Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups pleads not guilty to alleged NBA gambling scheme
Portland Trail Blazers Coach Chauncey Billups arrives for his arraignment hearing at U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York on November 24, 2025 in New York City. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — Portland Trail Blazers head coach and National Basketball Association Hall of Famer Chauncey Billups pleaded not guilty on Monday in Brooklyn federal court to charges he conspired to lure unsuspecting poker players to games allegedly rigged by the Mafia.
“We enter a plea of not guilty,” defense attorney Mark Mukasey said.
Prosecutors said Billups was one of the alleged scheme’s “face cards” who used his celebrity to attract high-rollers to poker tables that were equipped with X-ray technology and altered shuffling machines. The poker games were backed by organized crime families, according to the indictment, which was revealed Oct. 23.
Billups was released on a $5 million bond, secured by a home in Colorado.
Judge Ramon Reyes said he intends for the trial to begin in September 2026.
“Do whatever you have to do to get it ready to go,” Reyes said.
Billups, who spent 17 seasons in the NBA and was the 2004 NBA Finals MVP, is one of 31 defendants charged in the scheme, all of whom are due in court Monday. They’re facing various charges of wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy.
All 31 defendants appeared in court on Monday.
“With respect to at least some defendants, plea negotiations have begun,” one of the prosecutors, Michael Gibaldi, said. He did not say which defendants might opt to change their plea to guilty and resolve their cases before trial.
Federal prosecutors previously signaled that they expect a number of the defendants will ultimately opt to plead guilty.
“Although it is too early for the government and any of the defendants to engage in substantial plea negotiations, the government and defense counsel for several defendants have begun productive discussions that the government hopes will ultimately lead to resolutions as to several defendants without the need for a trial,” prosecutors wrote in a court filing ahead of Monday’s status conference.
The evidence against Billups and his codefendants, including NBA coach Damon Jones, comes from electronic devices, surveillance photographs, pole camera footage, bank records and phone records, prosecutors said.
Less than a week after the charges against Billups and others were revealed, the NBA announced that it was undertaking a review of how the league can protect itself from sports betting and whether it’s doing enough to educate coaches, players and other personnel about the “dire risks” gambling could pose to their careers, according to an NBA league memo obtained by ABC News.
Billups and Rozier were immediately placed on leave by their teams when the charges were announced, the NBA said.
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story erroneously identified Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier as one of the co-defendants in the alleged poker scheme.
(LONDON)– It is one thing to make a New Year’s resolution. It is, however, a very different thing to be able to keep it.
Every year they are made with the best of intentions — with the hope and desire to become a better version of ourselves — so why is it that millions of people make New Year’s resolutions knowing the odds of them ever following through with them are minimal?
Jasper Rook Williams — fitness expert, online coach and owner of JRW Fitness — has made a successful career so far working with hundreds of clients around the world on improving their nutrition, training and lifestyle calibration. He has a good idea why.
“The goals, if sometimes a little ambitious, are rarely the problem and they are all set with best intentions,” Rook Williams tells ABC News. “The issue is there’s rarely enough thought put into the approach. People have high ambitions hinging on mostly unrealistic and unsustainable methods. Rather than just thinking ‘I’ll eat salads and join a gym’, people need to prioritize achievable routines, sustainability and lifestyle changes from a broader and more holistic perspective.”
According to research, Rook Williams isn’t wrong. The failure rate for New Year’s resolutions is said to be an estimated 80% with most people losing their resolve and motivation just weeks later in mid-February, according to U.S News and World Report.
“Changing your habits is very difficult, including finding the right moment to make a change,” Bas Verplanken, professor of social psychology at the University of Bath, said in a report released by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology in 2017. “Changing from December 31st to January 1st is not a dramatic discontinuity. Many resolutions are made on December 31st, and go down the drain on January 2nd.”
Psychologically speaking, the beginning of a new year is often viewed as a seminal moment — a time to reflect on the previous year and look ahead to the new one. But this doesn’t necessarily translate to immediate change and action just because of timing.
“Anything worthwhile is never without obstacle” Perhaps unsurprisingly, the top three New Year’s resolutions made each year are living healthier (23%), personal improvement or happiness (21%) and losing weight (20%), according to a report published by Statista in Nov. 2022.
“A great question to ask yourself when starting out is “does this feel sustainable?” Rook Williams explains to ABC News. “If you can’t keep up the routine then you definitely won’t keep the results.”
One of the things that Rook Williams has found leads to people maintaining their success is when people have — or are given — a sense of accountability.
