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Official for former New York City Mayor Eric Adams charged in federal bribery case

By The Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — An official who served in the administration of former New York City Mayor Eric Adams pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to federal criminal charges.

Tony Herbert, 61, who had served as City Hall’s liaison to the city’s public housing residents, entered the plea in Manhattan federal court after his arrest on bribery, kickback and fraud charges. He was released on $50,000 bail.

Herbert was accused of giving unfair advantages to certain businesses in return for $16,000 in bribes.

As he left the courthouse, he told reporters: “These charges are bogus. I was doing my job.”

A criminal corruption case against Adams came to an end last spring when the Justice Department dropped the case against him. The controversy over the plan to drop charges led Manhattan’s top federal prosecutor, Danielle Sassoon, to resign her position rather than carry it out.

Adams, who dropped out of the election for New York City mayor, was replaced at the start of this year by Zohran Mamdani, a 34-year-old democratic socialist.

Massachusetts court hears arguments in lawsuit alleging Meta designed apps to be addictive to kids

By The Associated Press
BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts' highest court heard oral arguments Friday in the state's lawsuit arguing that Meta designed features on Facebook and Instagram to make them addictive to young users. The lawsuit, filed in 2023 by Attorney General Andrea Campbell, alleges that Meta did this to make a profit and that its actions affected hundreds of thousands of teenagers in Massachusetts who use the social media platforms. “We are making claims based only on the tools that Meta has developed because its own research shows they encourage addiction to the platform in a variety of ways,” said State Solicitor David Kravitz, adding that the state's claim has nothing to do the company's algorithms or failure to moderate content. Meta said Friday that it strongly disagrees with the allegations and is “confident the evidence will show our longstanding commitment to supporting young people.” Its attorney, Mark Mosier, argued in court that the lawsuit “would impose liabilities for performing traditional publishing functions” and that its actions are protected by the First Amendment.
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