California
Mexican man pleads guilty to impersonating Border Patrol agent to 'disrupt deportation missions'
SAN DIEGO (AP) — A Mexican man in the United States has pleaded guilty to impersonating a Border Patrol agent and following federal immigration officers to divert them while they were out on immigration enforcement missions in Southern California.
Jamie Ernesto Alvarez-Gonzalez admitted to following a Border Patrol agent on Jan. 8 while he was driving in a neighborhood in San Diego, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California.
Prosecutors said Alvarez-Gonzalez's black Ford F-150, a model also used by undercover federal officers, had a license plate with federal truck written on the frame in small letters, though the word federal was misspelled. He put a Border Patrol sticker in the windshield and non-working radio communications antennae on the roof, according to the complaint. Handcuffs were hung from the rearview mirror.
The agent aborted his mission when he saw Alvarez-Gonzalez following him, falsely believing other agents were responding, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
When Alvarez-Gonzalez was confronted by real agents, he "shouted obscenities and demanded agents leave the community of Linda Vista," prosecutors said. Three other cars also arrived at one point and began harassing departing agents and chasing them on the highway.
Prosecutors said Alvarez-Gonzalez had made a recording where he said he was actively looking for federal agents working on immigration enforcement and had brought in his "reinforcements." He also had a fake FBI badge.
He pleaded guilty to one count of impersonating a federal agent and three counts of illegally possessing firearms. His federal public defender did not respond to an emailed request for comment.
Alvarez-Gonzalez overstayed his tourist visa, which he used decades ago to enter the country, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
Arizona
Federal judge dismisses DOJ lawsuit against state seeking voter data
PHOENIX (AP) — A federal judge on Tuesday dismissed a U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit against Arizona seeking access to the state's detailed voter records, the latest legal setback in a nationwide effort by the Trump administration.
U.S. District Judge Susan Brnovich, a Trump appointee, wrote that Arizona's statewide voter registration list is "not a document subject to request by the Attorney General" under federal law. The judge dismissed the lawsuit with prejudice because, she wrote, "amendment would be legally futile."
The dismissal of the Arizona lawsuit follows a string of other rulings against the Department of Justice in similar cases in other states. The DOJ has sued at least 30 states and the District of Columbia seeking to force release of detailed voter data, which includes dates of birth, addresses, driver's license numbers and partial Social Security numbers.
In addition to Arizona, judges have rejected those attempts in Rhode Island, California, Massachusetts, Michigan and Oregon. In Georgia, a judge dismissed a DOJ lawsuit because it had been filed in the wrong city, prompting the government to refile elsewhere.
The DOJ sued Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes in January for failing to comply with its request for the detailed voter information.
"This moment is a win for voter privacy," Fontes said in a statement. "I will never comply with illegal requests that put Arizona voters in harms way."
The Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
At least 13 states have either provided or promised to provide their detailed voter registration lists to the department, according to the Brennan Center and Associated Press reporting: Alaska, Arkansas, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Wyoming.
Federal officials say they need the voter data to ensure that states are complying with federal election laws related to maintaining voter registration lists. In the Rhode Island case, a Justice Department attorney acknowledged that the department was seeking unredacted voter roll information so it could be shared with the Department of Homeland Security to check citizenship status.
Democratic and some Republican officials have objected to the requests and said such a demand violates state and federal privacy laws.
Washington
Judge questions Trump's plan to close the Kennedy Center for 2 years
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge overseeing a lawsuit that could decide whether Washington's Kennedy Center closes in July for renovations questioned the Trump administration's plans for the storied performing arts venue, asking Tuesday why the center needed to be closed entirely and whether the administration had done the research to back that decision.
The hearing Tuesday was the first of two back-to-back court hearings on lawsuits over changes at the Kennedy Center. It ended with U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper taking no action after firing questions at plaintiff and defense attorneys alike, making it difficult to predict how he might rule.
Cooper asked the government's attorney, Brantley Mayers, where in its argument or submissions was the administration's analysis of the cost of the closure so the center can be renovated, including the loss of sponsorships, bookings and revenue. "I didn't see any numbers," he said.
