanford, by paying people to take tests for their children, bribing test administrators to allow that to happen, and bribing college coaches to identify the applicants as athletes.

"This case is about the widening corruption of elite college admissions through the steady application of wealth, combined with fraud," U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Andrew Lelling said.

"There can be no separate college admission for the wealthy, and I will add there will not be a separate criminal justice system either," he said.

Lelling stressed that the colleges themselves are not targets of the investigation, which is ongoing. No students were charged, and authorities said in many cases they were kept in the dark about the alleged scam.

Some of the parents spent between $200,000 to $6.5 million to ensure that their children received guaranteed admission at the schools of their choice, John Bonavolonta, FBI special agent in charge, said.

"Their actions were, without a doubt, insidious, selfish and shameful," he added.

The scheme's mastermind, William Rick Singer, pleaded guilty Tuesday afternoon to charges of racketeering conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, conspiracy to defraud the United States, and obstruction of justice.

"I am absolutely responsible for it," Singer, 58, told U.S. District Judge Rya W. Zobel. "I put everything in place. I put all the people in place and made the payments directly."

Singer, who operated a for-profit college counseling and preparation business, orchestrated the scheme and helped torpedo it when he agreed to wear a wire and cooperate with investigators, authorities said.

"In retrospect, looking at everything that occurred, he is remorseful and contrite and wants to move on with his life," Singer's lawyer Donald H. Heller said outside the courthouse.

Loughlin, best known for her role in the 1980s-90s sitcom "Full House," and Huffman, who starred in the 2004-12 ABC hit show "Desperate Housewives," were charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services fraud.

Loughlin and her fashion designer husband, Mossimo Giannulli, agreed to pay bribes totaling $500,000 to bolster their two daughters' chances of gaining admission to the University of Southern California, court papers say. Huffman and her husband, actor William H. Macy, paid $15,000 to get one of their daughters unlimited time for her SAT test, prosecutors say.

The FBI recorded phone calls involving the celebrities and a cooperating witness, according to the criminal complaint.

Loughlin allegedly told the cooperating witness that she would arrange for one of her daughters to be photographed on a rowing machine to bolster the false claim on the application to USC that her daughter was the crew coxswain for the L.A. Marine Club team, according to court papers.

In an email, Loughlin allegedly agreed to keep the acceptance of her daughter and the scheme "hush hush."

Loughlin was out of the country for work when FBI agents arrived at her home Tuesday morning. She was scheduled to return to Los Angeles from Canada late Tuesday, and is expected to surrender to federal officials sometime in the next 24 hours, according to law enforcement sources.

Elizabeth Much, a representative for Loughlin, told NBC News she had no comment.

In addition to putting up $15,000 to get her daughter more time on the SATs, Huffman also explored a plan to boost the test scores of a second daughter, according to court papers.

In a recorded call Feb. 19, Huffman discussed the possibility of having a ringer take the SAT exam for her daughter, prosecutors say. But she raised concerns about the discrepancy in scores that could result from her daughter taking the SAT test in March but then allowing someone to take it in her place sometime afterward, court papers say.

"I just didn't know if it'd be odd for [the tutor] if we go, "Oh, she did this in - in March 9, but she did so much better in May," Huffman allegedly said on the call. "I don't know if that'd be like - if [the tutor] would be like, 'Wow.'"

Ultimately, Huffman and her husband decided against it, the court papers say. A representative for Huffman did not immediately return requests for comment. Macy has not been charged.

The plot involved students who attended or were seeking to attend Georgetown, Stanford, Yale, the University of California, Los Angeles, the University of San Diego, USC, the University of Texas and Wake Forest University, according to federal prosecutors.

Of the 50 people charged so far, 33 are parents and nine were college coaches. The others were a mix of standardized test administrators, a test proctor and Singer associates, authorities said.

"We believe everyone charged here today had a role in fostering a culture of corruption and greed that created an uneven playing field for students trying to get into these schools the right way through hard work, good grades and community service," Bonavolonta said.

Prosecutors said the the central figure in the scam was Singer, the founder of The Edge College & Career Network, LLC, also known as "The Key," based in Newport Beach, Calif.

Parents paid Singer $15,000 to $75,000 per test for someone else to take the SAT or ACT exams in place of their college-age sons or daughters, according to the court papers.

Singer facilitated the cheating by advising students to seek "extended time on the exams, including by having their children purport to have learning disabilities in order to obtain medical documentation that ACT, Inc. and the College Board typically required before granting students extended time," the indictment says.

Prosecutors said Singer used the cash to bribe two people who administered the exams - Igor Dvorsiky, of Los Angeles, and Lisa "Niki" Williams, of Houston.

In exchange for receiving the payments, Dvorsiky and Williams allowed Mark Riddell, a Florida man hired by Singer, to secretly take the tests or to replace the children's answers with his own, according to the indictment.

Riddell was paid roughly $10,000 per test, money that was often funneled through a charity account set up by Singer, the indictment says.

From 2011 to last month, parents paid Singer roughly $25 million to bribe coaches and university administrators to "designate their children as recruited athletes, or other favored admissions categories," according to the court papers.

In some cases, Singer's associates created fake athletic "profiles" in an effort to improve the students' chances of getting accepted by making them appear to be highly successful high school athletes.

Singer would then bribe college coaches to allot slots meant for incoming athletes to the children of the wealthy parents, authorities said.

In one of the most egregious cases outlined in the indictment, a set of parents agreed to pay Singer $1.2 million to get their daughter into Yale. Singer set the plot in motion in November 2017 when he passed along the applicant's biographical information to an associate and instructed her to create a bogus athletic profile, court papers say.

"[C]ould you please create a soccer profile asap for this girl who will be a midfielder and attending Yale so she has to be very good," Singer wrote, the indictment says. "...Need a soccer pic probably Asian girl."

The fake profile was sent to the Yale women's soccer coach Rudolph "Rudy" Meredith, who agreed to designate the young woman as a team recruit even though he knew she did not play competitive soccer, according to the court papers.

After the applicant was accepted to Yale, Singer sent Meredith a check for $400,000, drawn on an account belonging to his purported charity, the Key Worldwide Foundation.

Meredith, 51, was charged Tuesday with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and honest services wire fraud. He could not be reached.

Yale President Peter Salovey noted in a letter to students and staffers that Meredith no longer works at the university.

"We do not believe that any member of the Yale administration or staff other than the charged coach knew about the conspiracy," Salovey said.

The coaches charged in the scheme also include Jorge Salcedo, a former professional soccer player who coached the UCLA's men's team, and William Ferguson, who was the women's volleyball coach at Wake Forest. They were not immediately available for comment.

Word of the indictments sparked swift action at some of the schools. Stanford fired its head sailing coach, John Vandemoer, after he was charged with racketeering conspiracy. The school noted that neither of the two students, whom Vandemoer is alleged to have recommended for admission, came to Stanford.

USC said it has terminated the employment of Donna Heinel, the school's senior associate athletic director, and Jovan Vavic, its former water polo coach, after they were indicted in connection with the alleged cheating scam.

UCLA, meanwhile, said it placed Salcedo on leave while the matter is under review.

"The conduct alleged in the filings revealed today is deeply disturbing and in contrast with the expectations we have of our coaches to lead their teams with honesty and integrity," UCLA said in a statement. "If the facts alleged are true, they represent a grave departure from the ethical standards we set for ourselves and the people who work here."

Besides the actresses, other parents implicated in the fraud include Gamal Abdelaziz, the former president and CEO of Wynn Resorts Development; Gordon Caplan, co-chairman of the law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP; and Gregory Abbot, CEO of the International Dispensing Company. They did not respond to requests for comment.

The investigation involved more than 200 federal agents who fanned out across six states. The probe was launched last May after agents uncovered evidence of "large-scale fraud" while working on a separate undercover investigation, the FBI's Bonavolonta said.

"Following 10 months of intense investigative efforts using a variety of sophisticated techniques, the FBI uncovered what we believe to be a rigged system," Bonavolonta said, "robbing students all over the country of their right at a fair shot to getting into some of the most elite universities in this country."

