Comment on Houston activists call for criminal justice reform

By MICHAEL BALSAMO and MICHAEL R. SISAK WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department is ramping up efforts to address a crisis of suicides and systemic failures in federal prisons and jails, announcing sweeping reforms aimed at overhauling how mental health care is provided behind bars. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco outlined the measures in a memo and report Tuesday, directing the Bureau of Prisons to update suicide prevention protocols, improve mental health assessments for inmates, and adopt data-driven strategies to reduce deaths in custody.

By JANIE HAR SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Defense attorneys for a tech consultant charged in the stabbing death of Cash App founder Bob Lee made their final arguments Tuesday before the high-profile murder case goes to jurors. Prosecutors, who delivered their closing Monday, say Nima Momeni planned the April, 2023, attack after hearing that the tech mogul had introduced his younger sister to a drug dealer who she says gave her GHB and other drugs and then sexually assaulted her at his apartment. Momeni lured Lee to an isolated spot by the Bay Bridge, stabbed him three times with a knife from his sister’s kitchen set and pealed away in his car, they say. But defense attorney Saam Zangeneh said Tuesday that prosecutors have not presented the whole truth to jurors, omitting details and failing to investigate avenues that would not help their cause. “The government’s whole case rests on motive,” he said.

By ZEKE MILLER, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team on Tuesday signed an agreement to allow the Justice Department to conduct background checks on his nominees and appointees after a weeks-long delay. The step lets Trump transition aides and future administration staffers obtain security clearances before Inauguration Day to access classified information about ongoing government programs, an essential step for a smooth transiton of power.

By Brandon Hernandez, San Diego Union Tribune A bounteous feast stocked with staple seasonal dishes unique to individual families’ traditions, few events offer the variety of a Thanksgiving dinner. But what if you were to arrive at that holiday affair to find a table stocked solely with turkey and stuffing, because “that’s all anybody wants to eat”?

In the waters off Florida’s east coast lurked the trove of gold worth a fortune that no one would find for 300 years. It seemed the treasure story concluded in 2015 when one or more divers successfully found 51 gold coins — a triumph that drew news media attention. But now, a state investigation adds a new twist to the saga. It turns out there was a much larger total amount of valuables at the time — actually 101 gold coins, state investigators say.

By TOM KRISHER, Associated Press DETROIT (AP) — For a second time, a Delaware judge has nullified a pay package that Tesla had awarded its CEO, Elon Musk, that once was valued at $56 billion. On Monday, Chancellor Kathaleen St. Jude McCormick turned aside a request from Musk’s lawyers to reverse a ruling she announced in January that had thrown out the compensation plan.