Trial to start in Vegas for rancher Bundy in 2014 standoff

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A federal jury in Las Vegas is due to begin hearing the trial of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, two of his sons and a co-defendant accused of leading an armed standoff in 2014 against government agents in a cattle grazing dispute. Openings are set for today in a case alleging the 71-year-old Bundy, sons Ryan and Ammon Bundy, and co-defendant Ryan Payne conspired to enlist a self-styled militia to defy government authority at the point of a gun. The standoff near Bunkerville, Nevada, was an iconic moment in a decades-long turf battle about federal control of vast rangelands in the Western U.S. Prosecutors say Bundy tried to instigate a "range war" to stop the enforcement of lawful court orders to round up his cows for decades of failing to pay grazing fees and penalties. Defense attorneys say the four men didn't conspire with anyone, didn't wield weapons and didn't threaten anybody.