Fraud Squad: “According to James, Trump’s operation ‘repeatedly and consistently manipulated the value of assets’ in order to win favorable loan terms from banks and to reduce tax payments. ‘This conduct was all in violation of New York state law,’ James said. James is seeking roughly $250 million in penalties and also seeks to ban Trump, his children and members of their executive team permanently from operating businesses in New York state.” New York’s attorney general sues Trump and 3 of his children for alleged fraud. (If only there were a law against openly attempting to overthrow a US election.)

+ Robert Baron: “As a man of faith, I believe in atonement and the path to forgiveness. I expected that the commissioner’s one-year suspension would provide the time for me to focus, make amends and remove my personal controversy from the teams that I and so many fans love. But in our current unforgiving climate, it has become painfully clear that that is no longer possible — that whatever good I have done, or could still do, is outweighed by things I have said in the past.” (Oh poor you and your faux faith.) Robert Sarver, banned from the NBA for a year over racist and sexist behavior, says he’s starting process to sell NBA’s Phoenix Suns, WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury. This doesn’t have shit do with atonement or faith or ethics. It has to do with the fact that big money was putting a full court press on Sarver and his fellow owners.

+ Meal Ticket: 48 people in Minnesota were charged “in the largest pandemic-related fraud scheme yet, stealing $250 million from a federal program that provides meals to low-income children … Prosecutors say few meals were actually served, and the defendants used the money to buy luxury cars, property and jewelry.” (Apparently, these criminals have never seen Goodfellas.)

+ Freedom Isn’t Free: “Women have been at the forefront of escalating protests in Iran sparked by the death in custody of a woman detained for breaking hijab laws.
Crowds cheered when women burned their hijabs on a bonfire in Sari on Tuesday, the fifth successive day of unrest … At least seven people are now reported to have been killed since protests against the hijab laws and morality police erupted after Mahsa Amini’s death.” AP explainer: What kept Iran protests going after first spark? “Mahsa Amini was picked up by Iran’s morality police for her allegedly loose headscarf, or hijab, has triggered daring displays of defiance, in the face of beatings and possible arrest.”

+ Electric Charges: “In their lawsuits and their interviews, the women describe a workplace rife with sexual harassment and a culture of indifference or hostility to their concerns and complaints.” Rolling Stone: ‘How Many Women Were Abused to Make That Tesla?‘ Sexism not your thing? Try this story instead: Black workers accused Tesla of racism for years. Now California is stepping in.

+ Beached: “More than 200 whales have been found stranded on a remote beach on the west coast of Tasmania, Australia. Half of the pod, thought to be pilot whales, are believed to be still alive. Rescuers are being sent to the area.” This is not the first time this has happened and no one is quite sure why.

+ Pill Skill: “Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have found whether you’re standing upright or leaning, as well as which side you’re leaning to, could affect how fast the contents of a pill are absorbed into your body.” WaPo: Have you been taking pills wrong? Here’s what science says.