Several National Basketball Association stars have been charged in an illegal gambling scheme that involved multiple organized crime families. Among those taken into custody are Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups and current Miami Heat player Terry Rozier.

New York

Law enforcement officials have arrested Portland Trailblazers coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rosier, and former Cleveland Cavalier guard Damon Jones in connection with illegal gambling and sports rigging charges. The FBI coordinated a multi-state operation resulting in over 30 arrests, targeting not only individuals linked to the NBA but also members of organized crime families.

The investigation uncovered sophisticated cheating methods, including electronic devices and marked cards, and involved tens of millions of dollars in fraud and theft. The NBA is reported to be cooperating with authorities, and the investigation remains ongoing, with additional details expected as the case develops.

NBA stars linked to illegal gambling investigations

and we start with that breaking news from New York City this morning. Police arrested Portland Trailblazers coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rosier in connection to separate but related gambling charges and also charged today is former Cleveland Cavalier guard Damon Jones. Now earlier today we heard from FBI Director Kash Patel about the charges. This is an illegal gambling operation and sports rigging operation that spanned the course of years. The FBI led a coordinated takedown across 11 states to arrest over 30 individuals today responsible for this case, which is very much ongoing. Not only did we crack into the fraud that these perpetrators committed on the grand stage of the NBA, but we also entered and executed a system of justice against La Casa Nostra to include the Bonanno, Gambino, Genovese and Luchese crime families. And you'll hear more about those details today. The charges and the arrests that were taken down across this country range from wire fraud, money laundering, extortion, robbery, illegal gambling. We have CBS News Justice reporter Jake Rosen standing by for analysis on these charges. But first I want to bring in CBS News correspondent Elaine Keanu. Elaine, thank you again for your time today. You were at that press conference earlier. How expansive was the investigation into these gambling rings? Well, incredibly expansive, according to officials there, including FBI director Cash Patel, who said, you know, looking into this is not millions of dollars that we're talking about. We're talking about tens of millions of dollars, he said, in fraud and theft and robbery across a multi year investigation. To give you a sense, this here in my hand is a stack of the indictments as well as a letter accompanying those indictments that went to a judge. And in it, the details of what officials say actually took place read like something out of a Hollywood screenplay. Now let's just look at when it comes to those poker games in question, Mugo, the level of technology that was used here advanced. I'll just read here. Defendants used other cheating technologies such as electronic poker chip trays that could secretly read cards placed on the poker table card analyzers that utilized technology loaded onto decoy cellular telephones that could surreptitiously detect which cards were on the table and playing cards that had markers visible only to individuals wearing specially designed contact lenses or sunglasses. So certainly not the kind of thing that you read the level of detail that you read about in other federal indictments. But that gives you some sense of just how elaborate these games and these schemes allegedly were. Yeah. And Elaine, there's still the question of why now can you walk us through the timing of this investigation? Yeah, it's a really good question because if you look at the dates on when these indictments were filed, one of them was filed back on october 9th, the other back on october 16th. Well, here we are today. The unsealment, um the indictments were only unsealed today. And the question is why? Why move in at this moment? I asked FBI director cash Patel about that. He didn't answer. But what we know is that there are other investigators that are working still uh in this realm. We know the NBA is cooperating and so we don't have exact specifics on that. If there are ongoing operations, of course it would make sense. They would not want to tip off anyone else. But um but these indictments again, the result of just intensive work over the course of not months but years. Yeah.

In a post on X, Lithuania's President Gitanas Nausėda slammed what he called a "blatant breach of international law and territorial integrity."

Vilnius

Russian aircraft enter NATO member Lithuania's airspace

New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Andrew Cuomo were seen together at last night's Knicks game following the final mayoral debate.

Adams to endorse Cuomo in NYC mayoral race

King Charles III met on Thursday with Pope Leo XIV during a state visit to the Vatican, where he made history as the first head of the Church of England to pray publicly with a pontiff in a service broadcast live on Vatican media.

Vatican City

British royals at Vatican for historic visit with Pope Leo

The U.S. struck two more alleged drug vessels, this time on the Pacific side of Latin America – totaling nine strikes in less than two months.  Videos released by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday show boats destroyed in two separate military strikes.

Washington

U.S. strikes two alleged drug vessels in the Pacific, Hegseth confirms

U.S. President Donald Trump is imposing new sanctions against Russia as violence against civilians in Ukraine continues. CBS News' Nancy Cordes reports.

Ukraine Invasion

Trump imposes new Russia sanctions

US Vice President JD Vance is in Israel to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. A US-brokered Gaza ceasefire has come under pressure over the weekend as both sides, Israel and Hamas, accused the other of not abiding by the ceaesfire's conditions.

Jerusalem

Middle East Conflict

U.S. VP Vance meets Israeli PM Netanyahu in Jerusalem

The director of the Louvre admitted to inadequate camera surveillance of the museum's outside walls, three days after thieves robbed it of prize jewels in a brazen daytime heist. But Laurence des Cars said that a diamond- and emerald-studded crown that the burglars damaged and dropped as they fled could be restored.