Cooper also wanted to know why the government might oppose renovating the building in stages, an attitude he said had been the "status quo" until it suddenly changed its mind and opted for closure.
Tuesday's hearing centered on a lawsuit filed last year by Rep. Joyce Beatty. The Ohio Democrat sued President Donald Trump and other members of the administration in her capacity as an ex officio trustee of the Kennedy Center. Beatty's lawsuit expanded to include the decision in February to close the center for two years for renovations starting in July.
Since returning to office last year, Trump has taken particular interest in the Kennedy Center. He ousted its previous leadership and replaced it with a handpicked board that named him chairman, changes that prompted an outcry from many artists and exacerbated the operation's financial challenges. Trump, whose name was later added to the building's facade, announced the renovations earlier this year.
Cooper spent more than half of the two-hour hearing grilling Nathaniel Zelinsky, senior counsel at the Washington Litigation Group, with technical questions relating to Beatty's ability to bring forth the lawsuit.
The judge held off on taking any action, including a possible injunction against the center's name change.
During Tuesday's hearing, Norm Eisen, a board member at Democracy Defenders Action who is co-counsel with Zelinsky, pointed to dozens of statutory refences that made clear the name was intended to be the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Following the hearing, Beatty said she was "very fearful that we'll see what happened with the East Wing and what happened with the Rose Garden" if the center is closed, referring to major changes the president has made at the White House.
Despite statements from its new executive director, Matt Floca, that work would be done appropriately, Beatty said she doesn't trust the president. "We went through the same thing at the White House. I was right outside there when we saw the bulldozers."
Another hearing is set for Wednesday, this one the result of a lawsuit by a group of eight cultural preservationist groups who also oppose the closure and renovations.
Cooper said during Tuesday's hearing that he had questions he wanted answered at the upcoming hearing — especially by the defense -- on what will happen to the Kennedy Center if it is closed, including whether there would be any public access.
Nebraska
Attorney says in court papers that ex-assistant coach admitted having sex with basketball player
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Former Nebraska women's basketball assistant Chuck Love acknowledged he had sex with former player Ashley Scoggin before she was dismissed from the team in 2022, according to court documents tied to a civil lawsuit Scoggin filed against Love and university officials.
Scoggin's lawsuit, filed in 2024, contends her civil rights were violated in the lead-up to her dismissal. Scoggin seeks a jury trial in Lincoln and unspecified damages.
Love, in his initial response to the lawsuit, denied ever having a sexual relationship with Scoggin.
But Maren Chaloupka, Scoggin's attorney, wrote in a March 17 filing, "At his February 5, 2026 deposition, Love for the first time admitted that he had a sexual relationship with Ashley."
Chaloupka wrote that the university's Board of Regents, head coach Amy Williams and former athletic director Trev Alberts — all named as co-defendants — "endorsed his denial."
USA Today on Tuesday was first to report Love's admission in the court document. Denise Frost, Love's attorney, did not immediately respond to an Associated Press message seeking comment.
Scoggin described in her original complaint how Love took a special interest in her and that the relationship turned sexual and caused Scoggin to fear retaliation if she refused to engage in it.
Williams and Alberts, now the athletic director at Texas A&M, are accused of not setting rules, training or policies prohibiting staff members from having sexual relationships with athletes.
Scoggin played two seasons for the Cornhuskers. She was dismissed from the team on the same day Love was suspended with pay in February 2022. Love resigned three months later. Scoggin, who is from Dallas, Oregon, transferred to UNLV.
Scoggin was kicked off the Nebraska team a few days after teammates discovered her, fully clothed, in Love's room during a road trip.
Love initially denied Scoggin's claims he sought sexual relationships with students, that he discussed inappropriate topics with her and that he invited her to go out for drinks.
The regents, Williams and Alberts said in their joint response to the civil lawsuit that they didn't have "sufficient information and belief to either admit or deny the allegations" of a sexual relationship between Scoggin and Love.
The university, in its initial response to the lawsuit, said Scoggin's removal from the team was warranted, in part, because of "dishonesty and distrust" between Scoggin and her teammates.
