Civil rights

group charged

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Southern Poverty Law Center has been indicted on federal fraud charges alleging it improperly raised millions of dollars to pay informants to infiltrate the Ku Klux Klan and other extremist groups.

The Justice Department alleges the civil rights group defrauded donors by using their money to fund the very extremism it claimed to be fighting, with payments of at least $3 million between 2014 and 2023 to people affiliated with the Ku Klux Klan, the United Klans of America, the National Socialist Party of America and other extremist groups. SPLC CEO Bryan Fair says the organization “will vigorously defend ourselves, our staff, and our work.”

Congresswoman

resigns

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick has resigned, doing so just moments before the start of a hearing that could have led to a recommendation that she be expelled from Congress. Cherfilus-McCormick says she would not pretend that a yearslong ethics investigation had been anything other than a “witch hunt,” and rather than play political games she would resign.

The committee had been set to weigh what punishment to recommend after an investigative panel found Cherfilus-McCormick committed 25 violations of House rules and ethical standards. Cherfilus-McCormick also faces federal criminal charges accusing her of stealing $5 million in coronavirus disaster relief funds. She denies any wrongdoing.

US officials

killed in crash

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two U.S. officials killed in a vehicle crash as they returned from destroying a clandestine drug lab in northern Mexico over the weekend were working for the CIA. That’s according to a U.S. official and two other people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity Tuesday.

The crash also killed two Mexican investigators. Mexican authorities say the group was returning from an operation to destroy the drug labs of criminal groups. The crash has sparked debate over U.S. involvement in Mexican security operations.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum faces pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration to crack down on cartels. The CIA and State Department have declined to comment.