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TV actresses among 50 people charged in college exam cheating plot

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Hollywood actresses Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman are among 50 people charged in a $25 million college entrance exam cheating scheme, according to court documents unsealed in Boston on Tuesday. The alleged scam focused on getting students admitted to elite universities as recruited athletes, regardless of their athletic abilities, and helping potential students cheat on their college exams, according to the indictment.

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Jennifer Lopez shares new photos of her engagement to Alex Rodriguez

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jennifer lopez shares new photos of her engagement to alex rodriguez - cnn

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Jennifer Lopez shares new photos of her engagement to Alex Rodriguez

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It's the romantic proposal we're still talking about -- and a ring some of us are still envying.

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Legendary sportscaster Warner Wolf wins legal and ‘plantation’ fight

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Let's go to the videotape, criminal mischief charges against Warner Wolf have been dropped.

The longtime New York sports broadcaster had been arrested in Florida last month for removing the word "plantation" from the gated community where he resides.
DEVELOPERS DROP 'PLANTATION' FROM NAME OF PLANNED COMMUNITY
The 81-year-old Wolf told WOR radio's "Len Berman and Michael Riedel in the Morning" program that prosecutors "likely felt the intent was not criminal" and let him off because he had no prior record.

"The bottom line is I don't live on a plantation," Wolf said, adding that he believes the word is offensive. "I told the board for two years to get rid of that word. ... We don't live on a plantation."

"The bottom line is I don't live on a plantation. ... I told the board for two years to get rid of that word. ... We don't live on a plantation."
- Warner Wolf, legendary sportscaster
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Wolf reportedly had snapped off letters from the "Classics Plantation Estates" sign in East Naples on Nov. 30, according to police reports. He indicated that he had to pay restitution for the offense, but the word has not been restored to the signage.
Click here for more from the New York Post.

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Legendary sportscaster Warner Wolf wins legal and 'plantation' fight

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Let's go to the videotape, criminal mischief charges against Warner Wolf have been dropped. The longtime New York sports broadcaster had been arrested in Florida last month for removing the word "plantation" from the gated community where he resides.

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3rd highest catholic in the Vatican; and former finance minister of Pope Francis, convicted of child abuse

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The conviction and sentencing of Cardinal George Pell represent a remarkable downfall for the man who was Pope Francis' former finance minister and third-highest ranking Catholic in the Vatican.

Pell, the most senior Catholic to be convicted of child sex abuse, was sentenced Wednesday to six years in prison for molesting two choirboys in a Melbourne cathedral more than 20 years ago.

He was convicted by a unanimous jury verdict of orally raping a 13-year-old choirboy and indecently dealing with the boy and the boy's 13-year-old friend in the late 1990s, months after becoming archbishop of Melbourne.

Pell was appointed Archbishop of Sydney in 2001, and Pope John Paul II made him a cardinal in 2003. Francis appointed Pell to the powerful position of Prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy in 2014.

Francis removed Pell as a member of his informal Cabinet in October, shortly before he was convicted of the abuse. He remained prefect of the Vatican's economy ministry, but his five-year term expired this month.

Pell also is being investigated by the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, which has the power to remove him from the priesthood.

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AP PHOTOS: The most senior Catholic convicted of child abuse

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The conviction and sentencing of Cardinal George Pell represent a remarkable downfall for the man who was Pope Francis' former finance minister and third-highest ranking Catholic in the Vatican. Pell, the most senior Catholic to be convicted of child sex abuse, was sentenced Wednesday to six years in prison for molesting two choirboys in a Melbourne cathedral more than 20 years ago.

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China offers to restore power to the Venezuelan power grid after the worst blackout in history occurred last Thursday. Maduro also accused the opposition leader a US puppet.

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BEIJING (Reuters) - China offered on Wednesday to help Venezuela restore its power grid, after President Nicolas Maduro accused U.S. counterpart Donald Trump of cyber "sabotage" that plunged the South American country into its worst blackout on record.

Maduro, who retains control of the military and other state institutions as well as the backing of Russia and China, has blamed Washington for his nation's economic turmoil and denounced opposition leader Juan Guaido as a puppet of the United States.

With the power blackout in its sixth day, hospitals struggled to keep equipment running, food rotted in the tropical heat and exports from the country's main oil terminal were shut down.

Speaking in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Lu Kang said China had noted reports that the power grid had gone down due to a hacking attack.

"China is deeply concerned about this," Lu said.

"China hopes that the Venezuelan side can discover the reason for this issue as soon as possible and resume normal power supply and social order. China is willing to provide help and technical support to restore Venezuela's power grid."

He gave no details.

Power returned to many parts of the country on Tuesday, including some areas that had not had electricity since last Thursday, according to witnesses and social media.

But power was still out in parts of the capital of Caracas and the western region near the border with Colombia.

Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez said power had been restored in the "vast majority" of the country.

The blackout was likely caused by a technical problem with transmission lines linking the Guri hydroelectric plant in southeastern Venezuela to the national power grid, experts have told Reuters.

Maduro has blamed Washington for organising what he said was a sophisticated cyber attack on Venezuela's hydroelectric power operations.

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China offers help to Venezuela to restore power

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BEIJING (Reuters) - China offered on Wednesday to help Venezuela restore its power grid, after President Nicolas Maduro accused U.S. counterpart Donald Trump of cyber "sabotage" that plunged the South American country into its worst blackout on record.

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California high school students plaster the school with swastikas after a holocaust survivor comes to the school to talk about her experiences in the concentration camps. There was also a party held in Alabama, as if the rise of hate in our upcoming generations wasn't bad enough, and explicit footage was released, causing an uproar.

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Celebrity parents bribe schools thousands - and sometimes millions - of dollars to bypass testing requirements in order to get their students into elite colleges.

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"Desperate Housewives" star Felicity Huffman and "Full House" alum Lori Loughlin were allegedly among the 50 charged in what is said to be the biggest college admissions scam ever prosecuted by the U.S. Justice Department - but the star-studded suspects aren't the only details that have intrigued the public.

Bizarre details from a nearly 270-page complaint started to trickle out Tuesday, sparking a variety of reactions online.

California resident William Rick Singer was pinpointed as the "ringleader" of the scandal, allegedly helping wealthy parents get their children admitted to some of the nation's most elite schools - such as Yale, Georgetown, Stanford, University of Southern California, among others - through bribes, according to unsealed court documents. Some individuals purportedly paid close to $6.5 million to secure a place for their children in top tier schools.
FELICITY HUFFMAN, LORI LOUGHLIN AMONG 50 SNARED IN ELITE COLLEGE CHEATING SCAM, AUTHORITIES SAY
Prosecutors said parents paid Singer from 2011 through last month to bribe coaches and administrators to fill slots the universities allocated for new players with his clients' children, regardless of their athletic ability. Singer also allegedly hired ringers to take college entrance exams and paid off insiders at testing centers to alter students' scores, according to charging documents.

Read on for some of the most eyebrow-raising events surrounding the case that have captured people's attention.

Huffman's alleged use of "Ruh Ro!" in an email

In an email discussing her daughter's approval to receive extra time to take the SAT, Huffman allegedly used the "Scooby Doo" phrase "Ruh Ro" in an email.

"Ruh Ro! Looks like [my daughter's high school] wants to provide own proctor," she allegedly wrote in an email forwarded to Singer from her daughter's high school counselor.

Huffman and her husband, actor William H. Macy, were accused of taking advantage of the SAT and ACT. Macy was not among those charged Tuesday.

The two parents allegedly helped their daughter with her college admission by making a "purported charitable contribution of $15,000...to participate in the college entrance exam cheating scheme," the documents said. "Huffman later made arrangements to pursue the scheme a second time, for her younger daughter, before deciding not to do so."

