By HANNAH SCHOENBAUM and MEAD GRUVER

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Utah judge on Monday sentenced a man who appeared to fake his death and flee the United States to avoid arrest on rape charges to anywhere from five years to life in prison.

Related Articles

What to know about the Amazon Web Services outage

Disney+ and Hulu cancellations rose after ABC briefly pulled ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’

Broadway actors and producers reach tentative labor deal, but musicians still threaten a strike

Government shutdown imperils dozens of Head Start preschool programs

What to know about the murder trial of an Illinois sheriff deputy who killed Sonya Massey

Nicholas Rossi, 38, is “a serial abuser of women” and “the very definition of a flight risk,” District Judge Barry Lawrence said before handing down the sentence.

It was Rossi’s first of two sentencings after separate convictions in August and September of raping two women in northern Utah in 2008. He is scheduled to be sentenced in November in the second case.

Utah allows prison sentences to be given as a range rather than a set period of time. A parole board will determine if and when Rossi is released.

Five years to life is the entire range of possible prison time under Utah law for rape, a first-degree felony.

Jurors found Rossi guilty of rape in August after a three-day trial in which his accuser and her parents each took the stand.

Rossi left a “trail of fear, pain and destruction” behind him, the victim in the case told the court shortly before Rossi was sentenced. The Associated Press does not typically identify rape victims.

“This is not a plea for vengeance. This is a plea for safety and accountability, for recognition of the damage that will never fully heal,” she said.

Rossi “uses rape to control women” and posed a risk to community safety, argued Deputy Salt Lake County District Attorney Brandon Simmons, a prosecutor in the case, before Rossi’s sentencing.

Rossi did not testify on his own behalf at his trial. Given a chance to speak before being sentenced Monday, he maintained his innocence.

“I am not guilty of this. These women are lying,” Rossi said in a soft, raspy voice.

Utah authorities began searching for Rossi, whose legal name is Nicholas Alahverdian, when he was identified in 2018 through a decade-old DNA rape kit. He was among thousands of rape suspects identified and later charged when Utah made a push to clear its rape kit backlog.

Months after he was charged in that case, an online obituary claimed Rossi died on Feb. 29, 2020, of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. But police in his home state of Rhode Island, along with his former lawyer and a former foster family, cast doubt on whether he was dead.

He was arrested in Scotland the following year while receiving treatment for COVID-19. Hospital staff recognized his distinctive tattoos — including the crest of Brown University inked on his shoulder, although he never attended — from an Interpol notice.

He was extradited to Utah in January 2024 after a protracted court battle. At the time, Rossi insisted he was an Irish orphan named Arthur Knight who was being framed. Investigators say they identified at least a dozen aliases Rossi used over the years to evade capture.

In his first trial, Rossi’s public defender denied the rape claim and urged jurors not to read too much into his move overseas. Even so, the jury convicted Rossi of the rape charge for which he was sentenced Monday.

The victim in the case had been living with her parents and recovering from a traumatic brain injury in 2008 when she responded to a personal ad Rossi posted on Craigslist. They began dating and were engaged within a couple weeks.

She testified that Rossi asked her to pay for dates and car repairs, lend him $1,000 so he wouldn’t be evicted, and take on debt to buy their engagement rings. He grew hostile soon after their engagement and raped her in his bedroom one night after she drove him home, she said.

She went to police years later, after hearing that Rossi was accused of raping another woman in Utah around the same time.

The victim in that case went to police soon after Rossi attacked her at his apartment in Orem. The woman had gone there to collect money she said he stole from her to buy a computer.

Rossi was convicted in that case in September and sentencing is set for Nov. 4.

Rossi grew up in foster homes in Rhode Island and returned there before he appeared to fake his death and flee the country. He was previously wanted in the state for failing to register as a sex offender. The FBI says he also faces fraud charges in Ohio, where he was convicted of sex-related charges in 2008.

Gruver reported from Ft. Collins, Colorado.

Outrage spread Monday over President Trump’s effort to mock the huge No Kings protests over the weekend by posting an AI video of himself dumping waste on demonstrators.

Supporters of the sprawling rallies that drew millions slammed Trump for posting the 18-second clip depicting him wearing a crown and piloting a KING TRUMP warplane over some of the sprawling crowds that gathered on Saturday to protest his hard-line second term in power.

The phony plane was shown dumping foul brown waste on some of the throngs of people who marched through Times Square.

