Prosecutors allege gang members tried to kill Indiana judge to derail domestic abuse trial

(AP) — Prosecutors are accusing members of a motorcycle club and a street gang of working together to kill an Indiana judge in hopes of derailing a domestic abuse trial. The Tippecanoe County Prosecutor’s Office charged five people Thursday in connection with the shooting of county Judge Steven Meyer and his wife at their Lafayette home on Sunday. Both survived the attack. According to court records, Phantom MC motorcycle club member Thomas Moss was set to stand trial Tuesday before Meyer in a domestic abuse case. Several weeks before the shooting, the Vice Lords gang offered the victim in the case $10,000 not to testify but she refused. Moss’ attorney didn’t return a message seeking comment.

Vance touts the Trump administration’s record against abortion at a Washington rally

(AP) — Vice President JD Vance is encouraging anti-abortion activists to celebrate progress in limiting abortion. Vance highlights the Trump administration’s achievements, including expanding a ban on U.S. foreign aid for groups that support abortion services. Vance spoke Friday at the annual March for Life in Washington, emphasizing the importance of increasing birth rates in the U.S. The Republican vice president also praises the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade and President Donald Trump’s leadership in appointing conservative jurists. The March for Life has become more celebratory since that Supreme Court ruling.

DOJ says Jack Smith report on Trump investigation ‘belongs in dustbin of history’

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department says in a sharply worded court filing that a report by former special counsel Jack Smith on his investigation into President Donald Trump’s hoarding of classified documents belongs in the “dustbin of history” and should remain sealed. The department’s position echoes that of Trump, whose lawyers this week asked U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon to permanently block the release of the Smith report. It marks a stark but expected reversal from the posture taken by President Joe Biden’s Justice Department, which had supported the release of the investigative report.

US carries out first known strike on alleged drug boat since Maduro’s capture

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military says it’s carried out a deadly strike on a vessel accused of trafficking drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, the first since the raid that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro earlier this month. U.S. Southern Command said Friday on social media that the boat was “engaged in narco-trafficking operations” and that the strike killed two people and left one survivor. It said it notified the Coast Guard to launch search and rescue operations. The U.S. military has focused lately on seizing sanctioned oil tankers with connections to Venezuela since the Trump administration launched an audacious raid to capture Maduro.