In a separate case, a man accused of killing his teenage girlfriend in Arizona is alleged to have attempted a cover-up, planning to escape and disappear overseas.

According to federal law enforcement sources, Varun Batchigari, the accused, is a 20-year-old Indian national who entered the United States on January 8, 2024, via an F-1 student visa at Los Angeles International Airport.

Following the alleged murder, authorities report that Batchigari boarded a flight from Houston to India, stopping in Germany, where he was detained after the FBI alerted local officials.

The FBI is now working to extradite him back to Arizona to face a first-degree murder charge.

Batchigari is charged with murdering his 19-year-old girlfriend, Julissa Salazar, who Tucson police say was strangled Thursday inside an off-campus apartment near the University of Arizona.

Investigators allege Batchigari stole Salazar’s cellphone and credit cards after the killing, then sent a series of text messages to her mother while posing as the victim in an apparent attempt to conceal the crime. The messages raised concern among Salazar’s family, prompting a welfare check that led officers to discover her body.

A felony warrant paints a picture of escalating violence, a deteriorating relationship and mounting personal troubles in the months leading up to Salazar’s death.

According to the warrant, obtained by KOLD-TV, Batchigari had previously been involved in an assault case investigated by the University of Arizona Police Department.

Witnesses interviewed by investigators said Salazar moved out after experiencing problems with Batchigari in late 2025 and had planned to end the relationship because of an alleged history of domestic violence.

The warrant also includes allegations from multiple witnesses describing prior violent behavior. One witness told investigators Batchigari sexually assaulted her at a Halloween party but said she never reported the allegation to law enforcement.

Another witness told investigators Batchigari had been expelled from the University of Arizona following a fight and later lost his job, leading to financial problems and concerns about his student visa status and ability to pay rent.

Federal records reviewed by Fox News show Batchigari remained in lawful immigration status at the time of the alleged murder despite his reported expulsion from the University of Arizona.

Because international students on F-1 visas are generally required to remain enrolled to maintain their legal status, it is unclear why his immigration status had not yet changed.

A Tucson Police Department spokesperson told News Media there were no updates beyond the information already released publicly. News Media also reached out to the University of Arizona to confirm Batchigari’s enrollment history and whether Salazar was a student, but did not immediately receive a response.

California motorists are getting a stark lesson in how a few extra miles to the gas station can make a big difference to their wallets, highlighting the impact of geography on gas prices.

On Sunday, the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded in California hit $5.593, according to data from AAA. This places California significantly above the national average, which sits at $4.012 per gallon, by a margin of $1.58.

An examination across counties reveals a intricate mosaic of price variations. While drivers in certain inland areas enjoy lower prices at the pump, those traveling along the Central Coast or residing in Bay Area locales face notably higher expenses.

Among the most affordable spots in the state is Yuba City, boasting regular gas prices at an average of $5.2718 per gallon. El Centro follows closely with $5.3786, with Stockton-Lodi at $5.3984, Chico-Paradise at $5.3978, and Modesto and Redding both leveling out at $5.4038 per gallon.

Conversely, drivers in the San Luis Obispo-Atascadero-Paso Robles area encounter some of the steepest prices, shelling out $5.8601 per gallon for regular gas. Premium options soar to $6.26, with diesel prices exceeding $7.11, underscoring the area’s elevated cost of living.

That creates a gap of nearly 59 cents a gallon between the cheapest and most expensive markets in the supplied data. For someone filling a 20-gallon tank, that’s almost $12 more for the same amount of fuel simply by filling up in the pricier market.

Other expensive areas included San Francisco at $5.7187, Salinas at $5.7102, Napa at $5.7063, Santa Rosa at $5.7058 and San Diego at $5.6928.

Los Angeles-Long Beach was also above the statewide average at $5.6629, while Orange County averaged $5.6023. Riverside came in at $5.5458 and San Bernardino at $5.5704.