"She's not stupid"

Though authorities said most of the students didn't know their admission to the school was due to a bribe, the children and their parents took part in the scheme in some cases.
TV STARS FELICITY HUFFMAN, LORI LOUGHLIN SNARED IN ALLEGED COLLEGE ADMISSIONS SCAM
In one exchange, however, one of Singer's clients says her daughter is "not stupid" and purportedly proceeds to ask: "How do you do this without telling the kids what you're doing?"

Creating a fake athletic profile for a "lacrosse player"

In another excerpt from the complaint, Singer, on a call with a client, allegedly spoke about creating a "fake athletic profile" for his client's son.

The problem? The student's school apparently didn't have a lacrosse team.
Fox News' Katherine Lam and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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College admissions cheating scheme: 3 bizarre details from the complaint

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"Desperate Housewives" star Felicity Huffman and "Full House" alum Lori Loughlin were allegedly among the 50 charged in what is said to be the biggest college admissions scam ever prosecuted by the U.S. Justice Department - but the star-studded suspects aren't the only details that have intrigued the public.

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people cheated on SAT tests

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The spotlight is on the actresses and wealthy parents, who are facing charges over an alleged college entrance exam cheating scandal, but there's a key player whose background has not been widely discussed.

Mark Riddell - the man accused of actually taking the students' test for them.

Riddell is facing two criminal charges of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, honest services mail fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering in connected to his alleged involvement in the scheme.

The 36-year-old is expected to face a judge in Massachusetts on Wednesday. ABC News' efforts to reach Riddell for comment has not been successful as of Tuesday evening.

U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Andrew Lelling detailed the process of the alleged scheme at a news conference Tuesday morning and described Riddell as "just a really smart guy."

Steven Senne/AP

"He didn't have inside information about the answers, he was just smart enough to get a near perfect score on demand or to calibrate the score," the leading federal prosecutor said of Riddell.

Instead, William "Rick" Singer - who pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy and other charges for orchestrating the cheating ring - would arrange for Riddell to get a copy of the test from a bribed test administrator and then take it on behalf of the student.

"Singer would discuss with their clients what kind of score they were looking for. If your daughter took the S.A.T. on her own the first time and got a particular score, retaking the exam, if her score goes up too much, that would invite scrutiny. So Singer would discuss with parents what kind of score was impressive, but not too impressive, and then would instruct Riddell to attempt to get that score. And he was just good enough to do it," Lelling said.

The multi-paged criminal complaint reads that Riddell conspired with Singer from 2011 to 2019.

Brian Snyder/Reuters

Although the court documents do not state the amount of times that Riddell was involved in either completing or correcting individuals' tests, it detailed a June 2018 incident, where the original plan was to have Riddell "secretly correct" one student's answers, after the student took the test himself.

In a turn of events, the complaint read, the teenager was sick when it came time to travel to the Houston test site so Riddell took the test for him.

However, in at least this one instances when Riddell took the exam in place of high school students, the criminal complaint charges that he did not sit for the exam with other high schoolers - which may have sparked suspicions because based on his college graduation year, he is likely in his mid to late thirties.

To fulfill the plan, according to the criminal complaint, the parent "provided Singer with an exemplar of Parent 1's son's handwriting so that Riddell could imitate it when taking the exam in his place."

Riddell - who is based in Palmetto, Florida, which is south of Tampa - would receive a copy of the ACT from a bribed test administrator and take the exam in his hotel room after flying to one of the two alleged test centers involved in the scandal.

The criminal complaint further charges that Riddell reported back to Singer that he "predicted that he would score a 35 out of 36 on the ACT exam."

Jeffrey Greenberg/UIG via Getty Images, FILE

Riddell was paid $10,000 for his part in that scheme and, he was right: he got a 35 on the exam.

The Miami Herald reports that Riddell was the director of college entrance exam preparation at IMG Academy, a Florida-based facility that states it is focused on improving students' academic and athletic performance. IMG Academy did not immediately return ABC News' request for comment.

A biography of Riddell was removed from IMG Academy's website, but a cached version of the site showed that he had worked at the academy since 2006. The cached site read that he is an alumni of Harvard University and "assists thousands of students in gaining admission to top American universities such as Stanford, Duke, Columbia, Dartmouth, University of Chicago, and many other notable institutions."

He is also listed a ranked professional tennis player and an alum of IMG Academy himself.

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Man who allegedly took exams for 'cheating' students was 'just a really smart guy'

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The spotlight is on the actresses and wealthy parents, who are facing charges over an alleged college entrance exam cheating scandal, but there's a key player whose background has not been widely discussed. Mark Riddell - the man accused of actually taking the students' test for them.

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A police officer in Arkansas jumped onto the hood of a fleeing car and killed the suspect.

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A police officer in Arkansas is on the hood of a moving car that had been reported stolen when he fires 15 times into the vehicle's windshield, killing the driver, stunning dashcam video shows.

The Little Rock Police Department released footage of the Feb. 22 incident on Thursday, which Mayor Frank Scott said was part of an effort to be "accountable, clear and transparent" in a statement posted to Twitter.

Scott said the department compiled dashcam footage, video from nearby businesses' security cameras, and radio traffic to create a nearly 25-minute video showing the confrontation between Officer Charles Starks and 30-year-old Bradley Blackshire.
NEW JERSEY POLICE SHOOT, KILL BULL ATTACKING OWNER AFTER IT POUNCED ON PATROL VEHICLE: REPORT
Starks was responding to a call after a detective confirmed that Blackshire was driving a car that was reported stolen.

In the video released by police, Starks can be seen walking up to Blackshire's car with a gun drawn and instructing him to get out of the car multiple times. The 30-year-old refuses, asking "What did I do?" and "What are you going to shoot me for?" before slowing accelerating and hitting the officer.

Starks then fires into the windshield multiple times before Berkshire stops and the officer leans on the hood. Berkshire then continues to drive the car with Starks on the hood, leading the police officer to shoot at the vehicle's windshield several more times.

Starks stops shooting and gets off the car after a moment -- but then Little Rock officer Michael Simpson arrives and crashes into Blackshire's vehicle.

Another angle of the incident shows Blackshire's car rolling into a fence as officers yell "get your f____ hands up!" and "don't f____ move!"

After the car stops, Starks tells a female passenger to get on the ground. He handcuffs her, and she says Blackshire had just picked her up and that he had a gun. The officers radioed for an ambulance, but Blackshire died at the scene.
POLICE SHOOTOUT WITH SUSPECT IN OREGON AFTER CAR CHASE CAPTURED IN DRAMATIC VIDEO
Police said Starks sustained an unspecified injury to his right leg and was released from the hospital the same day. The other officer and female passenger in the vehicle were not injured.

Starks turned in his badge and gun when the department relieved him of duty in the days after the shooting, according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. He is still being paid, pending the investigation into the shooting. Disciplinary records reviewed by the paper showed Starks has been reprimanded 10 times since 2015, leading to nearly a month's worth of suspensions.

Little Rock Interim Chief of Police Wayne Bewley said in the video that an initial criminal investigation has been completed and the file has been handed to prosecutors to determine if charges will be filed. The administrative investigation is ongoing to determine if the officer's actions were in compliance with department policy.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP
The Little Rock Fraternal Order of Police has said that Starks deserves due process and that the community should reserve judgment until the investigation concludes. In a statement after the shooting, the union said the shooting could have been avoided if Blackshire complied with Stark's commands and showed him his hands.

The family of the 30-year-old watched the video before it was released to the public, FOX16 reported.

In a statement released through an attorney, the family said: "The video confirms our assessment that Charles Starks employed an unreasonable and excessive amount of force."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Arkansas police officer fires at least 15 times into car while on hood in deadly shooting caught on video

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A police officer in Arkansas is on the hood of a moving car that had been reported stolen when he fires 15 times into the vehicle's windshield, killing the driver, stunning dashcam video shows. The Little Rock Police Department released footage of the Feb.

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A week after a 9-year-old girl's body was found in a duffel bag east of Los Angeles, authorities have made an arrest, but a number of key questions remain unanswered.