“You have to bear in mind that creating new habits is hard and progress for anything worthwhile is never linear,” he said. “There will be times when either you want to stop or results seem to have stopped and that can be hard to deal with. That’s when having someone to guide you can keep you accountable can be invaluable in the process of change.”
Ultimately, to successfully make a change for the better, it comes down to striking the right balance, according to Rook Williams.
“In the case of fitness, it’s not just the food or training or wider lifestyle that will create the change but all three of these things working together,” he continued. “They’re not mutually exclusive. Lacking motivation is common and, in my experience, is something that comes when you don’t have a plan. Whether you hire a professional or not, just removing the guesswork and gaining a sense of direction always helps the individual on their path to success.”
“Motivation is temporary” One of the biggest obstacles to maintaining resolutions, particularly when it comes to fitness objectives, is to choose goals that are both achievable and sustainable.
An estimated 12% of all new gym memberships per year occur in January, according to a study done by IHRSA, the fitness industry’s only global trade association that represents health clubs worldwide. Another study indicates that four out of every five people who join the gym in January will actually quit within five months.
“Motivation is temporary for everyone,” says Rook Williams. “So the best thing you can do is use that time to create the habits and routines needed to see you through once it wanes. And it will wane. It always does. The classic thing new gym starters do in the new year is go from zero to 100 mph … They want to go from not working out at all and eating what they want to training five, six, seven days a week and eating like a rabbit. This just sets them up for failure because it’s just not realistic.”
One of the biggest reasons why Rook Williams’ clients often succeed when it comes to setting goals is the focus on maintaining a healthy outlook every day and “saying no to short-termism.”
“Being new at something and hoping to be perfect straight away is a sure fire way to give up on anything very quickly,” Rook Williams explains. “Be sure to cut yourself some slack. If you planned to train three days one week but only managed two, that doesn’t make you a failure. It’s still two more than you were doing before, so just wipe the slate clean and try it again without holding on to guilt or punishing yourself.”
“Everyone falls off the horse at some point, even the pros,” Rook Williams continued. “What’s important is how quickly you dust yourself off and get back to work. Those who make it do this right away. But those who let one mistake spill over into more mistakes are the ones who are most likely to give up and start again next year.”
“Never just one solution” No matter what resolution you may make in the New Year, for Rook Williams, success is all about perspective and making changes in incremental ways that suit your lifestyle rather than completely disrupting it.
“There is never just one solution to a problem, whatever that problem might be,” he continued. “Your goal might be set in stone, but how you achieve it shouldn’t be. Don’t get married to just one method. Finding sustainable success is all about finding the method that is easiest and most maintainable for you.”
Unrealistic expectations and the dangers of expecting to get it right the first time are one of the main things that Rook Williams warns his clients about.
“With so much conflicting information out there and each of us having our own unique goals, schedules and responsibilities, the chance of getting your nutritional approach spot on when going alone immediately is incredibly slim,” Rook Williams explains. “Even if it is working, it might not be sustainable so be prepared for a period involving a lot of trial and error.”
For Rook Williams this was a huge reason why he became a coach in the first place. “It took me ages to piece it all together and, once I had, I wanted to help others do the same and in far less time.”
Research actually backs this up. According to a 2012 study conducted by the University of Pennsylvania’s Weight and Eating Disorders Program, 65% of dieters return to their pre-diet weight within three years and only 5% of people who lose weight on a restrictive diet, such as a liquid or no-carb, manage to keep the weight off — just one out of every 20 dieters.
“Carbs are tasty, alcohol can be fun, food is for eating and going without all these things forever is, for most people, totally unrealistic. When you think about it logically like that, it’s no surprise the majority of people fail to keep off the weight they lose.”
Ultimately, making any major change in your life requires more than just the desire to do so. It requires a goal, determination and a willingness to learn all mixed with a heavy dose of reality and a well-constructed approach to change.
“If you have a day where you feel like you can’t be bothered with anything, remember you are running your own race,” Rook Williams explains. “Success isn’t made by being perfect everyday but by doing your best everyday, whatever that looks like to you. What I have learned myself — and what I have really seen leads people to success — is if you have good habits and routines in place that you have created over time, that’s what is going to get you to where you want to be.”
Said Rook Williams: “It’s not just the food or training or wider lifestyle that will create the change but all three of these things. They’re all connected.”
Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan leaves the Milwaukee Federal Courthouse on May 15, 2025 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
(MILWAUKEE) — Jury selection is set to begin on Thursday in the federal trial of Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan, who is accused of concealing an undocumented man to prevent his arrest by immigration authorities.
The court has scheduled jury selection over two days, with the trial set to begin on Monday in Milwaukee.