The divide broadly follows a coastal-versus-inland pattern. Central Valley markets such as Fresno, Sacramento and Stockton-Lodi are generally cheaper than many coastal communities, where transportation, distribution and other regional costs can push prices higher.

And California’s prices remain elevated even in its cheapest corners.

Yuba City’s $5.27 average is still more than $1.25 above the national average. Fresno’s $5.5050 price is nearly $1.50 higher than the national figure, while Los Angeles is about $1.65 higher. 

California’s current regular average of $5.593 is roughly $1.10 higher than the $4.4961 average recorded a year ago, an increase of about 24%. At the same time, the statewide average has eased slightly from $5.6551 a week ago but remains above the $5.3827 level from a month ago. 

A major reason California starts from such a high baseline is the state’s unique gasoline market.

A CBS News investigation found that about 55% of the cost of a gallon in California comes from state-specific factors, including refining and distribution expenses, the state’s special fuel blend, taxes and environmental programs. 

California’s gasoline tax and fees are also among the nation’s highest.

The Department of Energy says motorists face 70.9 cents per gallon in state taxes and fees, while the state requires a special gasoline blend that is produced by a relatively limited number of refineries. 

The state’s shrinking refining capacity adds another layer of vulnerability.

California had 23 operating refineries in 2000, compared with 12 and then 11 by May 2026, while the closures of major facilities have raised concerns about the state’s ability to absorb supply disruptions, according to the DOE.

Crude oil remains the biggest underlying ingredient in gasoline prices, accounting for roughly 40% of the California pump price in the breakdown.

The state’s isolated fuel market can make supply disruptions particularly painful because California cannot simply rely on gasoline flowing in from other parts of the country. 

Global turmoil has made that vulnerability even more apparent this year.

The war with Iran sent crude and fuel markets sharply higher, with California prices briefly climbing above $6 a gallon in the spring.

The state also relies heavily on imported crude, including supplies arriving by sea, leaving prices exposed to disruptions in global oil routes.

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DiJonai Carrington once again finds herself at the center of attention after an intense altercation with Sophie Cunningham on Saturday captured the crowd’s focus.

The clash occurred while Indiana Fever’s Cunningham, who is white, executed a layup early in the first quarter. She was suddenly struck in the head and neck by Chicago Sky’s Carrington, who is black, causing Cunningham to fall to the floor just as her shot went through the hoop.

In response to the incident, officials called a flagrant 2 foul on Carrington, leading to her ejection. As Carrington exited the court, both Cunningham and her teammate Caitlin Clark were seen waving her off toward the locker room.

Cameras later captured Cunningham, aged 29, applauding the officials’ decision with a smile, after allegedly being heard using profane language to chastise Carrington, questioning the motives behind her action.

In the aftermath of her ejection, Carrington took to social media to express her frustration, posting from the locker room with the comment, “WHITE PRIVILEGE @indianafever.”

But it would not be the first time that Carrington, 28, has been embroiled in a controversy involving one of the league’s biggest stars.

Back in September 2024, while playing for the Connecticut Sun, Carrington left Clark, 24, with a black eye after poking the Fever guard in the face during her rookie season that was plagued by rough treatment from her opponents.

One month after that incident, Carrington mocked Clark by recreating the poke during an Instagram livestream with her ex-girlfriend and fellow WNBA player NaLyssa Smith.

Smith looked to deliberately catch Carrington’s eye in the video before she said, ‘You poked me in the eye’ with a smile on her face. The pair then began laughing as Carrington asked, ‘Did you do it on purpose?’ – an apparent dig at USA Today columnist Christine Brennan, who had asked if she poked Clark intentionally.

‘I don’t even know why I would intend to hit anybody in the eye,’ Carrington responded to Brennan when asked if it was intentional during the interview.

‘That doesn’t even make sense to me. But no, I didn’t. I didn’t know I hit her, actually. I was trying to make a play on the ball, and I guess I followed through and I hit her. 

