By PHILIP MARCELO

NEW YORK (AP) — The former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch is suffering from dementia and isn’t competent to stand trial on sex trafficking charges, according to prosecutors and his lawyers.

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Michael Jeffries requires round-the-clock care because the 80-year-old has Alzheimer’s disease, Lewy body dementia and the “residual effects of a traumatic brain injury,” defense attorneys wrote in a letter filed Thursday in a New York federal court, citing recent evaluations by medical professionals.

Prosecutors and defense lawyers want a federal judge in Central Islip to place Jeffries in the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons for up to four months so that he can be hospitalized and receive treatment that might allow his criminal case to proceed.

Jeffries has been free on a $10 million bond since pleading not guilty in October to federal sex trafficking and interstate prostitution charges.

Prosecutors say Jeffries, his romantic partner and a third man lured men to drug-fueled sex parties in New York City, the Hamptons and other locations by dangling the promise of modeling for the retailer’s ads.

Lawyers for Jeffries didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment Friday. The U.S. attorney’s office for the eastern district of New York declined to comment.

In their letter, Jeffries’ lawyers said at least four medical professionals concluded that their client’s cognitive issues are “progressive and incurable” and that he will not “regain his competency and cannot be restored to competency in the future.”

They said the doctors found that his cognitive issues “significantly impair” his ability to understand the charges against him, and to consult and participate with his counsel in his defense.

FILE – Michael Jeffries, former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch, leaves following a hearing at the Paul G. Rogers Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, in West Palm Beach, Fla., Oct. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)

“The progressive nature of his neurocognitive disorder ensures continued decline over time, further diminishing his already limited functional capacity,” Dr. Alexander Bardey, a forensic psychiatrist, and Dr. Cheryl Paradis, a forensic psychologist, wrote following their December evaluations. “It is, therefore, our professional opinion, within a reasonable degree of psychological and psychiatric certainty, that Mr. Jeffries is not competent to proceed in the current case and cannot be restored to competency in the future.”

Jeffries left Abercrombie in 2014 after leading the company for more than two decades. He presided over the retailer’s evolution from a Manhattan hunting and outdoor goods store founded in 1892 to a fixture of teen mall culture during the early 2000s.

Jeffries’ partner, Matthew Smith, has also pleaded not guilty and remains out on bond, as does their co-defendant, James Jacobson.

Follow Philip Marcelo at twitter.com/philmarcelo

With only three regular-season games left and the Frost’s postseason hopes hanging in the balance, the intensity and anxiety usually associated with such a scenario have been replaced by unwanted down time and a splintered roster.

In other words, a less than ideal situation. It’s all due to a nearly month-long break for the World Championships, and an unfortunate reality for the fledgling league that could get even worse before it gets better.

“Honestly, I’m worried about next year,” Frost coach Ken Klee said. “Next year we’ll have the Olympic break, and I’ve heard through the rumor mill that they’re not going to move the World Championships. So, there will be a huge three-week break in February and huge one in April.

“It’s gong to be tough for this league, but it is what it is.”

The Frost have 10 players currently competing in the World Championships in Czechia, six for Team USA, two for Canada and two for Czechia. Klee’s challenge is to make the most of the practice time he has with the remaining members of the roster.

“We’re trying to mix it up, we’re trying to make it fun,” he said. “We’re having skills days and goalie days and battle days. We’re trying to keep it fresh and stay as sharp as you can with 12 players.”

Frost defender Maggie Flaherty believes Klee and his assistant coaches are making the most of the situation.

“I think our staff does a great job of changing things up and keeping the momentum high in practice, even if we are missing half our team,” the Lakeville native said. “As a player, obviously it kind of stinks not playing games and having a month off before playoffs.

“But I don’t see it as a momentum killer. You still have to be competitive (in practice) and keep in shape.”

The Frost last played on March 30, a 5-2 win over Toronto at Xcel Energy Center. Their next game is on April 26 against New York, their final home game of the regular season. The Frost finish with road games at Ottawa and Boston, all three games coming in a one-week span.

Winning all three games in regulation would assure the Frost a playoff spot. Klee doesn’t think it will take a sweep for the Frost to get in, and believes overtaking Boston for third place is still very much in play. The Fleet are two points ahead of the Frost.

“We know we have to play well, we know we have to get a couple wins,” Klee said. “If we get two wins, we’re probably in a good spot. It’s no different than last year — it came down to last few games.

“Last year we kind of backed our way in. This year we can’t do that.”