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man charged with murder after 9-year-old girl was found dead in a duffel bag - cnn

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A man is now charged with murder after a 9-year-old was found dead in a duffel bag

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Emiel Hunt, 39, was charged Tuesday in the death of Trinity Love Jones. Trinity's body was found March 5 in light brush near an equestrian trail in Hacienda Heights.

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odell beckams contract with the giants was worth 95 million and they traded obj for they 1st round draft pick. Now odell will be returning with his best friend from college ( Jarvis Landry). And he is going to be with the cheifs old runnning back kareem Hunt!!!! Super bowl??

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12:30 AM ET

Bill BarnwellESPN Staff Writer

Close
Bill Barnwell is a staff writer for ESPN.com.

New York Giants general manager Dave Gettleman took to the podium on Feb. 27 to address the media during the NFL combine. Someone asked about the rumors swirling around star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who the Giants signed to a five-year, $80 million extension in August of 2018. "We didn't sign Odell to trade him," Gettleman said. "That's all I need to say about that."

Thirteen days later, the Giants traded Beckham to the Cleveland Browns for first- and third-round picks and safety Jabrill Peppers. To my knowledge, nothing changed in those 13 days. Beckham appears to have all of his extremities intact. The NFL did not ban the forward pass. The Giants traded Olivier Vernon for Kevin Zeitler and let Landon Collins leave in free agency, but they didn't suddenly build a time machine and bring 1987 Jerry Rice through a portal and into Giants colors.

Browns get: WR Odell Beckham Jr.
Steelers get: S Jabrill Peppers, No. 17 pick, No. 95 pick

Browns grade: A
Giants grade: D+
* Read more of Barnwell's grades

Something dramatic and inexplicable needs to have happened in those 13 days to make this trade make sense, because it otherwise reads like the Giants were hacked. Months after paying him a $20 million signing bonus, they traded one of the league's best young players at any position to the Browns for the sort of offer the computer would reject in a video game.

This has the potential to be a franchise-resetting trade, the sort of deal that gets everyone fired and leaves fans muttering about what could have been for decades. The Giants have never had a player like OBJ before. Now, they don't have him -- or much of anything -- at all.

How to Start a Rebuild

It's fair to say that Gettleman didn't inherit much when he took over as Giants GM in December of 2017. Jerry Reese left the team after a string of horrific drafts, and while the Giants were able to paper over those holes temporarily by spending big in free agency to make the 2016 playoffs, regression took hold and they fell to 3-13.

Free agency is off and running. Here's what to know:
* Live tracker: Every notable deal "
* Barnwell's grades: Tracking big moves "
* Experts debate: Biggest moves, more "
* Ranking the top 100 NFL free agents "
More coverage " | Back to NFL "

Even given the fact that Reese left Gettleman with precious little in the cupboard, what Gettleman has done since is scarcely believable:

His 2018 free-agent haul was a disaster. Nate Solder, who Gettleman made the highest-paid tackle in football, had the worst year of his career. Patrick Omameh, signed to a three-year, $15-million deal to play guard, was cut halfway into the season. Running back Jonathan Stewart, signed to a one-year, $3.5 million deal, touched the ball six times in three games before going on injured reserve.

The Giants used the second overall pick on running back Saquon Barkley, ignoring the simple concept of positional scarcity and passing up impactful players at more important positions like Sam Darnold, Denzel Ward and Bradley Chubb. Barkley looked brilliant with the ball in his hands and made highlight-reel runs, but he was inefficient and racked up yards in garbage time. The Giants were 18th in rushing DVOA with their new star back but were left with holes or subpar players at most of the critical positions in their lineup.

In October, Gettleman traded former first-round pick Eli Apple to the Saints for fourth- and seventh-round picks. Apple almost immediately stepped into the starting lineup for New Orleans and helped turn around a struggling defense, which improved dramatically in the second half. New York finished the season with veteran minimum corner B.W. Webb starting in Apple's place.

Earlier this month, Gettleman declined to place the franchise tag for safeties on Collins, which would have held the three-time Pro Bowler's rights for one more season at $11.2 million. Collins promptly signed a six-year, $84 million deal with Washington, which more realistically amounts to a three-year, $45 million pact with options. The $15 million annual figure and the rest of the safety market in free agency suggests that Collins would have held meaningful trade value if the Giants had held his rights.

The most bizarre path of all, though, is the one Gettleman has walked down with his star wide receiver. After rumors that they were considering a Beckham trade last offseason, Gettleman eventually signed OBJ to a massive extension in August. Beckham got a five-year, $90 million deal to stay in New York with a $20 million signing bonus and $41 million guaranteed at signing. The $18 million annual average salary was the largest for a wideout in league history.

Less than a year later after deciding they wanted Beckham, the Giants have now decided he's not part of their future plans. In doing so, they've burned all kinds of actual cash and cap space. Let's look at two scenarios. Scenario 1 is what would have happened if they hadn't given him a long-term deal and franchised him for 2019. (Remember, the Giants didn't use their franchise tag this offseason.) Scenario 2 is what actually happened.

Scenario 1: $8.5 million paid to Beckham in cash, $8.5 million on the Giants' 2019 cap, $0 in dead money on the 2019 cap

Scenario 2: $21.5 million paid to Beckham in cash, $5.5 million on the Giants' 2019 cap, $16 million in dead money on the 2019 cap

That's not a typo. Because Gettleman (or ownership) temporarily decided to keep Beckham around, the Giants paid an extra $13 million out of their coffers and will eat $16 million in dead money on this year's cap for the privilege of doing so. This isn't really a big competitive concern, since the Giants don't appear to be particularly close to contending in 2019, but it's a sign of how shortsighted the franchise was in signing OBJ before giving things up eight months later.

In making this move and moving on from Collins and Vernon, Gettleman essentially wipes the slate virtually clean of the Reese era and further builds the Giants in his image. As ESPN's Dan Graziano pointed out on Twitter, the Giants now have one player left on their roster from Reese's first nine drafts as general manager from 2007 -15, and it's long-snapper Zak DeOssie. The only other draftee left on the roster who precedes Reese's final two drafts is quarterback Eli Manning, who was technically acquired via draft-day trade with the Chargers when Ernie Accorsi was general manager in 2004.

Manning is somehow still the quarterback, but trading Beckham cuts whatever's left of the 38-year-old aging legs out from underneath him. Manning has been borderline passable with Beckham on the field since he entered the lineup in Week 5 of the 2014 season, but when the former LSU star has been injured or suspended, the QB has been limited to checkdowns and been essentially unplayable:

Seventeen quarterbacks have thrown at least 2,000 passes over that time frame. Manning's marks without OBJ would place him 15th in completion percentage and last in both passer rating and yards per attempt. The only quarterback with a worse Total QBR over that span is Blake Bortles. The Giants will run out Sterling Shepard and Evan Engram, but in a draft that doesn't appear to have a stud wide receiver and a free-agent pool which doesn't have a No. 1 wideout, Manning is going to fire up the checkdown machine to Barkley.

The same trends hold true for New York's performance on the whole without Beckham in the lineup. There is certainly a subset of Giants fans who will suggest that Beckham has been cancerous to the team's chances of winning. That is not borne out by reality. When he has played over the last five seasons, the Giants have gone 25-34 (.424). They've scored an average of 22.6 points and allowed 23.8 points per game.

The Giants can no longer straddle the line of restocking on the fly or trying to compete. They are starting over, even if it's a year too late.

The Vikings spent big to keep Anthony Barr, and the Bills, Packers and Jets have been active in the market. Bill Barnwell evaluates the biggest deals.

From questions of "what is going on?" to claims of "fake news," players are showing their surprise at New York's stunning trade of its star receiver to Cleveland.

Without OBJ , though, the Giants have gone 6-15 (.285). Their defense has been slightly worse, allowing 24.8 points per game, but their offense has shut down and scored a mere 18.5 points per contest. If you're making the argument that the Giants can finish last with or without Beckham, they certainly appear to have a much better shot of doing so without their star receiver.

