Midday Roundup: Dzhokhar Tsarnaev finally goes on trial in Boston

Opening arguments. The trial of accused Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev began today. In opening arguments, prosecutors described the 20-year-old as believing he was “a soldier in a holy war against Americans.” His defense attorney didn’t try to deny the worst charges against Tsarnaev, saying his actions were “inexcusable.”Much of the evidence in the case, which is voluminous, is not in dispute. The defense strategy will be to lay much of the blame for the bombing and its aftermath on Tsarnaev’s older brother, Tamerlan, whom lawyers claim had an outsized influence on their client’s actions. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty, an unpopular punishment in liberal Boston. No one has been put to death in Massachusetts since 1947. But the case has ignited passions in the city where few residents escaped being influenced by either the bombing or the daylong manhunt later that week. The April 15, 2013, bombing killed three people and left dozens injured, many with amputated legs. While running from police, the Tsarnaev brothers also shot and killed a police officer.

Racial divides. In a report issued today, the U.S. Department of Justice said it found rampant racism in the Ferguson, Mo., municipal court and police department. If the city doesn’t reach an agreement to solve the problems, it could face a federal lawsuit over violating the U.S. Constitution. Federal officials launched their investigation after white police officer Darren Wilson shot unarmed African-American teenager Michael Brown in August. According to the report, officials found Ferguson police officers disproportionately stopped African-Americans without reasonable suspicion, made arrests with no probable cause, and used force disproportionately against African-American suspects. The investigation also determined the city’s courts were more interested in raising money than in enforcing public safety, a policy that especially hurt poor residents. The situation has created a wide gulf between law enforcement officials and the city’s African-American community, the report concluded.

Controversial? Ben Carson is making headlines today for comments he made about homosexuality during an interview with CNN. Carson, a likely 2016 Republican presidential candidate, told CNN’s Chris Cuomo he believes homosexuality is a choice and pointed to the number of straight people who come out of prison gay as evidence for it being a behavior, not an innate quality. Carson also voiced support for allowing states to define marriage, suggesting the benefits same-sex couples want could be established without changing the definition of marriage. “Why do gay people want to get married? Why do they say they want to get married? Because they want to have various rights—property rights, visitation rights,” he said. “Why can’t any two human beings, I don’t care what their sexual orientation is, why can’t they have the legal right to do those things? That does not require changing the definition of marriage.”

Out of business. Mexican security forces are on a roll against the drug cartels that have held much of the northern part of the country hostage in a reign of violence and terror. Early this morning, police captured the head of the notorious Zetas cartel in a pre-dawn raid in Monterrey. Alejandro Trevino-Morales has run the cartel since his brother Miguel was arrested in 2013. Mexican marines killed the cartel’s other leaders, Heriberto Lazcano, in 2012. The Mexican government had offered $2 million for information leading to Trevino-Morales’capture, and the U.S. government posted a $5 million reward. The Zetas are responsible for smuggling massive quantities of cocaine and other drugs into the United States. Last week, Mexican forces captured Servando “La Tuta” Gomez, leader of the Knights Templar cartel.

Shots fired. The FBI has arrested a man they believe fired shots at the National Security Administration building in Fort Meade, Md., on Tuesday. They have not identified the suspect yet but say he also may be responsible for other similar incidents in the area, including a shooting involving a truck about 12 miles from the federal facility. Officials have not released any details about how they came to arrest the suspect.