In a deposition unveiled as part of the NRA’s Texas bankruptcy trial on Monday, LaPierre said he used the 108-foot-yacht, named Illusions, to shelter from threats and the national outrage that followed the shootings of dozens of schoolchildren in the two incidents. “They simply let me use it as a security retreat because they knew the threat that I was under. And I was basically under presidential threat without presidential security in terms of the number of threats I was getting,” LaPierre said, according to the New York Daily News....

The National Transportation Safety Board on Tuesday released an abstract of its findings from a yearlong report into the crash, concluding that pilot Ara Zobayan violated his training and several safety protocols when he flew into a wall of clouds. NTSB investigators found Zobayan became spatially disoriented inside, causing him to bank left at a decreasing altitude when he thought he was ascending above the clouds. The NTSB noted that Zobayan’s “poor decision” to fly the Sikorsky S-76B helicopter into the clouds was likely “influenced by his self-induced pressure to fulfill the client’s travel needs....

NBA League Pass: Sign up to unlock live out-of-market games (7-day free trial) With 17 points, 12 rebounds and season-high 15 assists, Jokic notched his third triple-double of the season and the 60th of his career, passing Larry Bird for eighth all-time. Most triple-doubles in NBA history *Active player Four of the top 10 players on the list are currently in the league, with Lakers guard Russell Westbrook sitting at No....

Under the ban, Miller will not play Friday when the Nuggets face the Memphis Grizzlies. He will not travel with the team from Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Lakers. MORE: Additional details on suspension | Sixers-Nuggets game recap Word of the suspension follows Wednesday's outburst in which Miller lambasted coach Brian Shaw for benching him against in a 114-102 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. Wednesday marked the first time Miller didn't play while healthy in his 15-year career....

How many times have you heard, “Well, they haven’t played anybody.” Well, there’s a way to figure that out. Look at the record. Over the next five days, we’ll look at how each Power 5 conference school fares against ranked teams. MORE: ACC vs. Top 25 | All Pac-12 team | Stanford underrated? | SN Top 25 Today, a closer at how Pac-12 teams have fared against ranked teams since 2009, according to StatsPass....

Mother Irene Gibson, who belongs to the Carmelite Sisters of the Holy Face of Jesus group, and her colleague, Sister Anne Marie, from New Zealand, were ordered to leave their compound after they attended the religious event in Dublin last December. The Dail, based in the Irish capital, is the Irish lower house of the Oireachtas, which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann, the upper house of the Irish legislature....

Despite strong pushback, the CDC has resisted adding a requirement for people to take another COVID-19 test before ending their quarantine. After the change in CDC’s recommendation, there have been reports of hospital workers being pressured to go back to work while still testing positive for COVID-19. In a fiery press release, the National Nurses United (NNU) called the CDC decision “unconscionable,” saying that it would “weaken the isolation guidance in the face of the more transmissible and vaccine-resistant Omicron variant and what could be the most devastating COVID surge yet....

In response to the AP’s report, the NWHL said it has no announcement to make at this point. The league will reportedly announce the news at the end of the month. This would be the first Canadian professional women’s hockey team since the Canadian Women’s Hockey League folded last year. Former CWHL and Brown University women’s hockey head coach Margaret “Digit” Murphy will reportedly be in charge of the team....

Of the 1,100 strikes, 110 occurred in the Bay Area. Additional flashes between clouds were too numerous to count and not factored into the total, the Associated Press reported. Firefighters working to fight the extensive Caldor Fire south of Lake Tahoe were sent to combat the new fires ignited by the lightning in El Dorado County, according to the local unit of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection....

Ciampa held off Aleister Black in a slower-paced, but hard-fought, match in the main event to retain the NXT championship, a title he has held since last July. Gargano got his first taste of gold in NXT by defeating Ricochet for the North American championship in a fast-moving, athletic showcase. That wasn’t the only championship that changed hands Saturday. The War Raiders upended Undisputed Era to win the NXT tag team championship in what was an exciting opening bout....