It seems like almost a waste of time to explain how good he has been for the Giants. You've seen him play. I wrote about how great Beckham was before last season, and I noted that he was on a path which suggested he had about a 50/50 shot of making the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He missed four games in 2018 and did not make the Pro Bowl, which reduces his chances some, but we're talking about a 26-year-old whose performance record still points significantly toward a gold jacket in Canton. Ask the Raiders how they feel about trading a player in that sort of class away these days.

What this does for the Browns

Because the Giants are eating the $20 million signing bonus on Beckham's deal, the Browns are getting a relative bargain as part of this contract. Cleveland essentially has OBJ signed on a five-year, $77 million pact with $19.5 million guaranteed, all but $2.75 million of which comes this season. From the Browns' perspective, his deal averages $15.4 million per season. He's owed $47 million over the next three seasons, which is less than Sammy Watkins -- an inferior wide receiver with far less of a track record -- got in unrestricted free agency last year.

This is a virtually impossible trade for the Browns to resist, even given that they handed Jarvis Landry a five-year, $75 million contract last offseason. Beckham and Landry are good friends going back to their days together at LSU and repeatedly tried to recruit the other to come play for their respective teams over social media. Now, they'll both play together. They're going to each want the football, and this is a lot of money to devote to two wide receivers, but this specific combination of wideouts complement each other's skill sets well and shouldn't inspire any jealousy if the other has a big game.

While some will lump Beckham in with Antonio Brown as possible problem children for their respective new organizations, I wouldn't be so sure. As former teammate Geoff Schwartz pointed out on Twitter, Beckham was a hard worker who was beloved in the Giants' locker room. You might remember his teammates celebrating with a dance party after Beckham signed his extension in August. He gave an interview to ESPN in October where he expressed frustration that the offense didn't allow for him to make big plays, but he hasn't skipped practice before key games. Unless there's a major off-field incident which isn't yet public record, this is not Brown redux.

It's clear that Beckham is getting a major upgrade in going from Manning to 2018 first overall pick Baker Mayfield, who excelled during the second half of last season. Over the final eight games, Mayfield ranked sixth in passer rating (106.2), seventh in QBR (70.1), and second in yards per attempt (8.6). What has to be most exciting for OBJ, though, is that Mayfield consistently made plays downfield. He led the league with 34 completions on deep passes over that time frame, posting a 113.9 passer rating on those throws. Over that same span, Manning posted an 81.4 passer rating on deep passes.

Suddenly, the Browns look like they have one of the deepest skill-position groups in the league. The Browns ranked 13th in my weaponry rankings last season, but that was with Josh Gordon, Corey Coleman and Carlos Hyde playing key roles. All are gone.

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Now, they can start the year with Nick Chubb at running back. Kareem Hunt will surely be suspended for a good amount of the 2019 season, and the move to sign the former Chiefs back after he was cut for assaulting a woman in the Cleveland hotel where Hunt lived was abhorrent, but his talent is also undeniable. The Browns also have Duke Johnson as a receiving back, although there are rumors that he might become available in trade talks.

At receiver, they're suddenly now blessed with Beckham and Landry. You might prefer the Vikings' duo of Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs, and the Rams are deeper one through three, but nobody would fight you if you suggested the Browns had the best duo of starting wideouts in football. Second-year receiver Antonio Callaway moves into a third wideout role, and he's going to spend all of 2019 facing single coverage. The Browns appeared to re-sign Breshad Perriman to a one-year deal earlier on Tuesday, but after the Beckham deal came together, Perriman asked to be let out of his agreement and signed a one-year contract with the Buccaneers. Throw in tight end David Njoku, who racked up 639 yards and four touchdowns as a sophomore, and the Browns have explosive receivers at every spot in the lineup.

This is the official end of the Browns' rebuilding period. For the first time in a decade, pressure will be on them to win regularly. The Ravens just lost four defensive starters, including star linebacker C.J. Mosley. The Steelers traded Antonio Brown for a pair of mid-round picks and are about to lose Le'Veon Bell. The Bengals nearly made it to the combine before they could find a defensive coordinator. After adding OBJ, trading for Olivier Vernon, and signing Sheldon Richardson, the Browns have spent too much money and have too much talent to justify being happy with a 7-8-1 season again. Anything short of a playoff berth next season might qualify as a disappointment.

It's a totally new set of expectations, and while I'm sure Mayfield is happy to take on that challenge, teams don't always respond well to those concerns. Look at the Jaguars, who ran to the playoffs in 2017, brought back their entire young core, blew out the Patriots in Week 2 last season, and then totally collapsed. New coach Freddie Kitchens will have a lot of personalities to manage in his first season as a head coach.

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This is yet another reminder of how valuable it is to find an effective quarterback on a rookie deal, which has been the cheat code for unlocking a playoff team under the current CBA since 2011. The Browns can afford to devote nearly $30 million of their cap to Beckham and Landry in 2019 because Mayfield has a cap hit of $7.4 million, which is less than one-third of the $23.2 million Manning will eat up on the Giants' cap this season. Manning's base salary of $11.5 million means he'll make $718,750 per game this season, which is more than Mayfield will make in base salary all season, at $570,000.

Dorsey will deservedly get credit for making this trade, but one of the reasons the Browns can make a trade like this and send away two draft picks is because they amassed a massive amount of draft capital from 2016-17 under Sashi Brown. Brown certainly made his fair share of mistakes, and the comparisons between the former Jaguars executive and similarly-doomed tanking magnate Sam Hinkie are grossly overstated, but if you want to make cross-sport comparisons, the Browns just traded for their Jimmy Butler.

Can this work for the Giants?

When there are moves like this where the vast majority of public opinion seems to fall toward one side being correct, I like to at least consider the scenario in which a trade might work out for the unpopular side. I'm not doing that to be contrarian -- the Browns won this trade, and it isn't particularly close -- but I want to at least try to understand how the Giants might think they'll be able to win it. In the case of the Amari Cooper trade, while the Cowboys were initially lambasted in the media for giving up a first-round pick, their best-case scenario quickly came true.

Assuming there's no significant off-field incident the Giants are covering up, they will move forward with a limited roster. Adding Peppers gives them a replacement for Collins, although Peppers' struggles in space when he played free safety as a rookie were more extreme than Collins' issues in coverage. Peppers hasn't been a great return man as a pro and hasn't exhibited the sort of takeaway skills Collins showed. While Collins forced 11 takeaways in four seasons, Peppers has just two picks to show in two seasons with the Browns. Giants fans will appreciate having a born-and-raised New Jersey high school player back in the area, and Peppers will make just $3.2 million over the next two seasons, but he would have only netted a mid-round pick if the Browns had made Peppers available via trade this offseason.

The Giants will net the 17th and 95th picks in this trade; it has to be a disappointment that they couldn't even convince the Browns to give them the better of their two third-round picks, as Gettleman will instead settle for the third-rounder the Patriots sent the Browns for Danny Shelton. By the Chase Stuart chart, those selections combine to something between the seventh and eighth overall pick in a typical draft. The traditional Jimmy Johnson chart is less impressed with mid-round picks and values the return as closer to the 15th overall pick.

Either way, the Giants now have an extra first-round pick in the top half of this year's draft, and they get back a third-rounder after forfeiting their pick to take cornerback Sam Beal in the supplemental draft last season. (Beal missed the entire season with a shoulder injury.) They turned their extra fourth-round pick from the Apple trade into a high fifth-rounder as part of the Olivier Vernon trade.

The Giants don't exactly have a draft bonanza like the Browns did in years past or the Colts enjoyed last season, but the two first-rounders give them a lot of flexibility to move up. If they want to draft Dwayne Haskins before the Raiders come on the board at No. 4, they can move up from No. 6 to No. 2 without having to touch any future picks. The sixth and 15th picks are a nearly perfect swap on the Johnson chart for the second overall selection, and while the 49ers might have been positioned to draft Nick Bosa with that selection, they aren't as desperate to add edge-rushing talent after trading for Dee Ford on Tuesday night. The OBJ trade might also indicate that ownership's decided to rebuild the roster, a move which would make Manning even less essential to this roster.

