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Alexander Mashinsky , 58, of Manhattan, entered the plea in New York federal court to commodities and securities fraud. He admitted illegally manipulating the price of Celsius’s proprietary crypto token while secretly selling his own tokens at inflated prices to pocket about $48 million before Celsius collapsed into bankruptcy in 2022. In court, he admitted that in 2021 he publicly suggested there was regulatory consent for the company's moves because he knew that customers “would find false comfort” with that. And he said that in 2019, he was selling the crypto tokens even though he told the public that he was not. He said he knew customers would draw false comfort from that too. “I accept full responsibility for my actions,” Mashinsky said of crimes that stretched from 2018 to 2022 as the company pitched itself to customers as a modern-day bank where they could safely deposit crypto assets and earn interest. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a release that Mashinsky “orchestrated one of the biggest frauds in the crypto industry” as his company's assets purportedly grew to about $25 billion at its peak, making it one of the largest crypto platforms in the world. He said Mashinsky used catchy slogans like “Unbank Yourself” to entice prospective customers with a pledge that their money would be as safe in crypto accounts as money would be in a bank. Meanwhile, prosecutors said, Mashinsky and co-conspirators used customer deposits to fund market purchases of the Celsius token to prop up its value. Machinsky made tens of millions of dollars selling his own CEL tokens at artificially high prices, leaving his customers “holding the bag when the company went bankrupt,” Williams said. An indictment alleged that Mashinsky promoted Celsius through media interviews, his social media accounts and Celsius’ website, along with a weekly “Ask Mashinsky Anything” session broadcast that was posted to Celsius’ website and a YouTube channel. Celsius employees from multiple departments who noticed false and misleading statements in the sessions warned Mashinsky, but they were ignored, the indictment said. A plea agreement Mashinsky made with prosecutors calls for him to be sentenced to up to 30 years in prison and to forfeit over $48 million, which is the amount of money he allegedly made by selling his company's token. Sentencing was scheduled for April 8.

An Asian supermarket in Queens sold a winning Powerball ticket worth a staggering $256 million on Saturday — a revelation that led the store manager who peddled the golden ticket to say, “I have a lucky hand!” The new multimillionaire — who hit the lottery at Hua Lian Supermarket on Parsons Boulevard in Flushing, the New York Lottery said — still hasn’t come forward to claim the big haul. But Jenny Fang, the 40-year-old worker who sold the ticket, was incredulous that she’s the one who handed it over. “I’ve never sold a winning ticket that big,” she told The Post on Monday. “I have a lucky hand! It’s amazing ... it was a total surprise.” The win marks the first in the state since 2020. But even though word spread on WeChat — the messaging and social media app popular in China — the lucky buyer is still unknown. “I don’t know who bought the ticket. They haven’t come in to claim it,” Fang said. “Ninety percent of the people in this neighborhood are Asian, so an Asian person bought it, I think.” Whoever that is, they’re in for a pleasant surprise — they’ll pick between a life-changing $256 million in payments over 30 years or a lump sum of $123.5 million, before taxes. It’s good news for the supermarket, too — other gamblers are already flocking in, hoping for a taste of Hua Lian’s extraordinary luck. “I heard the news that they sold the winning ticket, so I looked up the address and came from the Bronx to buy a Powerball and Mega (Millions) ticket,” Ruben Vasquez, 73, said. Vasquez could use some luck, having purchased losing lotto tickets for years. Still, he grabbed two more Monday — a Powerball and a Mega Millions — but only after he rubbed a hanging, red-and-gold decoration with the Chinese character for “good fortune” printed on it. “You never know where your luck is going to be,” Vasquez said. “You just have to hope you find it one day. I want to find out if my luck is over here too.” “I’m hoping I can be one of the lucky ones. You never know.”UConn F Alex Karaban (head) won't play vs. Baylor

By FARNOUSH AMIRI, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Rep. Matt Gaetz said Friday that he will not be returning to Congress after withdrawing his name from consideration to be attorney general under President-elect Donald Trump amid growing allegations of sexual misconduct. “I’m still going to be in the fight, but it’s going to be from a new perch. I do not intend to join the 119th Congress,” Gaetz told conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, adding that he has “some other goals in life that I’m eager to pursue with my wife and my family.” Related Articles The announcement comes a day after Gaetz, a Florida Republican, stepped aside from the Cabinet nomination process amid growing fallout from federal and House Ethics investigations that cast doubt on his ability to be confirmed as the nation’s chief federal law enforcement officer. The 42-year-old has vehemently denied the allegations against him. Gaetz’s nomination as attorney general had stunned many career lawyers inside the Justice Department, but reflected Trump’s desire to place a loyalist in a department he has marked for retribution following the criminal cases against him. Hours after Gaetz withdrew, Trump nominated Pam Bondi, the former Florida attorney general, who would come to the job with years of legal work under her belt and that other trait Trump prizes above all: loyalty. It’s unclear what’s next for Gaetz, who is no longer a member of the House. He surprised colleagues by resigning from Congress the same day that Trump nominated him for attorney general. Some speculated he could still be sworn into office for another two-year term on Jan. 3, given that he had just won reelection earlier this month. But Gaetz, who has been in state and national politics for 14 years, said he’s done with Congress. “I think that eight years is probably enough time in the United States Congress,” he said.