The defending PWHL champions find themselves in their current state due to a season that has been marked by inconsistent play. Management and players alike are encouraged by how well the team played just prior to the break.

“Every season, there’s ebbs and flows,” Flaherty said. “But I think we’re starting to play the kind of hockey we would like to play right before playoffs. That’s when you want to peak. Obviously, getting the points early in the season is nice to have that cushion if you need it. But I think we’re playing how we want to play, and hopefully it will roll into these last few games and into the playoffs.”

Klee knew his team would be challenged by an influx of new talent throughout the league. The Frost’s response has been mixed.

“We’ve had good moments,” Klee said, “it’s just finding that balance and consistency night in and night out. We’ve had a couple nights where maybe we didn’t defend well, a couple nights where we couldn’t find the back of the net.

“You go up and down our roster and there are players who have been really consistent throughout the year, and ones that haven’t. That’s the difference with everything so tight. We have a few players who would like to have better individual stats, whether it be (due to) injury or other things.”

Flaherty said the Frost will be able to use the experience gained from last year’s postseason success, which followed a five-game losing streak to end the regular season, as a guide to lead them through another difficult challenge.

“Last year it was just ‘stick together,’ ” Flaherty said. “We had a rough stretch, but we stuck together as a team, and just took it one game at a time. I think that helped push us into the playoffs and ultimately winning the Walter Cup.”

In the meantime, Klee is doing his best to make sure his players don’t dwell on the job they will be facing once the games resume.

“I know it’s big,” he said, “but now’s the time we can relax because we have three weeks until we do it. There’s no sense getting worked up about it now. That week will be intense and we’re going to have to perform.”

DENVER (AP) — An American Airlines plane that caught fire after landing in Denver, sending 12 people to the hospital, is the latest in a string of aviation incidents that are fueling safety concerns about flying.

Incidents have ranged from the midair collision that killed 67 people near Washington in January to an airliner clipping another in February while taxiing at the Seattle airport.

Federal officials have tried to reassure travelers that flying is the safest mode of transportation, and statistics support that. But the cascade of headlines about things going wrong on airplanes is drawing increasing attention.

Here is a look at some of the recent tragedies and mishaps:

Recent fatal crashes

— Two small planes collided in midair near an Arizona airport in mid-February, killing two people who were on one of the aircraft. Following the collision, one plane landed uneventfully but the other hit the ground near a runway and caught fire. The crash happened at Marana Regional Airport near Tucson.

— A small commuter plane crashed in western Alaska in early February, killing all 10 people on board. The crash was one of the deadliest in the state in 25 years. Radar data indicated that the plane rapidly lost elevation and speed. The Coast Guard was unaware of any distress signals from the aircraft.

— A medical transport plane that had just taken off plummeted into a Philadelphia neighborhood in late January, killing all six people on board and one person on the ground. The National Transportation Safety Board said its cockpit voice recorder likely hadn’t been functioning for years. The crew made no distress calls to air traffic control.

— The collision between an American Airlines passenger jet and an Army helicopter above the nation’s capital killed everyone aboard both aircraft in late January. It was the deadliest plane crash in the U.S. since Nov. 12, 2001, when a jet slammed into a New York City neighborhood just after takeoff, killing all 260 people on board and five on the ground.

— A jetliner operated by Jeju Air skidded off a runway, slammed into a concrete fence and burst into flames in late December in South Korea after its landing gear apparently failed to deploy. All but two of the 181 people aboard were killed in one of that country’s worst aviation disasters.

Incidents with injuries

— The American Airlines plane that caught fire at Denver International Airport on Thursday had been diverted there because the crew reported engine vibrations. While taxiing to the gate, an engine caught fire, prompting slides to be deployed so that passengers could evacuate quickly. The people taken to hospitals had minor injuries.

— A single-engine plane carrying five people crashed and burst into flames on Sunday in the parking lot of a retirement community near a small airport near Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Everyone on board survived. Three people were taken to an area burn center.

— A Delta Air Lines jet flipped over while landing at Toronto’s Pearson Airport in February. All 80 people on board survived, but some people received minor injuries. Witnesses and video from the scene showed the plane landing so hard that its right wing was sheared off. Investigators said that when trying to determine the cause, they would consider the weather conditions and the possibility of human error.

Close calls

— A FedEx cargo plane made an emergency landing at a busy New Jersey airport earlier this month after a bird strike caused an engine fire that could be seen in the morning sky. The plane landed at Newark Liberty International Airport. There were no reported injuries.