If the Giants land Haskins and he's a superstar, Giants fans will get over losing Beckham, just as Browns fans don't complain about missing out on Carson Wentz or Deshaun Watson anymore. There's also a possibility that Haskins simply falls to the Giants at No. 6, which would give them a chance to add immediate starters on both sides of the ball. Of course, even if they do draft a quarterback, the Giants won't have a superstar receiver to make life easier for Haskins as he develops. (Gettleman and coach Pat Shurmur have said on record that they prefer taller quarterbacks, which would seem to rule out Kyler Murray, but given what Gettleman said about trading Beckham, it seems like we shouldn't treat his public word as gospel.)

On the other hand, while Gettleman's defense finished 24th in DVOA for the second consecutive season and is mostly bereft of young talent, the Giants now have three of the first 37 picks in a draft full of possible defensive stars. If he wants to build his team around running the ball with Barkley and a stout defense, this is his chance to add a significant influx of talent to the defensive side of the ball in the right draft for doing so.

The Giants will also save significant money in future seasons as part of the trade, and while they don't have a ton of cap space given their needs across the board, they can structure a deal with a low cap number in year one before using the Beckham savings in future seasons. They still need a right tackle, and it wouldn't shock me if Gettleman went after former Panthers starter Daryl Williams to help solidify the weakest remaining spot on his offensive line.

It's hard to feel good about this trade if you're a Giants fan. Even in the best-case scenario, it will take years for the Giants to recover from this deal and reap the benefits of their pick. The Giants were often a frustrating team to watch with Beckham, who seemingly had to carry their offense to competence some weeks. They're going to be an even more frustrating team to watch without him.

In an offseason which has been full of big bets, nobody made a bigger one than Dave Gettleman did on Tuesday night. I don't think it's going to pay off.

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Barnwell grades the OBJ trade: Cleveland is a contender right now

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12:30 AM ET Bill BarnwellESPN Staff Writer Close Bill Barnwell is a staff writer for ESPN.com. New York Giants general manager Dave Gettleman took to the podium on Feb. 27 to address the media during the NFL combine.

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Disney releases the trailer for the new Aladdin movie

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disney releases new 'aladdin' trailer  - cnn

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College admissions cheating scheme

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"Desperate Housewives" star Felicity Huffman and "Full House" alum Lori Loughlin were allegedly among the 50 charged in what is said to be the biggest college admissions scam ever prosecuted by the U.S. Justice Department - but the star-studded suspects aren't the only details that have intrigued the public.

Bizarre details from a nearly 270-page complaint started to trickle out Tuesday, sparking a variety of reactions online.

California resident William Rick Singer was pinpointed as the "ringleader" of the scandal, allegedly helping wealthy parents get their children admitted to some of the nation's most elite schools - such as Yale, Georgetown, Stanford, University of Southern California, among others - through bribes, according to unsealed court documents. Some individuals purportedly paid close to $6.5 million to secure a place for their children in top tier schools.
FELICITY HUFFMAN, LORI LOUGHLIN AMONG 50 SNARED IN ELITE COLLEGE CHEATING SCAM, AUTHORITIES SAY
Prosecutors said parents paid Singer from 2011 through last month to bribe coaches and administrators to fill slots the universities allocated for new players with his clients' children, regardless of their athletic ability. Singer also allegedly hired ringers to take college entrance exams and paid off insiders at testing centers to alter students' scores, according to charging documents.

Read on for some of the most eyebrow-raising events surrounding the case that have captured people's attention.

Huffman's alleged use of "Ruh Ro!" in an email

In an email discussing her daughter's approval to receive extra time to take the SAT, Huffman allegedly used the "Scooby Doo" phrase "Ruh Ro" in an email.

"Ruh Ro! Looks like [my daughter's high school] wants to provide own proctor," she allegedly wrote in an email forwarded to Singer from her daughter's high school counselor.

Huffman and her husband, actor William H. Macy, were accused of taking advantage of the SAT and ACT. Macy was not among those charged Tuesday.

The two parents allegedly helped their daughter with her college admission by making a "purported charitable contribution of $15,000...to participate in the college entrance exam cheating scheme," the documents said. "Huffman later made arrangements to pursue the scheme a second time, for her younger daughter, before deciding not to do so."

"She's not stupid"

Though authorities said most of the students didn't know their admission to the school was due to a bribe, the children and their parents took part in the scheme in some cases.
TV STARS FELICITY HUFFMAN, LORI LOUGHLIN SNARED IN ALLEGED COLLEGE ADMISSIONS SCAM
In one exchange, however, one of Singer's clients says her daughter is "not stupid" and purportedly proceeds to ask: "How do you do this without telling the kids what you're doing?"

Creating a fake athletic profile for a "lacrosse player"

In another excerpt from the complaint, Singer, on a call with a client, allegedly spoke about creating a "fake athletic profile" for his client's son.

The problem? The student's school apparently didn't have a lacrosse team.
Fox News' Katherine Lam and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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College admissions cheating scheme: 3 bizarre details from the complaint

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"Desperate Housewives" star Felicity Huffman and "Full House" alum Lori Loughlin were allegedly among the 50 charged in what is said to be the biggest college admissions scam ever prosecuted by the U.S. Justice Department - but the star-studded suspects aren't the only details that have intrigued the public.

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Entrance exam cheaters exploited rules for disabled students

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Interested in College Admissions Scandal?

Add College Admissions Scandal as an interest to stay up to date on the latest College Admissions Scandal news, video, and analysis from ABC News.

A college entrance exam policy aimed at helping students with disabilities was exploited to enable cheating in what is being described as the biggest school admissions scandal ever prosecuted by federal authorities, according to court papers made public Tuesday.

At least 50 people were charged in the scheme, which included not only cheating on the admissions tests but also bribing coaches to gain admission for students into elite schools. Among the defendants were actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin.

A federal affidavit made public Tuesday details allegations of test administrators being bribed "to allow a third party to facilitate cheating" on the ACT and SAT exams. The document says that in some cases, that involved providing answers, correcting answers after the fact or having someone else pose as the student to take the test.

The College Board, which runs the SAT, and ACT Inc. provide accommodations for students with medically documented disabilities that can include giving students extra time to complete the test or allowing them to take it alone under the supervision of a proctor.

Both organizations are now defending the integrity of their testing process.

The College Board said it has seen an increase in disabilities accommodations request in recent years as more students have opted to take its exams.

"The College Board has a comprehensive, robust approach to combat cheating, and we work closely with law enforcement as part of those efforts. We will always take all necessary steps to ensure a level playing field for the overwhelming majority of test takers who are honest and play by the rules," the nonprofit said in a statement.

The court documents revealed how some wealthy families exploited the rite-of-passage exam that most high schoolers endure in order to apply for college admission. Clients paid $15,000 to $75,000 per test, according to the documents, "with the payments typically structured as purported donations" to a charity run by a cooperating witness.

According to the federal affidavit, parents were told by the witness, referred to as CW-1, who founded the Edge College & Career Network, also known as The Key, to have their children "purport to have learning disabilities" so they could get the medical documentation and then request to take the exam at one of two test centers the witness controlled. There, the court papers said, the cheating occurred.

The doctored exams were then sent back to the testing organizations for grading.

The court papers include a conversation between one of the defendants in the case, Gordon Caplan, and the witness that was obtained through a wiretap.

"Caplan: And it works?

CW-1: Every time (laughing)."

A private school director in Los Angeles and a public high school teacher in Houston have been charged with racketeering conspiracy for their role as paid standardized test administrators for both The College Board and ACT Inc.

Officials with the ACT said it contracts with thousands of people to administer its college entrance exam around the country and slammed "the few bad actors who have attempted to undermine a fair testing environment." ACT also urged people to report suspected cheating through its security hotline.

"We appreciate the efforts of the authorities and the attention that they have brought to the importance of fairness in testing," ACT said in a statement.

