NEW YORK (AP) — Deutsche Bank has agreed to pay $150 million to settle claims that it broke compliance rules in its dealings with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, New York state announced Tuesday.

The penalty was announced in a release by Superintendent of Financial Services Linda A. Lacewell.

“Despite knowing Mr. Epstein’s terrible criminal history, the Bank inexcusably failed to detect or prevent millions of dollars of suspicious transactions,” Lacewell said.

Epstein killed himself last August in a Manhattan federal jail while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

His ex-girlfriend, British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, was arrested last week and brought to New York City to face charges she recruited girls for Epstein to sexually abuse in the 1990s. In civil lawsuits, she has denied involvement. Her Manhattan federal court arraignment is likely next week.

In a statement, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, said the bank failed to prevent millions of dollars in suspicious transactions.

Lacewell said the bank failed to properly monitor Epstein’s account activity despite publicly available information about Epstein’s crimes.

The financier with U.S. residences in Manhattan, Florida and New Mexico, along with homes in Paris and the Virgin Islands, had pleaded guilty to criminal sex abuse charges in Florida over a decade ago and was a registered sex offender before his July 2019 arrest on federal sex crime charges.

She said some payments that should have drawn scrutiny included money paid to people publicly alleged to have been Mr. Epstein’s co-conspirators in sexually abusing young women; settlement payments totaling over $7 million and over $6 million in legal fees for Epstein and co-conspirators.

Other payments went to Russian models and transactions for women’s school tuition, hotel and rent expenses, she said, along with suspicious cash withdrawals totaling over $800,000 in a four-year stretch.

Copyright 2020 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

WOMAN KILLED-SUSPECT ARRESTED

Phoenix police arrest suspect in woman’s death last week

PHOENIX (AP) — Police in Phoenix say a man who’s a registered sex offender has been arrested in connection with the death of a woman last week. They say 29-year-old Humphry Dogbe has been booked into jail on suspicion of first-degree murder, sexual assault and kidnapping. He’s being held on a $1 million bond with a preliminary hearing scheduled for May 18. Police say a woman was found dead on the pavement of a commercial fueling station last Friday with her clothes partially removed. Her name hasn’t been released. Witnesses told police they saw a man dragging a woman through the parking lot. Police say some of the incident was captured on surveillance video and that led to Dogbe’s arrest.

Man caught in Kingman after pursuit in stolen police Humvee

KINGMAN, Ariz. (AP) — A man accused of stealing a police vehicle has been arrested in Kingman after leading authorities on a car pursuit. Kingman police say they received reports Sunday night that a Humvee was driving erratically and hit another car. Officers attempted a traffic stop but the vehicle continued. The Humvee then stalled and the driver refused officers’ request to get out of the vehicle. Authorities say the suspect then got the Humvee started again and hit two Kingman police cars. That is when officers fired their weapons at the car. The suspect was taken into custody without incident. Police booked 26-year-old Michael Joseph Lapeer into Mohave County Jail.

PHOENIX (AP) — Some restaurants in Arizona reopened for dine-in service as Gov. Doug Ducey relaxed more measures aimed at easing the coronavirus pandemic. From large chains to mom and pop eateries, restaurants were allowed to host patrons for the first time Monday in nearly two months at limited capacity and with other restrictions that include more space between tables and no parties with more than 10 people. In making the decision, Ducey cited a downward trend in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. However, some restaurants posted on social media that they will remain closed until the governor’s stay-at-home order expires Friday or they feel prepared to meet the new conditions.

1-year-old dies after drowning in bathtub in Avondale home

US plans reimagine fighting wildfires amid crews’ virus risk

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — New plans offer a national reimagining of how to fight wildfires amid the risk of the coronavirus spreading through crews. But it’s not clear how officials will get the testing and equipment needed to keep firefighters safe in what’s expected to be a difficult fire season. A U.S. group last week released broad guidelines to consider when sending crews to blazes. Different parts of the country can tailor the guidelines, which include having firefighters camp in smaller groups and keeping crews separated. A letter from lawmakers says the U.S. Forest Service determined that large fire camps could have a disproportionately high mortality rate in worst-case scenarios. Agency officials say that risk assessment is “outdated.”

