Butterfield

dies at 99

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House aide who revealed that Richard Nixon had secretly recorded his conversations as president has died. Alexander Butterfield was 99.

His death was confirmed to The Associated Press by his wife, Kim, and John Dean, who served with Butterfield during the Watergate scandal. Butterfield was a deputy assistant to Nixon from 1969 to 1973. He oversaw the taping system connected to voice-activated listening devices that had been secretly placed in four locations, including the Oval Office.

Butterfield revealed its existence in 1973 when asked about possible recordings by Senate officials investigating the Watergate break-in. The tapes would reveal Nixon’s role in the cover-up that followed the burglary in 1972 at the Democratic Party headquarters and hasten his resignation.

‘Fixer’ enters

guilty plea

(AP) — One of the so-called fixers in a sprawling betting scheme to cash in on big bets on rigged NCAA basketball games has pleaded guilty. The federal prosecutors’ office in Philadelphia says Jalen Smith appeared Monday in federal court and pleaded guilty to wire fraud and bribery charges.

Prosecutors say the Charlotte, North Carolina, man trained local basketball players and used those connections to recruit players in the scheme. Charges against Smith were unsealed in January along with 25 others. Prosecutors say Smith helped fix games in the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons.

They say he placed bets and recruited players with the promise of a big payment in exchange for purposefully underperforming during a game.

Gunshots outside

Rihanna’s home

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Multiple gunshots were fired at the Los Angeles home of Rihanna and police have taken a woman into custody. That’s according to the Los Angeles Police Department and local news reports. Police say there were no injuries following the Sunday shooting.

It’s not clear if Rihanna was home at the time. Police say they took a 35-year-old woman into custody. The law enforcement officials did not identify the residents of the home.