Mexican man pleads guilty to impersonating Border Patrol agent to 'disrupt deportation missions'
SAN DIEGO (AP) — A Mexican man in the United States has pleaded guilty to impersonating a Border Patrol agent and following federal immigration officers to divert them while they were out on immigration enforcement missions in Southern California.
Jamie Ernesto Alvarez-Gonzalez admitted to following a Border Patrol agent on Jan. 8 while he was driving in a neighborhood in San Diego, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California.
Prosecutors said Alvarez-Gonzalez's black Ford F-150, a model also used by undercover federal officers, had a license plate with federal truck written on the frame in small letters, though the word federal was misspelled. He put a Border Patrol sticker in the windshield and non-working radio communications antennae on the roof, according to the complaint. Handcuffs were hung from the rearview mirror.
The agent aborted his mission when he saw Alvarez-Gonzalez following him, falsely believing other agents were responding, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
When Alvarez-Gonzalez was confronted by real agents, he "shouted obscenities and demanded agents leave the community of Linda Vista," prosecutors said. Three other cars also arrived at one point and began harassing departing agents and chasing them on the highway.
Prosecutors said Alvarez-Gonzalez had made a recording where he said he was actively looking for federal agents working on immigration enforcement and had brought in his "reinforcements." He also had a fake FBI badge.
He pleaded guilty to one count of impersonating a federal agent and three counts of illegally possessing firearms. His federal public defender did not respond to an emailed request for comment.
Alvarez-Gonzalez overstayed his tourist visa, which he used decades ago to enter the country, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
Arizona
Federal judge dismisses DOJ lawsuit against state seeking voter data
PHOENIX (AP) — A federal judge on Tuesday dismissed a U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit against Arizona seeking access to the state's detailed voter records, the latest legal setback in a nationwide effort by the Trump administration.
U.S. District Judge Susan Brnovich, a Trump appointee, wrote that Arizona's statewide voter registration list is "not a document subject to request by the Attorney General" under federal law. The judge dismissed the lawsuit with prejudice because, she wrote, "amendment would be legally futile."
The dismissal of the Arizona lawsuit follows a string of other rulings against the Department of Justice in similar cases in other states. The DOJ has sued at least 30 states and the District of Columbia seeking to force release of detailed voter data, which includes dates of birth, addresses, driver's license numbers and partial Social Security numbers.
In addition to Arizona, judges have rejected those attempts in Rhode Island, California, Massachusetts, Michigan and Oregon. In Georgia, a judge dismissed a DOJ lawsuit because it had been filed in the wrong city, prompting the government to refile elsewhere.
The DOJ sued Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes in January for failing to comply with its request for the detailed voter information.
"This moment is a win for voter privacy," Fontes said in a statement. "I will never comply with illegal requests that put Arizona voters in harms way."
The Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
At least 13 states have either provided or promised to provide their detailed voter registration lists to the department, according to the Brennan Center and Associated Press reporting: Alaska, Arkansas, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Wyoming.
Federal officials say they need the voter data to ensure that states are complying with federal election laws related to maintaining voter registration lists. In the Rhode Island case, a Justice Department attorney acknowledged that the department was seeking unredacted voter roll information so it could be shared with the Department of Homeland Security to check citizenship status.
Democratic and some Republican officials have objected to the requests and said such a demand violates state and federal privacy laws.
Washington
Judge questions Trump's plan to close the Kennedy Center for 2 years
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge overseeing a lawsuit that could decide whether Washington's Kennedy Center closes in July for renovations questioned the Trump administration's plans for the storied performing arts venue, asking Tuesday why the center needed to be closed entirely and whether the administration had done the research to back that decision.
The hearing Tuesday was the first of two back-to-back court hearings on lawsuits over changes at the Kennedy Center. It ended with U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper taking no action after firing questions at plaintiff and defense attorneys alike, making it difficult to predict how he might rule.
Cooper asked the government's attorney, Brantley Mayers, where in its argument or submissions was the administration's analysis of the cost of the closure so the center can be renovated, including the loss of sponsorships, bookings and revenue. "I didn't see any numbers," he said.
