Former Major League Baseball outfielder Yasiel Puig was found guilty of obstruction of justice and lying to federal investigators in a gambling case, according to Fox News. The verdict, announced Friday, followed a weekslong trial, and Puig, 35, now faces up to 20 years in federal prison, with sentencing scheduled for May 26.
The U.S. Attorneys Office announced the verdict, which stemmed from an investigation into an illegal gambling operation. Testimony from MLB officials and Donny Kadokawa, a Hawaii baseball coach tied to Puig, was included in the trial, according to Fox News. Puig, who played for three major league teams, spent the majority of his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He has not appeared in an MLB game since 2019.
In other news, the Small Business Administration (SBA) announced Friday that it had suspended over 100,000 California borrowers amid suspected fraud, with the alleged abuse totaling nearly $9 billion, as reported by Fox News. SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler stated the agency suspended 111,620 California borrowers linked to suspected fraudulent activity across SBA pandemic-era loan programs. These borrowers received 118,489 Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) loans totaling more than $8.6 billion.
Meanwhile, during the opening ceremony for the Winter Games in Milan, Vice President JD Vance was booed by the crowd, according to the NY Times. The jeers and boos were audible despite the loud music playing for the parade. The crowd's mood seemed to shift when the screen switched from the athletes to the stands, where Mr. Vance and his wife, Usha Vance, were waving small American flags.
Also on Friday, former President Donald Trump said he "didn't see" the part of a social media video that included a racist clip depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as apes, as reported by BBC World. The clip, set to the song "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," was at the end of a 62-second video he shared containing claims about voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election. Trump, when asked if he would apologize, said, "I didn't make a mistake." He added that he had only seen the beginning of the video before it was posted by a staff member and did not know it contained the racist clip.
In a separate development, President Trump signed an executive order threatening to impose additional tariffs on countries that continue to trade with Iran, according to BBC World. The order, issued Friday, does not specify the rate that could be imposed, but uses 25 as an example. It says the tariff could apply to goods imported into the US from any nation that "directly or indirectly purchases, imports, or otherwise acquires any goods or services from Iran." Trump reiterated "no nuclear weapons" for Iran when speaking from Air Force One on Friday night. The order comes as talks continue between senior US and Iranian officials in Oman.
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