“Anybody who would depict himself as dumping waste on the American people … doesn’t really warrant [holding] the powers of the presidency,” said Mike Zamore of the American Civil Liberties Union, told CNN on Monday. “It’s another reflection of the lack of regard the president has for the people of this country,”

“The GOP can smear these protests all they want, but they can’t silence the truth,” tweeted Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-Brooklyn), who participated in the Times Square rally.

Rocker Kenny Loggins, whose hit “Danger Zone” is used in the Trump clip, demanded that the song be removed.

“I can’t imagine why anybody would want their music used or associated with something created with the sole purpose of dividing us,” the “Footloose” singer said in a statement.

House Speaker Mike Johnson Monday accused protesters of inciting violence because some carried signs with the slogan “86 47,” a euphemism for ousting Trump, who is the 47th president.

“He’s using satire to make a point,” Johnson told reporters on Capitol Hill. “He’s not calling for the murder of his political opponents.”

Trump didn’t immediately comment on the reaction to the video, which was created by a right-wing Artificial Intelligence meme creator.

But he derided the nationwide crowds, estimated at up to 7 million people in cities and towns from coast to coast, as being unrepresentative of the country and said the rallies were bankrolled by “radical left lunatics.”

The White House has recently stepped up its use of AI-generated fake videos to needle political opponents.

Related Articles

The White House starts demolishing part of the East Wing to build Trump’s ballroom

Trump vows to reach a ‘fantastic deal’ with China after future meeting with Xi

Nuclear security agency begins furloughing workers as part of shutdown, energy secretary says

US appeals court says Trump can take command of Oregon troops though deployment blocked for now

Comey’s lawyers say case against him is driven by Trump’s ‘personal animus’ and must be thrown out

It posted a fake short video featuring Democratic congressional leaders Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, with the latter wearing a Mexican-style sombrero, to dramatize the false GOP claim that Democrats want to fund health care for undocumented immigrants.

Vice President JD Vance said the sombrero video was all in good fun.

A Republican campaign committee last week used AI to create a realistic-looking video of Schumer boasting about the political impact of the government shutdown.

But critics say it’s no joke to depict a president attacking his constituents.

Los defensores de los inmigrantes han elaborado una serie de planes de preparación familiar con el objetivo de proporcionar herramientas prácticas para afrontar situaciones de emergencia, como la detención de un familiar por parte de la Oficina de Inmigración y Aduanas (ICE por sus siglas en inglés). 

Una manifestación del Consejo Municipal de Nueva York en 2018, en la que se pedía la expulsión de los agentes del ICE de los juzgados. (John McCarten/Consejo Municipal de Nueva York)

Con la llegada de la segunda presidencia de Donald Trump y su afán de deportar a un millón de personas al año, las interacciones con agentes del Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas (ICE por sus siglas en inglés) están ocurriendo en distintos lugares.

Este año, ICE no solo está arrestando en los lugares de trabajo o en los hogares de los inmigrantes, sino que también lo está haciendo en cortes y en interacciones con algunas policías locales a través de acuerdos 287(g).

Las organizaciones que apoyan y defienden a los inmigrantes se han dado cuenta de estos cambios y han reorganizado sus guías para crear un plan de acción que incluye formularios preparativos en caso de un cambio en la situación familiar, lo que llaman un plan de planificación familiar para familias inmigrantes.

Estos documentos se preparan si detienen, deportan o separan a un familiar o tutor por temas de inmigración.

Estos documentos se pueden catalogar en cuatro tipos: preparativos legales, preparativos para emergencias familiares, preparativos para el cuidado de un menor y preparativos financieros.

Los documentos legales deben incluir el poder de representación (Power of Attorney), que permite que una persona de confianza tome decisiones o cuide de los niños en caso de detención o deportación. También se deben incluir todos los documentos migratorios (pasaportes y otros formularios), los documentos de identidad, contactos de emergencia, como números de teléfono importantes (abogado de inmigración, consulado, escuelas y personas de confianza) y copias de documentos importantes.

Para los planes de preparación familiar, es crucial crear y practicar un plan que detalle qué hacer en caso de que un miembro de la familia sea detenido por ICE y asegurarse de que todos los hijos tengan pasaportes.

Los planes para preparativos de menores incluyen el permiso para que viaje un menor, documentos de custodia provisional y el formulario de autorización de designación parental.