Prosecutors have told the court they expect to have 25 to 28 witnesses.
Dugan was arrested in April and charged in a two-count federal indictment alleging obstruction of official Department of Homeland Security removal proceedings and knowingly concealing the man, Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, from immigration authorities.
According to federal prosecutors, Dugan encountered federal agents who were at the Milwaukee County Circuit Court on April 18 to arrest Flores-Ruiz, who was appearing in her courtroom on a battery charge.
Prosecutors say that after speaking to the agents, Dugan directed them to the chief judge’s office down the hall and then sent Flores-Ruiz and his attorney out a non-public door in an alleged attempt, authorities claim, to help him evade arrest on immigration violations.
Dugan has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Her lawyers have called her arrest “virtually unprecedented” and sought to dismiss the case, arguing she has judicial immunity for official acts and her prosecution is unconstitutional. Judge Lynn Adelman denied the motion, finding that there was “no basis for granting immunity simply because some of the allegations in the indictment describe conduct that could be considered ‘part of a judge’s job.'”
The Wisconsin Supreme Court suspended Dugan in the wake of her arrest, stating in an order that it found it was “in the public interest that she be temporarily relieved of her official duties.”
Flores-Ruiz, a native of Mexico, was later arrested and charged with unlawful reentry into the U.S.
He was sentenced to time served earlier this month after pleading guilty to the charge, federal court records show. DHS said last month he had been deported.
(NEW YORK) — The South is about to be walloped with more winter weather, less than a week after an ice storm ripped through the region, closing highways and taking down power lines and trees.
The National Weather Service has issued cold weather alerts from Texas to Tennessee and Florida, warning that prolonged exposure to the bitter cold could lead to hypothermia if proper precautions are not taken.
Several dozen people have died in multiple states as a result of the winter storm that stretched across the South and eastern U.S. last week, according to The Associated Press. The Tennessee Department of Health confirmed 21 weather-related fatalities on Saturday morning, Mississippi reported at least 16 and Louisiana confirmed nine, according to state officials.
In addition to hypothermia, the fatalities occurred as a result of suspected carbon monoxide poisoning and accidents involving cars, sleds and snowplows.
States are still working to restore power and clear the roadways of snow and ice that remained in the wake of the storm.
As of Saturday morning, more than 1,500 flights have been cancelled..
Not surprising, the airports seeing some of the most impacts are located in the Winter storm zone and where states have declared a state of emergency: ATL, Charlotte, Raleigh and Charleston.
Here is what to expect in the next round of inclement weather.
Southern states bracing for cold blast while thousands still without power Temperatures are expected to plunge across the South again as a new arctic blast moves into the region, bringing dangerously cold conditions while tens of thousands in multiple states remain without power.
On Friday night, temperatures are expected to fall into the teens across much of Tennessee and northern Mississippi, with lows in the 20s from southern Mississippi into Louisiana.
Gusty winds will make the bitter cold feel even colder for anyone outdoors, with wind chills near or a few degrees below zero from central Tennessee to northern Mississippi by Saturday morning.
Temperatures on Saturday afternoon will only reach a high of 21 degrees in Nashville and 26 degrees in Oxford, Mississippi. Thousands of people in both states have been without electricity for nearly a week, exacerbating the danger presented from the frigid temperatures.
States like Tennessee and Mississippi don’t necessarily design their infrastructure to withstand ice storms — they are instead engineered to handle hurricanes and extreme heat, more common regional threats, said Sara Eftekharnejad, a professor of electrical engineering and computer science in Syracuse University’s College of Engineering and Computer Science.
Restoration after an ice storm is often more challenging, because when trees fall, they tend to take down multiple power lines at one, Eftekharnejad said in a statement.
“An equal concern is the frigid Arctic blast and the blustery winds,” Marshall Shepherd, director of the Atmospheric Sciences Program at the University of Georgia and former president of the American Meteorological Society, told ABC News.
Heavy snow and blizzard conditions are also possible for the Southeast this weekend.
Snow will become widespread Friday night across much of eastern Tennessee, southern Virginia, nearly all of North Carolina, northern South Carolina and northeastern Georgia,
Residents in Georgia are “excited about the snow,” Shepherd said, but emphasized the overall concern for vulnerable populations such as the elderly and homeless.
The bitter cold is expected to ease by early next week with highs in the 40s and 50s from Texas to Tennessee on Monday.
It will be even milder by Tuesday, with afternoon temperatures in the 50s and 60s in many areas. Tuesday’s highs will be near 50 degrees in Nashville and reach the mid-50s in Oxford, Mississippi.