Toni Storm delivered on her promise as she defeated Rhea Ripley to become the NXT UK women’s champion, while the Grizzled Young Veterans — James Drake and Zack Gibson — beat Trent Seven and Tyler Bate, together known as Moustache Mountain, to become the inaugural NXT UK tag team champions. The main event saw Pete Dunne outlast Joe Coffey in a physical war to retain the NXT UK championship, extending his amazing 601-day reign as champion....

“Mr. Barr’s recent actions and statements position the Attorney General and, by extension, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) as political partisans willing to use the levers of government to empower certain groups over others,” the letter to the congressional leaders stated. On Wednesday, Roger Juan Maldonado, president of the association, and chairman Stephen Kass sent the letter on behalf of the association. to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer....

In an effort to better respond to mental health crises, last month, New York City launched their Behavioral Health Emergency Assistance Response Division, also known as B-HEARD. This change arrives just over a year after George Floyd’s murder, which pressured states to find ways to curb violence and systemic racism in policing. During certain nonviolent situations, in lieu of police, the city is now dispatching B-HEARD teams, which consists of emergency medical technicians (EMS) or paramedics and mental health professionals from NYC Health + Hospitals....

New York’s Finest have been hailed around the world for helping bring down the city’s obscenely high crime rate. In just three years murders have dropped nearly by half. While there are many reasons for the decline, few experts dispute that the NYPD’s aggressive take-back-the-streets crackdown has played a significant role. But in New York and some other cities where the get-tough strategy is spreading, a tough question is being raised: does that style of policing come at an unacceptable price?...

The Boys in Green succumbed to a 2-1 defeat at Parc Olympique Lyonnais on Sunday, with Griezmann striking twice in quick succession after the re-start to cancel out Robbie Brady’s opener. Their task was made considerably more difficult when Duffy was dismissed for a foul on Griezmann that denied the Atletico Madrid forward a goal-scoring opportunity on the 66th minute. However, O’Shea believes that Duffy’s foul “kept [Ireland] in the game” and said that the Blackburn Rovers centre back was “outstanding”....

Following the words “not guilty,” the street outside the courthouse in downtown Los Angeles rippled with an emotional tremble. The cops–mostly white–stared blankly as a swell of “Amen” and “Thank you Jesus” suffocated the TV microphones. Anxious faces waited to speak to the camera . . . “the folks” spewed forth. Some cried out in joy while others pointed at the camera and reporters in mockery . . . “heh, heh you were wrong....

The Milwaukee Bucks, who are the worst team in the NBA, were hosting the Denver Nuggets, meaning J.R. Smith and his shoelace antics were not involved. More to the point, what's worse, O.J. Mayo not playing defense or the Nuggets not going directly at him. (H/T Basketball Insiders)

Maybe he should sign up bleach boy Kato Kaelin, whose turn Tuesday at the Radio-TV Correspondents’ dinner in D.C. left no doubt as to the loafing witness’s stardom. Hard-to-impress news types like Dan Rather gleefully chatted him up, as did cabinet members Robert Reich and Donna Shalala, who got an autograph for a staffer. Someone ought to object.

The 2 1/2-hour video, including a 90-minute “unrehearsed, uncut, uncensored” inter-view–available beginning Jan. 31- went on sale last Friday via an 800 number. It was met with outrage. Radio talk shows and victim-abuse groups suggested jamming the lines to slow sales. The following day, the video’s producer switched the 800 number to a toll listing. Members of Ron Goldman’s and Nicole Brown’s families urged a boycott of the $29.95 tape, and wondered why Simpson didn’t take the stand during his trial if he wanted his story out....

The country club, located at 3951 West Maple Road Bloomfield Hills, has hosted multiple major tournaments and was most recently selected as the setting for the upcoming U.S. Women’s Open. A video of the blaze has been shared on Twitter and viewed over 1.3 million times. Posted to the Golf.com Twitter page, the video was captioned: “Truly awful scene from Oakland Hills. Thoughts going out to everyone on the ground there....