Despite the Carolina Hurricanes hoping the injury to goalie Frederik Andersen would be week-to-week, the netminder is going to be out much longer. The team confirmed on Thursday that the 35-year-old Andersen will have surgery Friday, which will keep him out of action for eight to 12 weeks. Andersen to have knee surgery, out 8-12 weeks for Hurricanes: https://t.co/GJRu4EbfqG While the specifics of the injury were not disclosed, Andersen has not played since he made 18 saves in a 4-1 win over the Seattle Kraken on Oct. 26. In four games this season, Andersen has a 3-1-0 record and an impressive .941 save percentage. Andersen missed 50 games during the 2023-24 season due to a blood clotting issue. Prior to the setback, Andersen had a 13-2-0 record and a stout .932 save percentage. Carolina have turned to Pyotr Kochetkov, who led the Hurricanes to a win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday, and Spencer Martin, who was recently called up from the AHL's Chicago Wolves. In 12 games this season, Kochetkov has 10 wins, a 2.30 goals-against average, 264 saves and a .907 save percentage. Starting in two of his three appearances, Martin has one win, a 2.80 GAA, 49 saves and a .891 save percentage. Given the sample size, Kochetkov may give the Hurricanes a better shot, but Martin has been solid enough in limited starts to deserve some consideration as well. Playing in his 12th season in the NHL, Andersen has 298 career wins, a 2.55 GAA, a .916 save percentage and 27 shutouts. Andersen's 298 wins rank ahead of notable goaltenders Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets and Cam Talbot of the Detroit Red Wings. While Hellebuyck has appeared in 520 games compared to 499 for Andersen, Andersen has 10 more wins than Hellebuyck despite the battle with blood clots and injury problems. As impressive as Talbot has been, he only has 250 wins in two fewer starts, which shows just how valuable Andersen has been when he is on the ice. With their veteran out of action for a while, the 14-4 Hurricanes will need to find some solid goaltending if they want to continue their hot start to the season.

Western Union Co. stock falls Tuesday, underperforms marketBEIRUT (AP) — Israel's military launched airstrikes across Lebanon on Monday, unleashing explosions throughout the country and killing at least 12 while Israeli leaders appeared to be closing in on a negotiated ceasefire with the Hezbollah militant group. Israeli strikes hit commercial and residential buildings in Beirut as well as in the port city of Tyre. Military officials said they targeted areas known as Hezbollah strongholds. They issued evacuation orders for Beirut's southern suburbs, and strikes landed across the city, including meters from a Lebanese police base and the city's largest public park. The barrage came as officials indicated they were nearing agreement on a ceasefire, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Security Cabinet prepared to discuss an offer on the table. Massive explosions lit up Lebanon's skies with flashes of orange, sending towering plumes of smoke into the air as Israeli airstrikes pounded Beirut’s southern suburbs Monday. The blasts damaged buildings and left shattered glass and debris scattered across nearby streets. No casualties were reported after many residents fled the targeted sites. Some of the strikes landed close to central Beirut and near Christian neighborhoods and other targets where Israel had issued evacuation warnings, including in Tyre and Nabatieh province. Israeli airstrikes also hit the northeast Baalbek-Hermel region without warning. Lebanon’s Health Ministry said Monday that at least 12 people were killed in the strikes in the Tyre province, adding to the more than 3,700 people in Lebanon who have been killed since Israel launched its invasion two months ago. Many of those killed since the start of the war between Israel and Hezbollah have been civilians , and health officials said some of the recovered bodies were so severely damaged that DNA testing would be required to confirm their identities. Israel says it has killed more than 2,000 Hezbollah members. Lebanon's Health Ministry says the war has displaced 1.2 million people. The latest round of airstrikes came weeks after Israeli ground forces invaded southern Lebanon in early October, meeting heavy resistance in a narrow strip of land along the border. The military had previously exchanged attacks across the border with Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militant group that began firing rockets into Israel the day after the war in Gaza began last year. Lebanese politicians have decried the ongoing airstrikes and said they are impeding U.S.