Cooper also wanted to know why the government might oppose renovating the building in stages, an attitude he said had been the "status quo" until it suddenly changed its mind and opted for closure.
Tuesday's hearing centered on a lawsuit filed last year by Rep. Joyce Beatty. The Ohio Democrat sued President Donald Trump and other members of the administration in her capacity as an ex officio trustee of the Kennedy Center. Beatty's lawsuit expanded to include the decision in February to close the center for two years for renovations starting in July.
Since returning to office last year, Trump has taken particular interest in the Kennedy Center. He ousted its previous leadership and replaced it with a handpicked board that named him chairman, changes that prompted an outcry from many artists and exacerbated the operation's financial challenges. Trump, whose name was later added to the building's facade, announced the renovations earlier this year.
Cooper spent more than half of the two-hour hearing grilling Nathaniel Zelinsky, senior counsel at the Washington Litigation Group, with technical questions relating to Beatty's ability to bring forth the lawsuit.
The judge held off on taking any action, including a possible injunction against the center's name change.
During Tuesday's hearing, Norm Eisen, a board member at Democracy Defenders Action who is co-counsel with Zelinsky, pointed to dozens of statutory refences that made clear the name was intended to be the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Following the hearing, Beatty said she was "very fearful that we'll see what happened with the East Wing and what happened with the Rose Garden" if the center is closed, referring to major changes the president has made at the White House.
Despite statements from its new executive director, Matt Floca, that work would be done appropriately, Beatty said she doesn't trust the president. "We went through the same thing at the White House. I was right outside there when we saw the bulldozers."
Another hearing is set for Wednesday, this one the result of a lawsuit by a group of eight cultural preservationist groups who also oppose the closure and renovations.
Cooper said during Tuesday's hearing that he had questions he wanted answered at the upcoming hearing — especially by the defense -- on what will happen to the Kennedy Center if it is closed, including whether there would be any public access.
Nebraska
Attorney says in court papers that ex-assistant coach admitted having sex with basketball player
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Former Nebraska women's basketball assistant Chuck Love acknowledged he had sex with former player Ashley Scoggin before she was dismissed from the team in 2022, according to court documents tied to a civil lawsuit Scoggin filed against Love and university officials.
Scoggin's lawsuit, filed in 2024, contends her civil rights were violated in the lead-up to her dismissal. Scoggin seeks a jury trial in Lincoln and unspecified damages.
Love, in his initial response to the lawsuit, denied ever having a sexual relationship with Scoggin.
But Maren Chaloupka, Scoggin's attorney, wrote in a March 17 filing, "At his February 5, 2026 deposition, Love for the first time admitted that he had a sexual relationship with Ashley."
Chaloupka wrote that the university's Board of Regents, head coach Amy Williams and former athletic director Trev Alberts — all named as co-defendants — "endorsed his denial."
USA Today on Tuesday was first to report Love's admission in the court document. Denise Frost, Love's attorney, did not immediately respond to an Associated Press message seeking comment.
Scoggin described in her original complaint how Love took a special interest in her and that the relationship turned sexual and caused Scoggin to fear retaliation if she refused to engage in it.
Williams and Alberts, now the athletic director at Texas A&M, are accused of not setting rules, training or policies prohibiting staff members from having sexual relationships with athletes.
Scoggin played two seasons for the Cornhuskers. She was dismissed from the team on the same day Love was suspended with pay in February 2022. Love resigned three months later. Scoggin, who is from Dallas, Oregon, transferred to UNLV.
Scoggin was kicked off the Nebraska team a few days after teammates discovered her, fully clothed, in Love's room during a road trip.
Love initially denied Scoggin's claims he sought sexual relationships with students, that he discussed inappropriate topics with her and that he invited her to go out for drinks.
The regents, Williams and Alberts said in their joint response to the civil lawsuit that they didn't have "sufficient information and belief to either admit or deny the allegations" of a sexual relationship between Scoggin and Love.
The university, in its initial response to the lawsuit, said Scoggin's removal from the team was warranted, in part, because of "dishonesty and distrust" between Scoggin and her teammates.