The typical testing experience has students taking the fee-based exam at their high school or a nearby school test site in their community. It's most often done in a group setting, a timed environment and monitored by familiar school staff, such as teachers and counselors contracted by ACT and SAT officials, experts said.

Students arrive on the date with photo identification, which is matched to their preregistration information and the photo they send to the ACT and SAT administrators validating who they are.

Students with disabilities who receive school accommodations and are served by the federal Individualized Education Program can apply directly to the ACT and SAT for similar accommodations, which may include testing documents in Braille for blindness, a text reader for dyslexia, snack breaks for diabetes, and extended time or one-on-one testing for attention deficit disorders.

The College Board said it has dedicated staff to consider such requests and may request documentation to vet it.

Rachel Rubin, co-founder of Spark Admissions near Boston, said it's common for families to get psychiatric evaluations for their children so that they can get extra time for the SAT or ACT or take it over multiple days or in a quiet room. She said such exams usually aren't covered by insurance and can cost thousands of dollars, yet another way the wealthy can get a leg up over the less fortunate.

Jayne Fonash, a recently retired high school counselor in Virginia and the president-elect of the National Association for College Admission Counseling, said in her two decades of working with students to take college exams, it was extremely rare for a disability request to be denied.

Fonash said she served as a test administrator for many years with both test makers. She said she was paid about $100 to supervise a testing room or about $400 to manage an entire test site.

"They're not doing it for the money. They're doing it so students have access to this testing opportunity," Fonash said of the educators who run the tests so that their students can take the test in a place they are familiar with and comfortable. "It goes to show the length that some parents and some professionals go to manipulate the process."

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Associated Press writer Collin Binkley contributed to this report from Boston.

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Follow Sally Ho on Twitter: https://twitter.com/-SallyHo

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SAT, ACT college test makers defend integrity amid scandal

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A college entrance exam policy aimed at helping students with disabilities was exploited to enable cheating in what is being described as the biggest school admissions scandal ever prosecuted by federal authorities, according to court papers made public Tuesday. At least 50 people were...

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A boy was at an art gallery with his family when a woman walked in acting strange. She was asked to leave and in the process grabbed the boy and took him with her. She stated that she knew the boy and they were family. Someone who watched this happen found her suspicious and followed them for about half an hour. Finally asking the boy how he knew the woman, and he said he didn't. The follower grabbed the boy, releasing the grip of the woman, and returned him to the art gallery, and to his family.

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Miami police on Monday arrested a woman who allegedly kidnapped a 6-year-old from an art gallery last week -- in a dramatic scene caught on video.

Katherine E. Hatcher, 50, was arrested and charged with kidnapping after police said she walked out of Swampspace Gallery on March 4.

The unidentified boy was at the gallery to visit the owner, Oliver Sanchez, and his daughter when he saw Hatcher walk into the gallery from the back, WSVN reported citing investigators.

Sanchez said he asked the "disheveled" woman to leave -- and when she did, he said she took the 6-year-old by the arm and left with him, claiming she was his family.

Sanchez said something didn't seem right so he followed Hatcher for about a half-block where he proceeded to ask the boy how he knew her.

Once the boy said he didn't, Sanchez told WSVN that he broke Hatcher's grip, grabbed him and walked away.
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Miami police released surveillance video of the suspect on Monday asking the public's help to identify her. A tip leading to her arrest came later that same day.

Hatcher lived at the Camillus House, a local nonprofit that cares for the homeless, the Miami Herald reported.

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Florida kidnapping thwarted by gallery owner on video; woman arrested

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Miami police on Monday arrested a woman who allegedly kidnapped a 6-year-old from an art gallery last week -- in a dramatic scene caught on video. Katherine E. Hatcher, 50, was arrested and charged with kidnapping after police said she walked out of Swampspace Gallery on March 4.

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Alex Trebek says he will continue to film Jeopardy

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alex trebek resumes taping 'jeopardy!' shows after cancer announcement - cnn

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Alex Trebek resumes taping 'Jeopardy!' shows after cancer announcement

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Alex Trebek is back at work, just as he said he would be, nearly one week after sharing his stage 4 pancreatic cancer diagnosis.

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Arkansas police officer fires at least 15 times into car while on hood in deadly shooting caught on video

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A police officer in Arkansas is on the hood of a moving car that had been reported stolen when he fires 15 times into the vehicle's windshield, killing the driver, stunning dashcam video shows.

The Little Rock Police Department released footage of the Feb. 22 incident on Thursday, which Mayor Frank Scott said was part of an effort to be "accountable, clear and transparent" in a statement posted to Twitter.

Scott said the department compiled dashcam footage, video from nearby businesses' security cameras, and radio traffic to create a nearly 25-minute video showing the confrontation between Officer Charles Starks and 30-year-old Bradley Blackshire.
NEW JERSEY POLICE SHOOT, KILL BULL ATTACKING OWNER AFTER IT POUNCED ON PATROL VEHICLE: REPORT
Starks was responding to a call after a detective confirmed that Blackshire was driving a car that was reported stolen.

In the video released by police, Starks can be seen walking up to Blackshire's car with a gun drawn and instructing him to get out of the car multiple times. The 30-year-old refuses, asking "What did I do?" and "What are you going to shoot me for?" before slowing accelerating and hitting the officer.

Starks then fires into the windshield multiple times before Berkshire stops and the officer leans on the hood. Berkshire then continues to drive the car with Starks on the hood, leading the police officer to shoot at the vehicle's windshield several more times.

Starks stops shooting and gets off the car after a moment -- but then Little Rock officer Michael Simpson arrives and crashes into Blackshire's vehicle.

Another angle of the incident shows Blackshire's car rolling into a fence as officers yell "get your f____ hands up!" and "don't f____ move!"

After the car stops, Starks tells a female passenger to get on the ground. He handcuffs her, and she says Blackshire had just picked her up and that he had a gun. The officers radioed for an ambulance, but Blackshire died at the scene.
POLICE SHOOTOUT WITH SUSPECT IN OREGON AFTER CAR CHASE CAPTURED IN DRAMATIC VIDEO
Police said Starks sustained an unspecified injury to his right leg and was released from the hospital the same day. The other officer and female passenger in the vehicle were not injured.

Starks turned in his badge and gun when the department relieved him of duty in the days after the shooting, according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. He is still being paid, pending the investigation into the shooting. Disciplinary records reviewed by the paper showed Starks has been reprimanded 10 times since 2015, leading to nearly a month's worth of suspensions.

Little Rock Interim Chief of Police Wayne Bewley said in the video that an initial criminal investigation has been completed and the file has been handed to prosecutors to determine if charges will be filed. The administrative investigation is ongoing to determine if the officer's actions were in compliance with department policy.
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The Little Rock Fraternal Order of Police has said that Starks deserves due process and that the community should reserve judgment until the investigation concludes. In a statement after the shooting, the union said the shooting could have been avoided if Blackshire complied with Stark's commands and showed him his hands.

The family of the 30-year-old watched the video before it was released to the public, FOX16 reported.

In a statement released through an attorney, the family said: "The video confirms our assessment that Charles Starks employed an unreasonable and excessive amount of force."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Arkansas police officer fires at least 15 times into car while on hood in deadly shooting caught on video

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A police officer in Arkansas is on the hood of a moving car that had been reported stolen when he fires 15 times into the vehicle's windshield, killing the driver, stunning dashcam video shows. The Little Rock Police Department released footage of the Feb.

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Vietnam asked to release the suspect of the killing of North Korea's Kim Jong Nam, Kim Jong Un's half-brother.

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The unexpected release of an Indonesian woman accused of killing the estranged half-brother of North Korea 's leader has spurred Vietnam to demand her co-defendant be set free as well.

Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh called his Malaysian counterpart, Saifuddin Abdullah, on Tuesday and pleaded Doan Thi Huong be given a fair trial and set free, according to a statement posted on the ministry's website.