— Pilots on a Southwest Airlines flight that was about to land at Chicago’s Midway Airport were forced to climb back into the sky to avoid another aircraft crossing the runway in late February. Video showed the plane approaching the runway before it abruptly pulled up as a business jet taxied onto the runway without authorization, federal officials said.

— In early February, a Japan Airlines plane was taxiing on the tarmac of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport when it apparently clipped the tail of a parked Delta plane. There were no injuries reported.

— In early January, passengers panicked when a man aboard a JetBlue plane that was taxiing for takeoff from Boston’s Logan International Airport opened an exit door over a wing, trigging an emergency slide to inflate. Other passengers quickly restrained the man and the plane didn’t take off.

Some celebrities, after becoming famous, embark upon unexpected “side quests.”

Earlier this year, singer Harry Styles ran the Tokyo Marathon in an impressive 3 hours, 24 minutes. Beyonce is a real-life beekeeper; the touring electronic music producer DJ Diesel is better known as basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal; comedian Steve Martin is quite skilled on the banjo. Actor Bill Murray co-founded and owned the St. Paul Saints until a few years ago.

Speaking of that last guy…

Murray has also embraced a music career as of late, touring this year as Bill Murray and his Blood Brothers with noted blues musicians Mike Zito and Albert Castiglia. They’re accompanied by a band including Jimmy Vivino, who also moonlighted for years as the lead of late-night host Conan O’Brien’s house band.

The 10-piece band stopped at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis on Thursday night, with a setlist consisting of some Zito and Castiglia originals and plenty of classic covers, about a half dozen or so of which featured Murray on lead vocals.

Murray is perhaps best known for acting in movies such as “Groundhog Day,” “Caddyshack” and every Wes Anderson film between 1998 and 2021. He has occasionally sung on-screen, including a karaoke scene in “Lost in Translation” and an iconic Saturday Night Live role as Nick the Lounge Singer, but these roles lean into imperfections as part of the act: The music was in service of a bigger joke that Murray, too, was in on.

His performances with the Blood Brothers are not jokes, though. At the Orpheum, without comedy as a safety net, Murray occasionally came across like a bumbling bar patron roped into a high-stakes karaoke night. Early on in the evening, singing The Kinks’ “Tired of Waiting For You” and Larry Williams’ “Slow Down,” Murray was fidgety and ambled around the stage between verses. During other songs, on backup percussion (tambourine, cowbell, triangle, bongos), he had the vibe of a band member’s brother tagging along because mom said so.

But he found his footing near the end of the show, delivering actually quite solid performances of Wilson Pickett’s bluesy-soul “In The Midnight Hour” and the local-crowd-pleasing “Like a Rolling Stone” by Bob Dylan. Whatever his light switch moment was, it came suddenly and late in the game, but seeing gritty, raw emotion pour through his voice and body language during the concert’s final half-hour was revelatory.

However, sound mixing problems plagued the show all night. The mics appeared to be turned up way too high, so the already-loud show became discordant and crash-y when all the instruments onstage — two full drum sets, three electric guitars, a bass, an upright piano, a keyboard, a saxophone, a mic’d-up harmonica and Murray’s backup percussion — were playing together.

A guitar riff by Castiglia that I’m sure was very impressive was almost completely indistinguishable, as was a sax solo I would have loved to hear. (Speaking of, the theater also kept a spotlight trained on Murray almost the entire night, even when he was not the main event: During that sax solo, for instance, Murray was well-lit in the back while the saxophonist was wailing away up front in half-darkness.)

In fact, the evening’s best-sounding song came when Vivino, leading the band in his own tune “Blues In The 21st,” gave up on using the microphones altogether. I’ll also say: During that song, Vivino’s main moment in the limelight, he was funnier and more engaging to watch onstage than Murray was.

To be perfectly clear, though, the whole night was fun, and opening musical comedian Dave Hill demonstrated himself to be a talented rock guitarist and pretty funny stand-up act.

Now, were more audience members there to see Murray than the pro blues rockers? Probably. But while we all waited for Murray to find his A-game, Zito, Castiglia, Vivino and the band — skilled, seasoned performers — had no problem carrying the rest of the show.

And the mostly full house Thursday night was into it: clapping, dancing in the aisles, shouting, “I love you, Bill Murray!” Murray is, first and foremost, a goofball, and seeing him on an unexpected side quest was a delight in itself.

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