Assaults

A longtime Fullerton minister who was targeted in a gang attack led a march Sunday to raise awareness about community violence as police announced they had arrested three juveniles on suspicion of hurling rocks and bricks at the minister and his sons. The Rev. Willie Holmes, president and founder of Majesty Christian Fellowship, said about 50 to 60 supporters joined the procession after church services.

President Obama receives strong grades for his first full month in office, as large majorities of Americans support his $787-billion economic stimulus package and the recently unveiled $75-billion plan for stemming mortgage foreclosures, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll. Nearly 70% believe Obama is bringing change to Washington, the poll found; 80% say he is meeting or exceeding their expectations. But bipartisan support has eroded.

The family of a 12-year-old autistic boy who was shot last year with a police stun gun at a Hawthorne middle school accused police officials on Monday of removing their son from school in handcuffs days after the incident and subjecting him to an interrogation in retaliation for a misconduct complaint the family had filed. The family's attorneys contacted The Times after reading the Hawthorne Police Department's version of the Sept. 23 incident in the newspaper this week.

An accused killer who stabbed the judge during his murder trial in Stockton used a 6-inch metal shank that he hid from his jailers even though they were warned he had a weapon, investigators said Thursday. Murder suspect David Paradiso, who was on the witness stand Wednesday, was able to slip behind Superior Court Judge Cinda Fox and stab her as bailiffs were distracted by a courtroom outburst from his mother and brother, said San Joaquin County Sheriff's Det. Dave Konecny.

Shiite Muslim clerics Friday called for the release of the Iraqi journalist sentenced to three years in prison for throwing his shoes at then-President George W. Bush. Sheik Suhail Uqabi, a follower of anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada Sadr, said the sentence imposed on Muntathar Zaidi is "a verdict against the Iraqi people who refuse the American occupation" of Iraq. Efforts to release detained Sadr loyalists and others who have opposed the U.S.

The decision by an El Monte police officer to kick the head of a suspect who was surrendering at the end of a televised pursuit was roundly criticized by use-of-force experts Thursday as an inexcusable and unnecessary tactical lapse. But on the streets of El Monte and nearby communities, the reaction was less unanimous. Though some said the officer should not have kicked 23-year-old Richard Rodriguez, many said they feel no sympathy for the parolee and known gang member.

Chen Fuchao was heavily in debt and had been on a bridge in southern China for hours, contemplating suicide, when a man came up to him, shook his hand -- and then pushed him off. Chen fell 26 feet onto a partially inflated emergency air cushion laid out by authorities. He suffered injuries to his spine and elbow, but survived, the official New China News Agency said Saturday. It quoted the passer-by, Lai Jiansheng, 66, as saying he was fed up with Chen's "selfish activity."

A prominent Egyptian dissident said Saturday that he was attacked by a man on a motorcycle who ignited a flammable substance in his face, burning his head. Ayman Nour, one of the few liberal campaigners for democracy in Egypt, accused elements within President Hosni Mubarak's ruling party of being behind the attack Friday night. Nour said he was leaving his house in Cairo when a young man on a motorcycle called his name. When he looked toward the biker, a flame shot toward him, he said.

The leader of the Church of Scientology struck subordinates numerous times and set an example for physical violence among the tightly controlled religion's management team, four former high-ranking executives told a newspaper for a story published Sunday. The executives, who have since left the organization, told the St. Petersburg Times that they witnessed David Miscavige, chairman of the board that oversees the church, hit staff members dozens of times. "It was random and whimsical.

R&B singer Chris Brown pleaded guilty Monday to assaulting his former girlfriend, the pop star Rihanna, in a last-minute deal that allowed him to avoid both jail time and another public airing of the domestic violence allegations that have damaged his clean-cut image and promising career.