Paris

Louvre director admits 'insufficient' camera coverage after heist

Testimony has begun in the murder trial of former Sangamon County Sheriff's deputy Sean Grayson, who shot and killed Sonya Massey in her home last year after she had called 911 for help.

Springfield

Testimony begins in murder trial of ex-deputy who killed Sonya Massey

The International Court of Justice has ruled that Israel is legally obligated to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza, amid growing concerns over the worsening crisis in the enclave.

The Hague

UN court rules Israel legally obligated to allow aid into Gaza

The U.S. hit another alleged drug vessel with a military strike Tuesday night, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed Wednesday. CBS News senior national security correspondent Charlie d'Agata has more.

U.S. carries out eighth strike on alleged drug boat

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is expected to present U.S. President Donald Trump with a plan to end the war between Russia and Ukraine. CBS News' Charlie D'Agata has more details.

NATO chief to present Russia-Ukraine peace plan to Trump

Russia attacked Ukraine's second-largest city of Kharkiv on Wednesday, hitting a kindergarten with children in attendance. Ukraine’s president said all children have been evacuated, with many “experiencing acute stress reactions”.

Kharkiv

Russian strike hits Kharkiv kindergarten

Colombia has recalled its ambassador to the U.S. amid rising tensions between the two countries. Following U.S. military strikes on suspected drug boats, President Donald Trump imposed new tariffs and suspended aid to Colombia, while Bogota accused Washington of violating Colombian sovereignty.

Feud escalates between U.S., Colombia leaders

President Donald Trump could demand the government pay him $230 million. It would be taxpayer dollars, approved by the DOJ, that he says he deserves for past cases. CBS News' Scott MacFarlane explains.

Trump may demand the DOJ pay him $230 million

The Louvre Museum in Paris reopened Wednesday for the first time after Sunday's heist. The thieves are still on the run. CBS News' Elizabeth Palmer reports on the latest in the investigation and how much the stolen jewels are worth.

Louvre reopens amid search for heist suspects

AccuWeather forecasters are warning that the western Caribbean could face extreme impacts from Tropical Storm Melissa as the storm will barely move for nearly a week.

Santo Domingo

Tropical Storm Melissa expected to stall, potentially deadly

A French government minister insisted the security system at the Louvre was working as it was supposed to when burglars easily made off with $102 million worth of jewels. The Paris prosecutor says 100 investigators are on the case.

Fallout grows in France over Louvre crown jewels heist

Vice President JD Vance visited Israel, calling for patience as the fragile ceasefire, in place for 11 days, continues to hold amid ongoing tensions between Israel and Hamas.

Tel Aviv-Yafo

In visit to Israel, Vance urges patience as fragile ceasefire holds

A planned summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin was put on hold on Tuesday, as Moscow's rejection of an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine cast a cloud over attempts at negotiation.

Moscow

Russian demands on Ukraine jeopardize Putin-Trump summit

A posthumous memoir by Virginia Giuffre, who accused Britain's Prince Andrew of sexually abusing her as a teenager, went on sale in London on Tuesday (October 21, 2025), days after the disgraced prince gave up his Duke of York title.

London

More scrutiny piles on Prince Andrew as new Giuffre book released

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy began his five-year prison sentence in Paris on Tuesday (October 21) for conspiring to raise campaign funds from Libya, in a stunning downfall for a man who led the country between 2007 and 2012.

France's Sarkozy begins five-year prison sentence in Paris

US Vice-President JD Vance visits Israel amid concerns that the US-brokered peace deal between the country and Hamas will not hold. The Trump administration has redoubled its efforts to cement the fragile Gaza peace agreement after Israel accused Hamas of stalling the hand-over of hostages' bodies and deadly violence flared up in the territory days before.

U.S. Vice-President Vance visits Israel as Gaza ceasefire falters

Amazon.com cloud service returned to normal operations on Monday (October 20) afternoon, the company said, after an internet outage that caused global turmoil among thousands of sites.

Amazon says AWS cloud service back to normal after outage

Japan's parliament has elected the country's first female leader. Sanae Takaichi, 64, of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), is seen as a hardline conservative who supports traditional gender roles and hawkish foreign policy.

Tokyo

Sanae Takaichi elected Japan's first female prime minister

Three days after meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House, U.S. President Donald Trump said Ukraine “could still win” its war with Russia, but added, “I don’t think they will,” raising new questions about Washington’s support for Kyiv.

Trump doubts Ukraine will win war against Russia

Former FBI Director James Comey is asking a judge to dismiss the criminal charges against him, claiming the prosecution is vindictive and unlawful.

Ex-FBI director James Comey seeks to toss indictment

An appeals court panel is allowing the White House to federalize and deploy National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon.

Portland

Appeals court rules Trump can deploy National Guard to Portland

U.S. President Donald Trump and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese signed a rare earths and critical minerals agreement aimed at ensuring a steady supply of the materials at a time when China is trying to tighten control over global supply.

Washington County

U.S. and Australia boost rare earths supply with new agreement

A global outage hit Amazon Web Services (AWS), disrupting platforms like Amazon Prime, Fortnite, Alexa, Snapchat, and Duolingo. The issue, caused by increased error rates, took about three hours to mostly resolve.

Breakdown