The call from Vietnam's foreign minister was an unprecedented public request from Hanoi, which generally does not get involved in criminal cases involving its citizens overseas.
INDONESIAN WOMAN ACCUSED OF KILLING KIM JONG UN'S BROTHER REITERATES HER INNOCENCE, SAYS DROPPED CHARGES SHOCKED HER
Huong, whose murder trial is expected to continue Thursday, and her co-defendant, Indonesian Siti Aisyah, were accused of killing Kim Jong Nam by smearing VX nerve agent on his face while at a Malaysian airport in 2017.

Both women, who were accused along with four missing North Koreans, have said they thought they were playing a prank for a TV show.

On Monday, prosecutors in Malaysia unexpectedly dropped the murder charge against Aisyah, who has since returned to her home village. They did not give any reason for the remarkable retreat in their case against her.

"[I was] shocked at first, I couldn't believe it," Aisyah said of her release. "But I'm happy."

Aisyah said she hopes Huong is also freed.
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Prosecutors are expected on Thursday to reply to a request by Huong's lawyers for the government to withdraw the murder charge against her as well.

Indonesia's government said its continued high-level lobbying had resulted in Aisyah's release and alleged the young migrant worker had no idea she was being "manipulated by North Korean intelligence."

Meanwhile, Vietnam had pushed less hard on behalf of Huong, even recently hosting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for an official visit and a summit with President Donald Trump. The call between the foreign ministers came as a surprise as Vietnam had refrained from publicly lobbying for her release until Tuesday.
MALAYSIA STILL HAS A 'PROBLEM' WITH NORTH KOREA, TWO YEARS AFTER ASSASSINATION OF KIM JONG UN'S HALF-BROTHER
Huong's lawyer, Hisyam Teh Poh Teik, said Huong felt Aisyah's discharge was unfair to her because the judge last year had found sufficient evidence to continue the murder trial against them.

"She is entitled to the same kind of consideration as Aisyah," he said. "We are making representation to the attorney general for Doan to be taken equally...there must be justice."

Malaysian officials have never officially accused North Korea and have made it clear they don't want the trial politicized.
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Kim was the eldest son in the current generation of North Korea's ruling family. He had been living abroad for years but could have been seen as a threat to Kim Jong Un's rule.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Vietnam urges Malaysia release of second suspect in Kim Jong Nam nerve agent killing

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The unexpected release of an Indonesian woman accused of killing the estranged half-brother of North Korea 's leader has spurred Vietnam to demand her co-defendant be set free as well. Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh called his Malaysian counterpart, Saifuddin Abdullah, on Tuesday and pleaded Doan Thi Huong be given a fair trial and set free, according to a statement posted on the ministry's website.

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Mark Riddell is accused of taking other students college exams for them and is facing two criminal charges of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, honest services mail fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering in connected to his alleged involvement in the scheme. The 36 year old is facing a judge on April 12.

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The spotlight is on the actresses and wealthy parents, who are facing charges over an alleged college entrance exam cheating scandal, but there's a key player whose background has not been widely discussed.

Mark Riddell - the man accused of actually taking the students' test for them.

Riddell is facing two criminal charges of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, honest services mail fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering in connected to his alleged involvement in the scheme.

The 36-year-old is expected to face a judge in Massachusetts on Wednesday. ABC News' efforts to reach Riddell for comment has not been successful as of Tuesday evening.

U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Andrew Lelling detailed the process of the alleged scheme at a news conference Tuesday morning and described Riddell as "just a really smart guy."

Steven Senne/AP

"He didn't have inside information about the answers, he was just smart enough to get a near perfect score on demand or to calibrate the score," the leading federal prosecutor said of Riddell.

Instead, William "Rick" Singer - who pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy and other charges for orchestrating the cheating ring - would arrange for Riddell to get a copy of the test from a bribed test administrator and then take it on behalf of the student.

"Singer would discuss with their clients what kind of score they were looking for. If your daughter took the S.A.T. on her own the first time and got a particular score, retaking the exam, if her score goes up too much, that would invite scrutiny. So Singer would discuss with parents what kind of score was impressive, but not too impressive, and then would instruct Riddell to attempt to get that score. And he was just good enough to do it," Lelling said.

The multi-paged criminal complaint reads that Riddell conspired with Singer from 2011 to 2019.

Brian Snyder/Reuters

Although the court documents do not state the amount of times that Riddell was involved in either completing or correcting individuals' tests, it detailed a June 2018 incident, where the original plan was to have Riddell "secretly correct" one student's answers, after the student took the test himself.

In a turn of events, the complaint read, the teenager was sick when it came time to travel to the Houston test site so Riddell took the test for him.

However, in at least this one instances when Riddell took the exam in place of high school students, the criminal complaint charges that he did not sit for the exam with other high schoolers - which may have sparked suspicions because based on his college graduation year, he is likely in his mid to late thirties.

To fulfill the plan, according to the criminal complaint, the parent "provided Singer with an exemplar of Parent 1's son's handwriting so that Riddell could imitate it when taking the exam in his place."

Riddell - who is based in Palmetto, Florida, which is south of Tampa - would receive a copy of the ACT from a bribed test administrator and take the exam in his hotel room after flying to one of the two alleged test centers involved in the scandal.

The criminal complaint further charges that Riddell reported back to Singer that he "predicted that he would score a 35 out of 36 on the ACT exam."

Jeffrey Greenberg/UIG via Getty Images, FILE

Riddell was paid $10,000 for his part in that scheme and, he was right: he got a 35 on the exam.

The Miami Herald reports that Riddell was the director of college entrance exam preparation at IMG Academy, a Florida-based facility that states it is focused on improving students' academic and athletic performance. IMG Academy did not immediately return ABC News' request for comment.

A biography of Riddell was removed from IMG Academy's website, but a cached version of the site showed that he had worked at the academy since 2006. The cached site read that he is an alumni of Harvard University and "assists thousands of students in gaining admission to top American universities such as Stanford, Duke, Columbia, Dartmouth, University of Chicago, and many other notable institutions."

He is also listed a ranked professional tennis player and an alum of IMG Academy himself.

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Man who allegedly took exams for 'cheating' students was 'just a really smart guy'

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The spotlight is on the actresses and wealthy parents, who are facing charges over an alleged college entrance exam cheating scandal, but there's a key player whose background has not been widely discussed. Mark Riddell - the man accused of actually taking the students' test for them.

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A man is charged with murder after a 9-year-old was found dead in a duffel bag

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man charged with murder after 9-year-old girl was found dead in a duffel bag - cnn

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A man is now charged with murder after a 9-year-old was found dead in a duffel bag

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Emiel Hunt, 39, was charged Tuesday in the death of Trinity Love Jones. Trinity's body was found March 5 in light brush near an equestrian trail in Hacienda Heights.

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A fox in a hen house got way more than it bargained for when a group of killer chickens turned the tables on their traditional foe and pecked it to death.

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A fox in a henhouse got way more than it bargained for when a group of killer chickens turned the tables on their traditional foe and pecked it to death.
'ZOMBIE DEER' DISEASE KEEPS SPREADING ACROSS COUNTRY, HUNTERS FEAR IT COULD IMPACT INDUSTRY
The henhouse was located at an agricultural school in France and the fox likely entered the coop at dusk last week and got trapped inside as hatch doors close when the sun goes down, AFP reported.

The body of the fox was discovered the following morning by students at Le Gros Chêne school in Brittany when making a routine check on the creatures.
NEW JERSEY POLICE SHOOT, KILL BULL ATTACKING OWNER AFTER IT POUNCED ON PATROL VEHICLE: REPORT
"There, in the corner, we found this dead fox," Pascal Daniel, the head of farming at the school, told AFP. "There was a herd instinct and they attacked him with their beaks."

The organic farm said the chicken coop is open all day and the hens typically spend most of the day outdoors, except when they are laying eggs.
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Killer French farm chickens gang-up to kill fox that sneaked into henhouse

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A fox in a henhouse got way more than it bargained for when a group of killer chickens turned the tables on their traditional foe and pecked it to death.