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Police say a shy podcaster helped them arrest the longtime suspect in the killing of California college student Kristin Smart nearly a quarter-century ago. Chris Lambert detoured from his musical career three years ago to create a podcast about Smart's 1996 disappearance. San Luis Obispo County Sheriff Ian Parkinson says Lambert's efforts helped bring forward witnesses that led this week to the arrest of Paul Flores and his father. They appeared in court but didn't enter pleas. Lambert says he never expected the results he achieved. The arrests propelled his podcast, “Your Own Backyard,” to No. 2 on podcasting charts. 

The average major league salary dropped nearly 5% to more than $4.1 million on opening day from the start of the previous full season in 2019. That’s according to a study of major league contracts by The Associated Press. The average has fallen more than 6% since the start of the 2017 season. The salary downturn is yet another sign baseball could be headed toward labor strife and a possible work stoppage in 2022. Baseball’s middle class has borne the brunt of the drop. The median salary is less than $1.2 million, down 30% from the record high at the start of 2015. The 50 highest-paid players are drawing more than a third of all salaries. The 100 highest earn a half.

One after another quarterbacks once believed to be franchise cornerstones after being top five draft picks changed addresses this offseason in staggering succession. Matthew Stafford and Jared Goff switched teams in a swap of former No. 1 overall picks. Carson Wentz and Sam Darnold were traded away by teams that had recently tried to build around those passers. Mitchell Trubisky had to settle for a backup contract deal after flaming out in Chicago. Those were part of a growing pattern teams have never been more willing to use high draft picks on quarterbacks and never been quicker to cut ties when those investments don’t pay off.

Viola Davis has been named Woman of the Year by Harvard University’s Hasty Pudding Theatricals. The Oscar-, Emmy- and Tony-winning actor is being honored April 22 in an online ceremony that will include a roast, a discussion and a speech from Davis as she is presented with her ceremonial pudding pot. Because of the pandemic, the event will not include its traditional parade through Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Hasty Pudding award has been handed out annually since 1951 to people who have made lasting and impressive contributions to the world of entertainment. Previous winners include Meryl Streep, Katharine Hepburn and Helen Mirren.

The Biden administration says the U.S. is setting up a $1.7 billion national network to identify and track worrisome coronavirus mutations whose spread could trigger another pandemic wave. White House officials Friday unveiled a strategy featuring three components: a major funding boost for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state health departments to ramp up gene-mapping of coronavirus samples; the creation of six “centers of excellence” partnerships with universities to conduct research and develop technologies for gene-based surveillance of pathogens; and building a data system to better share and analyze information on emerging disease threats. The effort relies on money approved by Congress as part of President Joe Biden’s coronavirus relief package.

More than 111 million Americans voted before Election Day in 2020. But Republicans are moving to make it harder for that to happen again. The GOP’s campaign to place new restrictions on mail-in and early in-person voting will force millions of voters to contend with new rules limiting what are popular and proven methods of casting ballots. Though it is difficult to forecast how exactly the changes will affect future turnout, critics argue they target a voting method that has had growing appeal for both Democrats and Republicans. The GOP says the changes are needed to ensure there's no fraudulent voting, though last year's election came off without any of the widespread fraud alleged by former President Donald Trump.

Prince Philip was known for occasional off-the-cuff remarks that could be embarrassing. But his faux pas at a White House dinner with President Richard Nixon in 1969 was enough for Philip to actually lose sleep. In a handwritten note to the president uncovered by archivists at the Richard M. Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, Philip lamented that he had failed to toast to Nixon’s health and success during a dinner in his honor, as protocol dictated. He wrote to Nixon that his "contribution was very lame” and that he had woken up that night ”in a cold sweat" about it. Philip died last week at 99.

Gustavo Dudamel will become music director of the Paris Opera while continuing his commitment to the Los Angeles Philharmonic. The Paris Opera and the Venezuelan director announced the appointment Friday. Dudamel says opera has played a seminal role in his life, including making it a staple of his programming in Los Angeles. He calls Paris his spiritual home for opera. Alexander Neef, general manager of the Paris Opera, says Dudamel is one of the world’s most talented and prestigious conductors. Dudamel's appointment begins Aug. 1 and will last for six seasons. He will continue in his role as artistic and music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Three-time world champion Nathan Chen has won the free skate at the figure skating World Team Trophy on Friday to continue his dominance of two-time Olympic gold medalist Yuzuru Hanyu. First after the short program, Chen opened with a quadruple flip and landed a quad salchow in the first half of his routine set to a selection of music by Philip Glass. Winner of the past five U.S. titles, Chen landed two more quadruple toeloops as part of combination jumps to score 203.24 points. Hanyu, who was second after the short program, opened with a quad loop but could only manage a single salchow instead of a planned quad salchow on his second jump and finished with 193.76 points. Russia's Mikhail Kolyada was third with 180.72 points.