AP-US-VIRUS-OUTBREAK-NAVAJO-NATION

VIRUS OUTBREAK-STRANDED STUDENTS

Pandemic strands international students in Lake Havasu City

LAKE HAVASU CITY, Ariz. (AP) — A handful of international students are stranded in Lake Havasu City because of the coronavirus. They can’t go home until global travel restrictions are lifted and when that will happen is anyone’s guess. When the COVID-19 threat forced Arizona State University’s Lake Havasu branch campus to switch to online instruction, most students left in late March to finish the spring semester at home. But 15 ASU Havasu students didn’t have that option because their homes are in Europe, Asia or elsewhere around the globe. They continue to live in the university’s residence hall and stay in touch with their families through the internet.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AGENCY-INVESTIGATION

Domestic violence agency’s CFO cashed in on paid time off

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The chief financial officer of a nonprofit domestic violence agency says she cashed in 15 weeks of paid time off given to her two days before a recent fiscal year ended. Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence CFO Patricia Duarte told a House committee Thursday that she was awarded the 75 days of paid time off in 2018 and was told she could cash it in over the following two days or save it for a future date. She cashed it in. The coalition is under investigation for exorbitant executive compensation.

Florida officials express caution — not panic — over virus

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is reassuring his state that health officials are prepared for any cases of a new strain of coronavirus that has already killed thousands abroad. At a Thursday morning news conference, the governor said there were no confirmed infections in Florida from the virus known as COVID-19. State health officials are attempting to calm fears, but critics say state officials aren’t being forthcoming about any suspected cases in the state. Meanwhile, some colleges and universities have canceled trips abroad as precautions. A key business analyst said this week that the state should be “concerned but not panicked” about the outbreak’s threat to the Florida economy.

LARGO, Fla. (AP) — Investigators say a Florida man is accused of attacking his mother and stepsister with a knife and killing them. A man called 911 around 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday and told the dispatcher that his son was attacking two family members inside their apartment in Largo, which is near St. Petersburg,  When officers arrived at the apartment, they found one woman dead and a younger woman severely injured. She was taken to a hospital, where she later died. Police haven’t release their names. But 49-year-old Wiley Mackenzie was arrested and taken to jail. He’s charged with two counts of first-degree murder.

Charge dropped against artist who wrote on art-banana wall

WILTON MANORS, Fla. (AP) — A medical examiner has determined that Wilton Manors Mayor Justin Flippen died of a brain aneurysm. Officials say Flippen was on his way to Tuesday night’s commission meeting when police received a call for medical assistance. Officers found 41-year-old Flippen unresponsive in his vehicle. They began CPR and paramedics rushed him to a hospital, where he died. The city commission meeting began without Flippen and was abruptly adjourned a short time later. Flippen was elected mayor in 2018. He had previously served on the city commission as well. City officials say a celebration of life is being planned.

Woman in custody after body found in trunk

TITUSVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Police say the body of a Florida woman missing since last Friday was found in the trunk of a car in Tennessee and a suspect was taken into custody. A statement from police in Titusville, Florida, says investigators identified the body found Wednesday as Anna Primavere. The body was discovered by police in Lebanon, Tennessee, after the execution of a search warrant. Police say the car’s owner, 27-year-old Courtney Dawn Gibson, turned herself in on Thursday. Titusville police said they think Primavere was killed Friday and Gibson left the area Saturday and went to her parents’ home in Tennessee.

ELECTION 2020-LABOR UNION

Labor union unveils $150M campaign to help defeat Trump

AP-CRIMINAL JUSTICE-FLORIDA

Senate passes bill to give judges flexibility in drug cases

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida judges would have more flexibility in sentencing people convicted of possessing or selling small amounts of drugs under a bill passed by the Florida Senate. The Senate passed the bill Wednesday on a 39-1 vote. It would allow judges to deviate from mandatory minimum sentences in low-level drug cases if the defendant didn’t have previous drug convictions.  The defendant would also have to provide law enforcement with information and evidence about the crime itself.

UAE grants $3.5M for reef restoration in Florida Keys

KEY WEST, Fla. (AP) — The government of the United Arab Emirates has granted a $3.5 million gift to help kick off a major coral reef restoration program in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. The grant was announced Wednesday by officials of United Way of Collier and the Keys. It is the first funding commitment of the $100 million Mission: Iconic Reefs program announced last December by The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and its Keys sanctuary. The program calls for restoring seven iconic coral reef sites off the Keys. The effort is likely to take two decades.