FBI Director Kash Patel sues The Atlantic over story claiming heavy drinking

FBI Director Kash Patel on Monday sued The Atlantic magazine for $250 million over an explosive article that detailed claims he regularly drinks too much and his binges have caused serious national security risks.

The article by author Sarah Fitzpatrick, which Patel calls a “malicious hit piece,” quoted two dozen colleagues and witnesses about Patel’s “bouts of excessive drinking” and behavior including “both conspicuous inebriation and unexplained absences.”

The story said Patel’s behavior has alarmed officials at the FBI and Department of Justice and that he desperately fears being fired by President Donald Trump, who doesn’t drink and distrusts heavy drinkers.

Patel, who chugged beer while celebrating the U.S. national ice hockey teams Olympic gold medal in Italy, filed the suit in federal district court in Washington, D.C. He denied the allegations of drunken behavior and criticized the magazine for relying on anonymous sources.

—New York Daily News

Temple has lost average of $200 million annually as enrollment slides, and retention rates are a major issue, internal report says

Temple University is retaining fewer students from freshman to sophomore year than it did a decade ago, and the rate at which students progress from fall to spring semester has declined, too.

The retention issue — a problem for many schools nationwide — comes as the North Philadelphia-based university faces increased budget pressures. Temple has lost 27% of its U.S. enrollment over the last eight years, amounting to an average of more than $200 million in lost revenue annually, according to an internal university report obtained by The Inquirer.

The report, compiled by Temple leaders and shared last month with deans and the president’s cabinet, presents numbers not previously made public and offers new insight into the school’s sizable challenge.

A decade ago, 90% of Temple freshmen returned for their sophomore year. By 2024, that figure declined to 82%, and early projections show it likely will slide below 80% this fall, according to the report.

—The Philadelphia Inquirer

UCSD marijuana study affirms drug’s negative effect on youth

SAN DIEGO — A new UC San Diego study strengthens the growing body of evidence that marijuana use impacts adolescent brain development.

Researchers observed slower gains in cognitive tests that measured memory, focus and thinking speed among middle and high school-age kids who used cannabis when compared to those who abstained.

Scheduled for publication online Monday in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology, the study analyzes how 11,000 kids across the nation enrolled in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study, a $440 million effort that the National Institutes of Health calls “the largest long-term study of brain development and child health ever conducted in the United States.”

Annual testing started in 2016 when participants were nine or 10 years old, finishing its initial decadelong collection period at 21 sites nationwide this fall. UCSD is the program’s nationwide coordinator and one of its most active hubs, with 740 local enrollees.

—The San Diego Union-Tribune

Venezuela grants conditional release to 51 political prisoners amid tensions

Venezuelan authorities said Monday they have freed 51 people described by human-rights groups as political prisoners, as the interim government continues a broader push to ease political tensions following the January apprehension of former strongman Nicolás Maduro.

In a statement, the government said the Attorney General’s Office requested on April 16 the application of “alternative measures,” granting conditional release to the 51 detainees under a program aimed at promoting “democratic coexistence and peace.” Courts approved the request the same day, allowing their release under unspecified conditions.

Authorities described those released as individuals accused or convicted of crimes linked to attacks against the country’s democratic order, a characterization human-rights groups have frequently disputed in cases they say involve politically motivated detentions.

The government did not specify the nature of the alternative measures, a term that in Venezuela’s legal system can include a range of restrictions short of full imprisonment. These may include house arrest, conditional release, periodic court appearances, travel bans or other limitations imposed by judicial authorities.

—Miami Herald