High Court Strikes Down 'Vague' Part of Career Criminal Law:  Part of a law intended to keep violent repeat criminals in prison longer was struck down Friday by the Supreme Court in a ruling which states that the law's catchall phrase is too vague.  The AP reports that the Armed Career Criminal Act includes burglary, arson, extortion and the use of explosives as past crimes that can lead to a longer sentence, but then adds a crime that "otherwise involves conduct that presents a serious potential risk of physical injury to another."  Six justices agreed that the phrase was unconstitutional, determining that defendant Samuel James Johnson's prior convictions, which added five additional years to his 2012 sentence in which he pleaded guilty to federal weapons charges, does not qualify as a felony under the law.

Drug Smugglers Using the Skies:  Small, homemade planes flown  by drug smugglers have twice dropped bales of marijuana, totaling at 400 pounds, onto Arizona soil over the past week, indicating that drug cartels have taken to the skies.  Morgan Loew of KPHO reports that authorities believe that drug smugglers are experimenting with much even smaller aircraft  such as drones.  As technology advances, it is expected that drones will be able to "carry enough of a payload to make them viable drug smuggling vehicles."

ISIS Expansion Along U.S. Borders:  The U.S.-Mexico border has growing appeal for the Islamic State, the terrorist organization known as ISIS, due in part to the presence of powerful drug lords.  Siouxland News reports that the labyrinth of tunnels used by drug cartels to transport product from Mexico to the U.S. discreetly could easily turn into an "underground highway" for ISIS to gain access to the U.S.  Mexico's unstable leadership and ruthless drug cartels is creating an opportunity for terrorist organizations.  

Gov. Brown Considers Parole For Brutal Killer:  California Gov. Jerry Brown has until midnight to decide whether to block the parole for a man who buried alive a developmentally disabled Fresno-area man in 1980.  Don Thompson of the AP reports that 52-year-old David Weidert was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of 20-year-old Michael Morganti, who Weidert forced to dig his own grave before beating, stabbing, choking and burying him alive, to keep Morganti from testifying against him about a burglary.  A state panel has already granted Weidert parole, but Morganti's family, state lawmakers, Fresno County Sheriff and the California State Sheriff's Association are urging Gov. Brown to have it revoked.