‘Obviously it’s never intentional. That’s not even the type of player that I am.’

The question from Brennan sparked backlash from the WNBA Players’ Association, who released an extraordinary statement saying that her question to Carrington was ‘a blatant attempt to bait a professional athlete into participating in a narrative that is false and designed to fuel racist, homophobic and misogynistic vitriol on social media.’

USA Today defended Brennan, responding with their own statement that said: ‘We reject the notion that the interview perpetuated any narrative other than to get the player’s perspective directly.

‘Christine Brennan is well regarded as an advocate for women and athletes but first and foremost, she’s a journalist.’

Then, in June of this year Clark was caught on camera gossiping with Cunningham about a WNBA rival who ‘hates’ her during a Fever win over the Dallas Wings.

Footage captured by ION showed Cunningham whispering into the ear of Clark while they were sat on the bench together in Dallas. It was unclear what the Fever guard initially said given her superstar teammate was covering her mouth with a towel. However, Clark seemingly responded to Cunningham by saying: ‘Yep, I know… she hates me.’ 

Fans quickly began to speculate about who the Indiana sensation could have been talking about – if those comments were interpreted accurately – and many thought it could be Carrington.

Carrington was previously forced to address claims that she plays ‘dirty’ on social media back in June 2025. At the time, she received a flagrant-1 foul after making excessive contact with Skylar Diggins of the Seattle Storm. 

A week before that incident, Carrington had screamed in the face of a referee, who pulled a security guard in between the two, a move the guard said was a ‘microaggression.’ A hard foul against the Minnesota Lynx also took place a month earlier. 

‘Yall fans swear I’m such a dirty player,’ Carrington posted. ‘I’m SO over this narrative bc if u really know bball, u know I jus play hard asf & never give up on a play. & yup, we challenged the last couple flagrants & got em rescinded bc I’m ALWAYS tryna make a play on the ball nun more, nun less.’ 

But Carrington has not just sparked outrage on the court. In January 2025, she wore a ‘f*** Donald Trump’ hoodie to an Unrivaled basketball game and shared the pictures on her X account with the caption: ‘What my hoodie says.’

The sweatshirt was a piece of merch from the rapper YG, who in 2016 played shows all across the United States on a tour called ‘F*** Donald Trump.’ 

Carrington was met with more criticism than support in response to her post, with people mocking her and saying the post was attention-seeking.

Days later, she blasted Trump again and called on the WNBA to ‘take action’ against some of the president’s more divisive policies that he implemented upon starting his second term in the White House.

She said: ‘We see that some of the policies are already going into action, and, of course, that means that as the WNBA and being at the forefront of a lot of these movements, it’s time for us to also take action. 

‘It definitely needs to happen as women, women’s rights being taken away, like, now, LGBTQ rights being taken away now. They haven’t happened yet, but definitely in the works.’  

Then, more off-court drama followed last month, when Carrington accused ex-girlfriend Smith of cheating on her with two other players in the WNBA.

Carrington and NaLyssa Smith, 26, began dating in 2020 while they were both members of the women’s basketball team at Baylor University. The two continued to date while they played on different WNBA teams before briefly playing together on the Wings last season.

When Carrington announced their split in November 2025, there was no indication of bad blood between them. ‘We’re good but we’re not together any more,’ she said at the time. ‘It was on good terms. We just grew in different directions.’

But then, on July 27, Carrington alleged Smith’s infidelity in a post on Threads.

‘Since mfs wanna be funny today ima be hilarious!’ Carrington posted. ‘yes , nalyssa cheated on me with Deja Kelly and Aaliyah Nye +++ many more.’ 

Smith responded to Carrington in a Twitch video in the days after, hitting back at her ex for going public with the claims after believing they had moved on.

‘Whether she cheated on me and I cheated on her, why are we bringing that to the internet a year later when nobody did anything to anybody?’ Smith said. ‘Whether she cheated on me or I cheated on her, that has nothing to do with anybody. Like what? That don’t even make sense.’