El plan financiero debe incluir cosas como permiso para recoger un cheque, datos bancarios, contratos de alquiler o hipoteca—para que continúen sin interrupciones—, y las pólizas de seguro médico y de vida. 

Así que para explicar la importancia de cada uno de estos preparativos, invitamos a Laura García, directora de estrategia en el área de Mid-Hudson de la New York Immigration Coalition.

Más detalles en nuestra conversación a continuación.

Ciudad Sin Límites, el proyecto en español de City Limits, y El Diario de Nueva York se han unido para crear el pódcast “El Diario Sin Límites” para hablar sobre latinos y política. Para no perderse ningún episodio de nuestro pódcast “El Diario Sin Límites” síguenos en Spotify, Soundcloud, Apple Pódcast y Stitcher. Todos los episodios están allí. ¡Suscríbete!

The post PODCAST: ¿Cómo se pueden preparar las familias inmigrantes antes de ser arrestadas o detenidas? appeared first on City Limits.

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House on Monday started tearing down part of the East Wing, the traditional base of operations for the first lady, to build President Donald Trump’s ballroom despite lacking approval for construction from the federal agency that oversees such projects.

Related Articles

Trump draws outrage for AI video of himself dumping waste on protestors

Trump vows to reach a ‘fantastic deal’ with China after future meeting with Xi

Nuclear security agency begins furloughing workers as part of shutdown, energy secretary says

US appeals court says Trump can take command of Oregon troops though deployment blocked for now

Comey’s lawyers say case against him is driven by Trump’s ‘personal animus’ and must be thrown out

Dramatic photos of the demolition work showed a backhoe tearing into the East Wing façade and windows and other building parts in tatters on the ground. Some reporters watched from a park near the Treasury Department, which is next door to the East Wing.

Trump announced the start of construction in a social media post and referenced the work while hosting 2025 college baseball champs Louisiana State University and LSU-Shreveport in the East Room. He noted the work was happening “right behind us.”

“We have a lot of construction going on, which you might hear periodically,” he said, adding, “It just started today.”

The White House has moved ahead with the massive construction project despite not yet having sign-off from the National Capital Planning Commission, which approves construction work and major renovations to government buildings in the Washington area.

Its chairman, Will Scharf, who is also the White House staff secretary and one of Trump’s top aides, said at the commission’s September meeting that agency does not have jurisdiction over demolition or site preparation work for buildings on federal property.

“What we deal with is essentially construction, vertical build,” Scharf said last month.

A model is seen as President Donald Trump addresses a dinner for donors who have contributed to build the new ballroom at the White House, Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)

It was unclear whether the White House had submitted the ballroom plans for the agency’s review and approval. The White House did not respond to a request for comment and the commission’s offices are closed because of the government shutdown.

The Republican president had said in July when the project was announced that the ballroom would not interfere with the mansion itself.

“It’ll be near it but not touching it and pays total respect to the existing building, which I’m the biggest fan of,” he said of the White House. “It’s my favorite. It’s my favorite place. I love it.”

The East Wing houses several offices, including the office of the first lady. It was constructed in 1902 and and has been renovated over the years, and a second story was added in 1942, according to the White House.

Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said those East Wing offices will be temporarily relocated during construction and that wing of the building will be modernized and renovated.

Work begins on the demolition of a part of the East Wing of the White House, Monday, Oct. 20, 2025, in Washington, before construction of a new ballroom. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

“Nothing will be torn down,” Leavitt said when she announced the project in July.

Trump insists that such a ballroom has been desired for 150 years and that he’s adding the massive 90,000-square-foot, glass-walled space because the East Room, which is the largest room in the White House with an approximately 200-person capacity, is too small. He also has said he does not like the idea of hosting kings, queens, presidents and prime ministers in pavilions on the South Lawn.

The ballroom will be the biggest structural change to the Executive Mansion since the addition of the Truman Balcony overlooking the South Lawn in 1948, even dwarfing the building itself.

Barricades are in place for construction work for the planned new White House ballroom Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

At a dinner he hosted last week for some of the wealthy business executives who are donating money toward the $250 million construction cost, Trump said the project had grown in size and now will accommodate 999 people. The capacity was 650 seated people at the July announcement.

The clearing of trees on the south grounds and other site preparation work started in September. Plans call for the ballroom to be ready before Trump’s term ends in January 2029.