The family of 12-year-old Tamir Rice, who was fatally shot by Cleveland police in 2014, is asking the Justice Department to reopen the case into his death after it was closed near the end of the Trump administration. In late 2020, federal prosecutors said they would not bring charges against the two officers involved. Prosecutors said video of the shooting was of such poor quality they couldn’t conclusively establish what happened. The Justice Department declined to comment Friday. In 2015, a grand jury declined to bring criminal charges against the officers. Rice was Black. The officer who shot him was white. The shooting sparked protests about police treatment of Black people.

BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged parliament Friday to pass a bill that would mandate a nationwide “emergency brake” when the spread of the coronavirus becomes too rapid, saying that it was needed to prevent the health care…

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — The attack was brazen, streamed live on the internet: Men carrying big guns walked into a Holy Thursday church service, grabbed the pastor and three parishioners and led them away in full view of cameras. For…

Ninety seconds. That’s how quickly Steven Soderbergh believes the Academy Awards will convince viewers that this year’s telecast is different. The concept for the show, which Soderbergh is producing with Stacey Sher and Jesse Collins, is to treat the telecast not like a TV show but a movie. And he’s convinced he’s got a doozy of an opening scene. Soderbergh promises the broadcast will “announce our intention immediately." The pandemic has shaken the Oscars like never before. There will be no audience. Some nominees will be connected remotely by satellite link. But for the producers, the challenges of COVID-19 are an opportunity to, finally, rethink the Oscars.  

A top Chinese diplomat has called U.S. policy on China “too negative,” saying it highlights confrontation over cooperation. Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Yucheng said Friday that cooperation could be critically important as President Joe Biden's administration focuses on COVID and economic recovery.  

Tokyo Olympic organizers are again being forced to assure the world that the postponed games will open in just over three months despite surging COVID-19 cases in Japan. Organizing committee president Seiko Hashimoto was asked if there are any conditions under which the Olympics would be canceled. She says “there are a variety of concerns but as the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee we are not thinking about canceling the games.” Two officials in Japan’s ruling LDP party a day earlier said big changes could be coming. That included a possible cancelation. Tokyo has already barred fans from abroad. The Olympics are to open on July 23.

A global epidemic of digital extortion known as ransomware is crippling local governments, hospitals, school districts and businesses by scrambling their data files until they pay up. Most frustrating, these rackets are dominated by Russian-speaking cybercriminals who are shielded and sometimes even employed by Russia’s security agencies. That's according to security researchers, U.S. law enforcement, and now the Biden administration. Ransomware is chiefly the work of Russian-speaking syndicates that hack into networks and paralyze them by scrambling data. Damages from the scourge now exceed tens of billions of dollars; one former intelligence official considers it more damaging than cyberespionage.

Justin Turner and Max Muncy each hit a three-run homer, and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Colorado Rockies 7-5 as David Price earned his first regular-season save. Muncy’s two-out drive in the seventh inning off reliever Yency Almonte gave the defending World Series champions a 6-5 lead on the way to their sixth straight victory. Price pitched out of trouble in the ninth, striking out two. Primarily a starter throughout his 13-year career, the left-hander has moved into a relief role this season because of the Dodgers’ stacked rotation. His only other save came as a rookie with Tampa Bay in Game 7 of the 2008 AL Championship Series against Boston. Colorado completed an 0-6 road trip.

Texas’ capital city finally has a major league sports franchise to call its own. Austin FC is the latest expansion team in Major League Soccer and it opens its inaugural season Saturday night against Los Angeles FC. Getting to this point meant building a $260 million stadium and a roster of players amid a pandemic that made both things more challenging than anyone saw coming when the franchise launched in 2019. League Commissioner Don Garber says the team has “overdelivered" in its efforts.