However, it will still be cold at night for those that still have to cope with no electricity. Both Tennessee and Mississippi experienced widespread power outages as a result of the storm.
Freezing temperatures heading toward Florida The Sunshine State will not be spared from the winter weather this time around, the forecast shows.
Temperatures remained mild in Florida last weekend while the massive ice storm inundated its neighboring states to the north.
The state will face a brief but potent blast of extreme cold, bringing the coldest temperatures in more than 15 years to parts of Florida.
Actual air temperatures are forecast to dip into the 20s across much of the state by Sunday morning, including Tallahassee, Jacksonville and Orlando, potentially challenging daily record lows in all three cities.
“Freeze conditions will likely kill crops, other sensitive vegetation and possibly damage unprotected outdoor plumbing,” the National Weather Service said.
On Sunday, a low temperature around freezing is possible in Tampa, with temperatures dipping into the mid-30s across southern Florida, including Miami. Miami could also challenge a daily record low on Sunday.
If the low temperature in Miami on Sunday morning dips into the upper 30s, that would be the coldest temperature the city has experienced since December 2010. On Dec. 28, 2010, the low temperature in Miami was 39 degrees. The current forecast has lows at 36 degrees.
The coldest recorded temperature ever recorded in Miami occurred on Feb. 3, 1917, when the temperature dropped to 27 degrees. Records go back to 1895.
In Orlando, the current low temperature forecast is 24 on Sunday morning. This could be the coldest temperature that the city has experienced since Dec. 29, 2010, when the low temperature in Orlando was 24 degrees.
The coldest recorded temperature in Orlando occurred on Dec. 28, 1894, when the temperature dropped to 18 degrees. Records go back to 1892.
How Florida farms, groves are preparing Florida’s agricultural industry is preparing for the freezing temperatures. The state exports crops such as leafy greens, strawberries, tomatoes, bell peppers and blueberries to the rest of the country during the winter, according to ATTRA, a sustainable agriculture information source.
However, the wind chills will be even lower. It will potentially feel like the single digits in North Florida on Sunday morning, the teens in the central peninsula and in the 20s in South Florida.
Farmers have already been reporting frost damage in crops such as snap beans, sweet corn, squash and bell peppers. Cold exposure in southern counties has caused leaf burn and flower drop, which, depending on the crop stage or duration of exposure, can cause reduced yields or complete field losses.
Florida citrus growers have activated established frost protection practices to protect root systems and help moderate air temperatures around trees in anticipation of cold and potential freeze conditions, Shannon Shepp, executive director of the Florida Department of Citrus, told ABC News.
Leaders in Florida’s citrus industry hope that years of deployed treatments, therapies and replanting efforts to strengthen tree health will allow the groves to withstand the cold and freezing temperatures coming their way, Matt Joyner, executive vice president and CEO of Florida Citrus Mutual told ABC News.
“As is typical in these situations, it remains too early to estimate potential impacts, as effects will vary based on location, duration, and severity of cold temperatures,” Shepp said.
Florida growers are “experienced” in managing weather-related challenges and have navigated freeze events “many times before,” Shepp added.
The National Weather Service warned that strong, gusty winds accompanying the cold front on Saturday could create additional hazards and potentially disrupt final preparations to protect sensitive vegetation and pipes.
The NWS advised people to ensure that any tarps, blankets or coverings around sensitive plants or pipes are properly secured. Preparations should be completed by Saturday morning at the latest to avoid the strongest winds.
Reptiles could be ‘cold-stunned’ Reptiles in the state will likely become cold-stunned as a result of the temperatures. In the past, iguanas have been seen falling out of trees, and alligators appeared motionless in frozen waterways.
At ZooMiami, keepers are most concerned about its reptile residents, Ron Magill, ZooMiami’s communications director, told ABC News.
All of the zoo’s giant land tortoises and lizards that have access to the outdoors will be secured indoors in a heated structure, while the crocodilians will have access to constantly flowing water, Magill said. Smaller, more sensitive mammals, like sloths, porcupines will be brought indoors and kept in a heated structure as well.
The primates, like the chimpanzees our orangutans, are given blankets that they wrap themselves up in, Magill said.
The animals are also given more food, since it takes more calories to fight the cold, Magill said.
At Jungle Island, an eco-adventure park on Miami’s Watson Island, most of the animals come from tropical or sub-tropical climates, and therefore are brought inside as well, Jon Joyce, the animal care curator at Jungle Island, said in a statement.
Some animals, like the tigers, bask in the below-normal temperatures, and become more active and playful, Magill said.
