Former Patriots receiver Stefon Diggs was found not guilty of assaulting his private chef in a pay dispute. The four-time Pro Bowl wideout was facing strangulation charge and a misdemeanor assault and battery charge stemming from the alleged dispute. According to court records, the chef told officers she and Diggs argued about money he owed her for work. During the Dec. 2 encounter at his home in Dedham, she said, he “smacked her across the face” and then “tried to choke her using the crook of his elbow around her neck,” leaving her feeling short of breath. Diggs, whose attorney said he denied the charges, was released by the Patriots in March.

New Mexico state prosecutors are seeking fundamental changes to Meta’s social media apps and algorithms to safeguard children in the second phase of a landmark trial on allegations that platforms such as Instagram have created a public safety hazard. Opening statements are scheduled Monday in the three-week bench trial. Meta has warned that it could eliminate service in the state if forced to comply with impractical mandates. Recent jury verdicts have validated long-standing concerns about the dangers of social media for young people. New Mexico prosecutors say Meta's platforms pose a public nuisance under state law and want improvements aimed at curbing child sexual exploitation.

Meta is raising the prospect of shutting down social media services in New Mexico in response to a push by state prosecutors for fundamental changes to platforms, including Instagram, to protect the mental health and safety of children. The possibility emerged Thursday amid legal gamesmanship in the runup to a bench trial next week on allegations that Meta poses a public nuisance. In a court filing and public statement, Meta said it was unfeasible for the company to meet proposed requirements. Prosecutors are seeking a series of changes to social media platforms for child accounts aimed at reining in compulsive use and preventing child sexual exploitation.

Exhibits and testimony at Harvey Weinstein's rape retrial show that two days after he allegedly raped a woman in a New York hotel, she wrote herself a note about becoming “emotionally attached” to someone and wanting a loving partnership. A Weinstein lawyer pointed out Thursday that the note didn't mention the alleged sexual assault. The note hasn’t emerged at two previous trials about the accusation. The woman, Jessica Mann, says there was “a lot going on at this time in my life.”

A teenager charged with sexually assaulting and killing his 18-year-old stepsister on a Carnival Cruise ship will go to trial in over a month. A federal judge said this week in an order that Timothy Hudson's trial on charges of first-degree murder and aggravated sexual abuse will start June 1 in Miami. The 16-year-old was initially charged as a juvenile before the case was transferred to adult court. He entered a written plea of not guilty last week. Minors are rarely prosecuted in federal court.

The woman at the center of Harvey Weinstein’s repeatedly retried rape case has told jurors for the third time that the former Hollywood honcho trapped her in a New York hotel room and assaulted her in 2013. Jessica Mann testified through sobs Tuesday that she repeatedly said no, and she tried to leave the room, but in her words, “he just treated me like he owned me.” Weinstein looked on steadily in court as she spoke. He denies the allegation. His lawyers haven’t yet had their chance to question Mann at this retrial but have argued that everything that happened between the two was consensual.

Takeaways from an Associated Press investigation that finds a business known for tough-love boarding schools for rebellious, rich teenagers has set its sights on a different demographic: adopted kids. Experts say adoptees account for an estimated 25-40% of those in residential treatment. What some call the “troubled teen industry,” a sprawling network of loosely regulated, for-profit residential treatment centers and boarding schools advertise to adoptive parents, promising to help adoptees heal, at a cost as high as $20,000 a month. Adoptees told AP they believe they were in a shadow orphanage system where children end up institutionalized in oppressive, sometimes abusive facilities.

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s former chief of staff says that he made a “serious mistake” by recommending Peter Mandelson’s appointment as U.K. ambassador to the United States. Morgan McSweeney told lawmakers that it had been “a serious error of judgment.” McSweeney resigned in February. He said that “the prime minister relied on my advice and I got it wrong.” Mandelson was fired by Starmer in September over his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein. McSweeney apologized to Epstein’s victims, saying he was sorry if the controversy had caused "further hurt or distress.” Starmer is facing calls to resign over the appointment. The House of Commons is set to vote later on whether Starmer should be investigated by a parliamentary standards watchdog.

Nathan Chasing Horse has been sentenced to life in prison for sexual assault. A judge gave the “Dances With Wolves” actor his sentence Monday in Las Vegas. He was found guilty in January of 13 charges in a yearslong sexual abuse case. Prosecutors say Chasing Horse used his reputation as a Lakota medicine man to prey on Indigenous women and girls. He was acquitted on some charges. He denied all of the allegations. Chasing Horse, wearing his navy blue Clark County Detention Center uniform, stared straight ahead as victims read statements about the suffering he caused.

'Dances With Wolves' actor Nathan Chasing Horse sentenced to life for sexually assaulting Indigenous women and girls.