No Motive Yet in LA Synagogue Shootings

19-year-old gang member charged with capital murder

(NEWSER) - Mourners packed the funeral of a Los Angeles high school football star yesterday as police charged a gang member with capital murder in his death, the LA Times reports. The shooting of 17-year-old Jamiel Shaw only three doors away from his home was the latest in a spate of killings that has shocked even Angelenos numbed by gang violence. Shaw's alleged killer,19, is a member of the Hispanic 18th Street Gang released from jail a day before the killing. More»

LAPD: You're going to see a sea of blue; it's not going to be Dodger blue'

(NEWSER) - Los Angeles authorities have vowed to dramatically increase security at Dodger Stadium following the near-fatal beating of a Giants fan. At "an absolute minimum," the police force will double the number of uniformed officers patrolling the stadium and boost the number of plainclothes cops in the area, announced LAPD chief Charlie Beck. Pummeled fan Bryan Stow is still in a coma and his attackers have not yet been caught, although police say they are following up dozens of leads, reports the Los Angeles Times . More»

Today's population is small, but remnants abound; plus, Jewish pirates!

(NEWSER) - When the uninitiated look at Jamaica’s Jews, they might see a small but resilient community: around 200 faithful, an historic synagogue but no rabbi, few choices for kosher food. But if you’re the nation’s tourism director, you see a goldmine. Plans are afoot to launch a Jewish heritage-themed tourist package, banking heavily on Jamaica’s past as a refuge for Jews fleeing the Inquisition. Did we mention the Jewish pirate? More»

(AP) - Bombings and shootings killed more than 30 people across Iraq today, including high school students on their way to final exams, in a new round of violence ahead of next week's deadline for US troops to withdraw from urban areas. The attacks came two days after the year's deadliest strike, a truck bombing that killed at least 75 people near Kirkuk. More»

Relationship with Rihanna filled with ongoing violence

(NEWSER) - Police are trying to beef up the case against Chris Brown and expect to complete their investigation next week, the New York Daily News reports. Rihanna is cooperating, and investigators expect to reinterview both parties before involving the DA's office, which has already asked for more evidence, a source tells TMZ, because "the DA is not going to prosecute a high-profile case like this unless it's solid." More»