Carrington has been rumored to now be dating Smith’s teammate on the Las Vegas Aces, Jackie Young. While it has not been publicly confirmed, Smith appeared to reference that Carrington was in a new relationship while criticizing her for name-dropping Kelly and Nye.

‘Then, to bring up folks name that has nothing to do with anything. These folks is minding their business,’ Smith said. ‘That’s ridiculous, especially when you’re in a happy, healthy relationship. 

‘I would never in my life do that to nobody if I was in a happy, healthy relationship. These folks woke up to this s*** on a random Sunday… I think that’s very weird.’

It’s unclear what prompted Carrington to make her post but Smith implied it was from an encounter during the WNBA’s All-Star game held in Chicago days prior.

‘I’m saying I’m the victim in that situation for sure. I didn’t do nothing. I didn’t bother nobody,’ she said.

‘We came to the spot. Folks was chilling. Nobody did nothing to nobody. I didn’t go out of my way to bother anybody or come to somewhere uninvited. But I guess the liquor, the cameras, her crowd, I guess she got some type of… somebody boosted her up to gain some confidence.’

Meanwhile, Kelly, 24, and Nye, 23, have not responded to the claims. 

They both entered the league last season. Nye was drafted 13th overall in the second round out of Alabama while Kelly went undrafted out of Oregon. Both players signed contracts with the Las Vegas Aces in 2025. Nye now plays for Atlanta Dream while Kelly plays for Charlotte Crown in the UpShot League.

That brings us to Saturday’s ordeal with Cunningham – who has been at the center of a culture war in recent weeks following comments she made about transgender athletes.

In the wake of the incident on the court this weekend, Barstool chief Dave Portnoy, a dedicated Clark fan, posted a clip of Carrington ranting at a taxi driver with the caption: ‘Lets not forget the time DiJonai went on a … racist rant against a cab driver. When people show you who they are believe them.’

During the Instagram livestream from December 2024, Chicago Sky star Carrington alleged that her and her friends, who were out celebrating a birthday, were kicked out of their taxi, seemingly for trying to play their music.

‘This stuff is crazy and I had to really expose him [the driver] in real time,’ she can be seen saying to the camera.

‘I don’t know why white people think they can get away with trying to just scare black people by saying, “Oh, I’m gonna call the police.” Ok, and we did nothing wrong, so that’s fine. Go ahead and call the police.

‘There he is ladies and gentlemen. Live and in the flesh for you to see. He tried to kidnap us and take us.

‘Look, now he’s going to talk to our next Uber driver. Let’s see how this goes.’ 

Carrington and her friends ordered another rideshare to pick them up and, when he arrived, the other driver was filmed walking over to tell him something.

‘He just said something in another language to the next driver. What did he say?’ Carrington asked.

When Carrington got in the vehicle, she realized the second driver was actually a Spanish speaker, not Arabic. She then yelled at the first taxi driver: ‘Dummy, he don’t even speak that language. He speaks Spanish.

‘He’s a dumba** because our new driver speaks Spanish. This motherf***er was trying to speak Arabic. Arabic and Spanish do not sound the same.’

The Daily Mail has contacted Carrington’s representatives for comment. 

After the chaotic scenes on the court on Saturday, Cunningham slammed Carrington for ‘playing’ the race ‘card’ after her claims her rival benefited from ‘white privilege.’

‘I think the league is taking care of that. This has nothing to do with race,’ Cunningham told ESPN. ‘Last year, I did the same thing and I got kicked out. And I deserved to be kicked out. There’s no reason even to play that card.’

On the incident, Cunningham added: ‘Clearly, I think it was like unnecessary. I’ve never really spoken to her and have no beef with her, but I guess she has some pent up stuff. So get your s*** off. That’s fine. I can take it.’

