Prosecutors seek death penalty against Zizians member charged with murdering border agent

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department says it will seek the death penalty against a member of the cultlike Zizians group accused of killing a U.S. Border Patrol agent in Vermont. The announcement is the latest example of the Trump administration’s push for more federal executions. Teresa Youngblut is part of a group of young computer scientists connected to six killings in three states. She initially faced weapons charges after the fatal shooting of agent David Maland in January but was charged with murder in a new indictment made public Thursday. The decision to seek the death penalty was expected, given that Attorney General Pam Bondi specifically mentioned Maland’s death in February when directing prosecutors to seek the death penalty when law enforcement officers are murdered.

Car accident in small-town Tenn. leads to US charges against a Mexican drug operation

WASHINGTON (AP) — Justice Department indictments have been unsealed against three leaders and two high-ranking enforcers of Mexico’s United Cartels. It’s the latest U.S. move against major Mexican drug operations. United Cartels is an umbrella organization made up of smaller cartels that have worked for different groups over time. The organization holds a fierce grip over the western state of Michoacan, Mexico. The U.S. government on Thursday said it’s offering a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the arrest of United Cartels’ top leader, Juan José Farías Álvarez, along with multimillion rewards for the four others. All five are believed to be in Mexico.

DeSantis announces plans for second immigration detention facility

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration is preparing to open a second immigration detention facility at a state prison in north Florida, as a federal judge decides the fate of the state’s holding center for immigrants at an isolated airstrip in the Florida Everglades dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.” DeSantis announced Thursday that the new facility is to be built at the Baker Correctional Institution, a state prison about 43 miles west of Jacksonville, and is expected to house 1,300 immigration detention beds, though that capacity could be expanded to 2,000, state officials said.

Man accused of faking his death to avoid rape charges is found guilty of sexual assault

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Rhode Island man accused of faking his death and fleeing the United States to evade rape charges has been found guilty of sexually assaulting a former girlfriend. In the first of two trials in Utah, a jury found Nicholas Rossi guilty of the 2008 rape. He’ll be sentenced on Oct. 20. Utah authorities began searching for Rossi, whose legal name is Nicholas Alahverdian, when he was identified through a decade-old DNA rape kit in 2018. An online obituary claimed Rossi had died in 2020 of lymphoma. He was arrested in Scotland the following year after staff at a hospital recognized his distinctive tattoos.