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According to a recently-surfaced video, two self-proclaimed gang members from Los Angeles appear to have relocated to Syria to fight on behalf of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
If true, then these two men are among the first people to travel from the United States to fight for the Syrian regime, as opposed to the dozens of Americans who have traveled to fight alongside the Syrian rebels, according to the Washington Post.
In the short two-minute video, which first surfaced on Facebook, a man in a dark blue jacket appears to be introducing himself as "Creeper," claiming to represent the notorious Sureño 13 gang. The University of Maryland's gang tracking site notes that the group is a Southern California gang with ties to the Mexican Mafia.
"We got the enemigos [enemies] right there, homie," says Creeper to the camera, gesturing beyond the walls with his gun. "Let me represent myself homie, this is Creeper from that g'd up trece [13] gang homie, Sun Valley Gang, homie."
"Still puro Sureño, putting it down homie, in Middle East homie, in Syria," Creeper continues. "Still gang banging and not giving a f**k, homie." He then goes on to give shout outs to "Mr. Criminal" from Silver Lake and "Crazy Loco" from Pasadena.
Stun guns were used on children in 23 of London's 32 boroughs
Stun guns were used on nine young people in 2008 and 53 in 2013, the Children's Rights Alliance for England (CRAE) discovered.
Children were targeted 131 times between 2008 and 2012, with varying rates across the city's 32 boroughs, the group revealed.
The Met said the rise was in line with the number of police carrying Tasers.
The statistics were obtained through a Freedom of Information request by CRAE.
© William West/AFP/Getty ImagesA woman display an air soft pistol.
A school safety drill in St. Francois County hits a snag after some teachers object to getting shot at with air soft pellet guns.
Four teachers at Farmington High school contacted the Prosecuting Attorney's office on Tuesday after they were handed goggles during the "active shooter" exercise.
Associate Superintendent Sarah Long says school personnel were not forced to take part in that aspect of the drill.
"...which means when they actually go in and show you what an actual shooter situation is you can say: I don't want to be one of the victims, I think that's too scary," says Long. "Teachers could sign up to work in department meetings and in other professional developmental opportunities. We had about 45 members of the staff to do those."
Missouri State Teachers Association spokesman Todd Fuller tells KMOX News this issue has come up before in other districts.
"I think what we're going to see is a need to readdress and reevaluate the statute," says Fuller.
St. Francois County prosecutor Jerrod Mahurin acknowledges that several teachers did contact his office for "legal advice" on the matter, but have not filed a formal complaint.
© David Rabig
Today's head was found by the park's Lincoln Road entrance this morning, adorned with ear tags suggesting that it - along with a body, presumably? - came from a live animal market or slaughterhouse, and is not an escaped house pet or someone's ironic lawnmower.
© Carl Court/AFP/Getty ImagesAntónio Horta-Osório will now receive a minimum of £2.6m a year (up from £1.7m) and a maximum of £7.7m (down from £8m)
Bailed-out Lloyds Banking Group and Barclays have handed their bosses almost £1m in shares to sidestep the new rules from Brussels which are intended to clampdown on bankers' pay.
Similar handouts, which have become known in the City as "allowances", will be given to about 1,000 staff at Barclays and some 75 bankers at Lloyds. Barclays is facing outcry about its increased bonus payouts, which are being awarded despite a sharp fall in profits in 2013.
Barclays has agreed a £18,000-a-week shares payout for its chief executive Antony Jenkins, who earns a salary of £1.1m a year. Lloyds' boss António Horta-Osório is getting almost the same size allowance, after receiving a total pay package of £7.5m last year.
The new allowances at Barclays and Lloyds follow a move by HSBC last month to hand its boss, Stuart Gulliver, £1.7m in shares a year to get around the bonus cap, which the EU introduced on 1 January and the chancellor George Osborne is fighting in the courts.
© Photo from linkedin.comAutumn Radtke
Autumn Radtke was found on the morning of February 26 after Police received an emergency call from an apartment building. She was pronounced dead at the scene. A preliminary police investigation has ruled out foul play, but neighbors told police they suspected Radtke jumped from an apartment.
First Meta Ltd. issued a statement on its website, saying they were 'shocked and saddened' by the news and gave their deepest condolences to Radtke's family.
"The First Meta team is shocked and saddened by the tragic loss of our friend and CEO Autumn Radtke. Our deepest condolences go out to her family, friends and loved ones. Autumn was an inspiration to all of us and she will be sorely missed," the statement said.
© Josh Forst/APAftermath of the gas explosion in Ewing, New Jersey
A gas leak and explosion in New Jersey killed one person, injured seven workers, destroyed 10 homes and damaged another 45, authorities said.
The body of a woman was found on a car near the site of an explosion in a New Jersey housing development. Police were waiting for the results of an autopsy for positive identification of the victim. Officials did not know whether the victim lived at the development.
Police said the blast happened on Tuesday after a gas line was damaged by contractors who were digging in the area. The utility PSE&G said it received a call that a contractor had damaged a gas line and crews were repairing the line when it exploded.
© EPA/ANATOLY MALTSEV “Unfortunately, Ukraine is following the Yugoslav scenario, and I regret it,” Kusturica said
"Unfortunately, Ukraine is following the Yugoslav scenario, and I regret it. I see the same kind of catastrophe. I think that Russia should protect ethnic Russians residing in Ukraine," Kusturica said.
© ABC
Prosecutors dismissed all the criminal charges against Marcus Jeter, 30, of Bloomfield, N.J. and instead indicted two Bloomfield police officers for falsifying reports and one of them for assault after the recording surfaced showing police officers beating Jeter during a traffic stop, according to WABC of New York. A third has pleaded guilty to tampering.
Jeter's defense attorney requested all recorded evidence, but the police failed to hand over a second tape until additional evidence surfaced of a second police car at the scene. The tape showed Jeter complying with police, even as one punched him in the head repeatedly.
Without the tape, prosecutors had been demanding a five-year prison sentence.