Cunningham suggested Carrington was simply ‘craving’ attention. ‘I do think when people play the Fever, we’re nationally televised, there’s a lot of eyes on us and people just want attention. And that’s her just trying to get attention,’ she continued.

‘I don’t even know her. She wasn’t even on the team last year when all that was going on… it’s intentional. She wasn’t even on the team. She has no reason to be doing any of that. So, good way to get her kicked out.’

Cunningham added: ‘I wasn’t even upset… I popped up. I’m not going to let anyone just do that to me. I think everyone knows that. I think that’s why she did it because she wants attention. 

‘I mean, s***, people have started craving attention. Like, go get it somewhere else. Go do something good in the world.’

Duane Davis, also known as “Keffe D,” garnered attention with his 2019 memoir revealing details of his involvement in the tragic death of hip-hop icon Tupac Shakur.

In “Compton Street Legend,” Davis sets the scene on a fateful night in Las Vegas, September 7, 1996. He provides a minute-by-minute recount of his intention to confront Tupac and Death Row Records’ CEO, Marion “Suge” Knight, following a prior altercation. According to his account, he armed himself, jumped into a Cadillac with three accomplices, and went searching for the duo. Davis claims they stumbled upon Tupac sitting in a vehicle and maneuvered their car alongside it.

“No words exchanged, the time for talking had passed, the sh*t was about to go down!” he vividly wrote.

This narrative now stands as crucial evidence against Davis as he faces trial in one of the most infamous unresolved murders in the United States. Prosecutors label Davis as the orchestrator or “shot caller” of the group that fatally attacked Tupac and injured Knight, and highlight that he remains the sole survivor among the alleged assailants.

The prosecution’s argument heavily relies on Davis’s admissions, found in his book as well as his public appearances in podcasts and documentaries. Despite the absence of a murder weapon, getaway car, or shooting footage, his own statements form the backbone of the case against him.

“In this case, almost all of the evidence the state will seek to introduce, will be to establish the credibility of Defendant’s various accounts of his role in the killing of Tupac Shakur,” prosecutors wrote in a recent filing.

Davis, 63, has pleaded not guilty to murder with the use of a deadly weapon. Since his arrest, he has said his prior statements were false and just an attempt to sell books, and he has blamed his co-author for inserting false information.

This all creates an unusual dynamic, legal experts said: Prosecutors are set to argue the accused murderer is credible and trustworthy, while defense attorneys will deride their client as a liar and fraud.

“It’s quite the reversal,” CNN Chief Legal Analyst and anchor Laura Coates said. “You rarely see something like that.”

“He’s the defendant but he’s also the all-star witness, quite frankly,” CNN legal analyst Joey Jackson said.

The trial begins with jury selection Monday and is expected to last about a month. Davis faces up to life in prison if convicted.

For his part, Davis has frequently discussed that fateful night, including on the day he was arrested for Tupac’s murder in September 2023.

“What they got you for, man?” the arresting officer asked.

“The biggest case in Las Vegas history,” he said.

What the defendant told police

Davis has provided accounts of hisrole in Tupac’s murder a number of times, and his story has remained fairly consistent over the years.

In 2008, he spoke to federal task force agents in a “proffer,” or an agreement in which a suspect gives potentially useful information to police under the condition that police cannot use it against them, with some exceptions.

In that interview, Davis said Tupac and Knight had assaulted his nephew Orlando Anderson on the night of September 7, 1996. Davis then obtained a gun, and he, Anderson and two others went searching for Tupac and Knight in an attempt to retaliate, according to a document included in a recent legal filing.

He told law enforcement they spotted Tupac in a vehicle on the Vegas Strip, made a U-turn and pulled up to the rapper’s vehicle, according to the document. Davis, sitting in the front seat, said Anderson, in the back seat, fired the fatal shots, according to the interview notes.

Davis also told Las Vegas police about his role in Tupac’s death.

