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Alejandro Enrique Ramirez Umana has an unfortunate claim on history. The gang member is among the first to be sentenced to death under the federal system of capital punishment.

A team of federal investigators -- including FBI agents and transportation security officials -- is on the way to Yemen to hunt for clues in the airline cargo bomb plot and advise about screening procedures. Meanwhile, Yemeni authorities have released a female student brought in for questioning, citing an apparent case of identity theft.

Some of the people vying for attention from the Senate during the lame-duck session are key Obama nominees, including the right-hand man at the Justice Department and nearly two dozen federal judge candidates.

Over the past several months, senior Justice Department officials have visited the Gulf to examine critical pieces of evidence. Some legal experts wonder whether, in addition to possible criminal charges against the companies involved, the department may also prosecute individuals.

They want lawmakers to narrow loopholes in the background check system for people who buy firearms. Supporters of the legislation say that might have made a difference last January, when a gunman in Tucson, Ariz., killed six people and wounded 13 others, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

B. Todd Jones, the top federal prosecutor in Minnesota, has been tapped as acting director of the agency, which is under pressure from Congress after a botched gun-trafficking operation known as "Fast and Furious." A colleague says of Jones, "When the going gets tough, he can be one of the toughest guys in the room."

Lanny A. Breuer, assistant attorney general in charge of the Justice Department's criminal division, said he found out in April 2010 that ATF agents had let more than 400 guns connected to suspicious buyers cross the Southwest border during the Bush years. But, he said, he didn't tell senior leadership at the department.

San Francisco's subway shut off cellphone service to thwart protesters, inciting a legal controversy. First Amendment scholars say they can't remember a time when a public agency in the U.S. moved to disrupt wireless traffic in quite that way, while Bay Area Rapid Transit officials say they had to protect riders' safety.

A divided Senate voted 50 to 48 to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the high court. The bitter campaign could leave a mark on his reputation and on public confidence in the institution, legal experts say.

Accountant Cindy Laporta testified Friday in Paul Manafort's federal trial. She described an effort to portray income as a loan and thereby reduce the amount of taxes Manafort would have to pay.