-led ceasefire negotiations. The country's deputy parliament speaker accused Israel of ramping up its bombardment in order to pressure Lebanon to make concessions in indirect ceasefire negotiations with Hezbollah. Elias Bousaab, an ally of the militant group, said Monday that the pressure has increased because “we are close to the hour that is decisive regarding reaching a ceasefire.” Israeli officials voiced similar optimism Monday about prospects for a ceasefire. Mike Herzog, the country's ambassador to Washington, earlier in the day told Israeli Army Radio that several points had yet to be finalized. Though any deal would require agreement from the government, Herzog said Israel and Hezbollah were “close to a deal." “It can happen within days,” he said. Israeli officials have said the sides are close to an agreement that would include withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon and a pullback of Hezbollah fighters from the Israeli border. But several sticking points remain. Two Israeli officials told The Associated Press that Netanyahu’s security Cabinet had scheduled a meeting for Tuesday, but they said it remained unclear whether the Cabinet would vote to approve the deal. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing internal deliberations. Danny Danon, Israel’s U.N. ambassador, told reporters Monday that he expected a ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah to have stages and to be discussed by leaders Monday or Tuesday. Still, he warned, “it’s not going to happen overnight.” After previous hopes for a ceasefire were dashed, U.S. officials cautioned that negotiations were not yet complete and noted that there could be last-minute hitches that either delay or destroy an agreement. "Nothing is done until everything is done," White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Monday. The proposal under discussion to end the fighting calls for an initial two-month ceasefire during which Israeli forces would withdraw from Lebanon and Hezbollah would end its armed presence along the southern border south of the Litani River. The withdrawals would be accompanied by an influx of thousands more Lebanese army troops, who have been largely sidelined in the war, to patrol the border area along with an existing U.N. peacekeeping force . Western diplomats and Israeli officials said Israel is demanding the right to strike in Lebanon if it believes Hezbollah is violating the terms. The Lebanese government has said that such an arrangement would authorize violations of the country's sovereignty. A ceasefire could mark a step toward ending the regionwide war that ballooned after Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting another 250 . The lack of a ceasefire has emerged as a political liability for Israeli leaders including Netanyahu, particularly while 60,000 Israelis remain away from their homes in the country's north after more than a year of cross-border violence. Hezbollah rockets have reached as far south into Israel as Tel Aviv. At least 75 people have been killed, more than half of them civilians. More than 50 Israeli soldiers died fighting in the ground offensive in Lebanon. The Israeli military said about 250 projectiles were fired Sunday, with some intercepted. A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, the strongest of Iran’s armed proxies , is expected to significantly calm regional tensions that have led to fears of a direct, all-out war between Israel and Iran. It’s not clear how the ceasefire will affect the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Hezbollah had long insisted that it would not agree to a ceasefire until the war in Gaza ends, but it dropped that condition. While the proposal is expected to be approved if Netanyahu brings it to a vote in his security Cabinet, one hard-line member, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, said he would oppose it. He said on X that a deal with Lebanon would be a “big mistake” and a “missed historic opportunity to eradicate Hezbollah.” If the ceasefire talks fail, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said, “it will mean more destruction and more and more animosity and more dehumanization and more hatred and more bitterness.” Speaking at a G7 meeting in Fiuggi, Italy, the last summit of its kind before U.S. President Joe Biden leaves office, Safadi said such a failure "will doom the future of the region to more conflict and more killing and more destruction.” Federman reported from Jerusalem and Metz from Rabat, Morocco. Associated Press writers Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations, Nicole Winfield in Fiuggi, Italy, and Aamer Madhani in Washington contributed to this report. Find more of AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war