The proffer agreement meant police could not bring charges against Davis as a direct result of the information gathered from the proffer. Still, some details were revealed in Greg Kading’s 2011 book “Murder Rap,” and portions of it were later played in documentaries.

What Davis said in public

Then Davis started speaking about the case publicly.

In 2018, Davis agreed to an interview about the killing in BET’s “Death Row Chronicles.” He outlined his actions that night and said the fatal shots came from someone sitting in the back of the vehicle.

“Going to keep it for the code of the streets,” he said. “It just came from the backseat, bro.”

He published his book in February 2019 and wrote in detail about his desire for retaliation, obtaining a Glock pistol, searching for Tupac – and the moments that would change hip-hop forever.

“Tupac made an erratic move and began to reach down beneath his seat,” Davis wrote. “Pac pulled out a strap, and that’s when the fireworks started. One of my guys from the back seat grabbed the Glock and started bustin’ back.”

After the shooting, he said they drove away from the scene and abandoned their rental car. He said he and Knight are the only two people still alive who were there that night.

“The moral of the story, real Gangsters, are nothing to f**k with!” he wrote.

Davis said the process of writing the book was “therapeutic.” He called the proffer agreement “the deal of a lifetime” and said he was only speaking out because of its supposed protection.

“I would never have said a word if they didn’t give me such a sweet deal,” he wrote. “I didn’t have to do a day of time … and I didn’t tell on anybody but myself because everybody else was already dead. Think about it!”

After writing the book, Davis spoke in media interviews, including with VladTV, in which he encouraged people to buy the book.

Foggy memories, lack of witnesses

Four years after his book was published, Davis was indicted on a charge of murder that closely matches his version of events. The indictment offers several possibilities, saying Davis allegedly killed Tupac, and/or he aided and abetted the killing by obtaining a firearm and giving it to another person, and/or he conspired to carry out the killing.

To prove their case, prosecutors plan to use his statements against him, while the defense has tried to keep them out of the trial or argue they are false.

In a pretrial hearing, the judge overseeing the case ruled to allow the jury to hear his book and media interviews, saying the proffer agreement did not cover public statements. She also allowed prosecutors to use the police proffer statements, though she expressed some concerns with the legality.

Coates called Davis’ statements “gold-star evidence” for the prosecution, especially in a case with little other evidence.

“This is a self-inflicted wound and aids the prosecution immeasurably, otherwise they’d have no way to get the information,” she said.

In a recent filing, prosecutors sought to establish Davis’ credibility, saying many parts of the book are accurate and consistent with other evidence. For example, Davis wrote in the book he was wearing a “Ray Luca Crime Story suit” during the shooting, and prosecutors later found a Polaroid photo of Davis in that suit, according to the filing.

“While the book is salacious, prone to hyperbole, has inaccuracies, and at least one substantial lie, the book generally described the provable life of Defendant, Duane ‘Keffe D’ Davis,” the filing states.

By contrast, the defense will point to the parts of the book that are provably false, in an attempt to discredit it, explained David Roger, the former Clark County, Nevada, district attorney.

“It really is going to revolve around the truthful and untruthful statements in the book,” he said.

Prosecutors will have to overcome a few key hurdles in their case. It’s been nearly 30 years since Tupac’s death, so some witnesses have died and others may not remember precise details.

“Fading memories will be the enemy of this prosecution,” Coates said.

Several potential witnesses may have credibility issues, too. Suge Knight, who was shot and wounded in the attack, has had his own legal troubles and is serving a 28-year prison sentence for a fatal hit-and-run. He is listed on the prosecution’s witness list, but he previously told TMZ he would not testify in the trial.

“The theme of this entire trial is, ‘Who can you believe?'” Coates said. “That answer is not easy and it’s not obvious.”

It’s not clear if Davis will testify. Yet he offered a preview of his defense during his 2023 arrest.

“I ain’t worried about it,” he said, according to police body-camera video. “I didn’t do sh*t.”

The CNN Wire