A federal court in Los Angeles is preparing for Dr. Salvador Plasencia to enter a guilty plea on Wednesday. He stands accused of supplying ketamine to “Friends” actor Matthew Perry in the weeks before the star’s fatal overdose in October 2023. This guilty plea would make him the fourth of five individuals charged in connection with Perry’s death to admit wrongdoing.
A Colorado woman has pleaded guilty to a federal charge related to a 2023 hate crime hoax involving a burning cross and a defaced campaign sign. Deanna West, 38, admitted to maliciously conveying false information with a threat, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado. The incident, which took place on April 23, 2023, targeted a mayoral campaign sign for then-candidate Yemi Mobolade in Colorado Springs.
A former CIA analyst, Asif William Rahman, 34, of Vienna, Virginia, pled guilty this week to charges of stealing and leaking classified information regarding Israeli retaliation plans against Iran.
A federal judge in Vermont sentenced Luis Fernando Barragan-Palacios, 29, to 18 months in prison for smuggling nearly 100 migrants across the Canadian border into the United States. Barragan-Palacios, originally from Oaxaca, Mexico, earned approximately $500,000 from the human smuggling operation over a five-month period. He is expected to be deported upon completing his sentence.
A federal judge has sentenced Brian DiPippa, 37, and his wife, Krystal DiPippa, 42, of Pittsburgh, to prison and probation, respectively, for their roles in a 2023 bombing attack targeting a conservative event at the University of Pittsburgh. The attack, linked to Antifa, injured several police officers and highlighted the growing domestic terrorism threat from extremist groups.
President-elect Donald Trump announced on Tuesday plans to issue "major pardons" for individuals charged in connection with the January 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol. The event occurred as Congress convened to certify President Joe Biden’s electoral victory.