Grammy-nominated singer Jubilant Sykes was stabbed to death at his home in Santa Monica, California, and his son was arrested on suspicion of murder, authorities said Tuesday. Officers responded to a 911 call Monday night reporting an assault in progress at the residence in the coastal city west of Los Angeles, according to a statement from the Santa Monica Police Department. They found Sykes, 71, inside with critical stab wounds. Paramedics arrived and pronounced him dead at the scene, police said. The victim’s son, 31-year-old Micah Sykes, was at the home and taken into custody without incident, police said. It...

 Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed into effect a law that reinforces protective measures for women who are victims of gender-based violence, a move welcomed by feminist activists although they also demand more funds for prevention. The introduction of the law comes at a time of anger in Brazil over record cases of violence against women and a series of high-profile incidents that shocked the country and sparked widespread demonstrations on Sunday. The law, published in Brazil’s official gazette on Monday, allows judges to take actions to protect victims, such as suspending or restricting gun ownership, removing the abuser from the victim’s home and...

Frustrated by the city’s slow progress in painting crosswalks at intersections they believe are unsafe, activists in Los Angeles have been picking up paint rollers and doing it themselves. Now one of them has been arrested on a vandalism charge. In a video posted online, Jonathan Hale wears a bright yellow safety vest as he’s handcuffed by a police officer Sunday. His group, People’s Vision Zero, had organized a guerrilla “paint party” at a four-way crossing in a leafy residential neighborhood of west LA. “You’re vandalizing city property without a permit,” the officer says. A woman out of frame can...

 A stabbing at a central North Carolina high school Tuesday left one student dead and another injured, authorities said. Forsyth County Sheriff Bobby Kimbrough said officers at North Forsyth High School in Winston-Salem sought assistance shortly after 11 a.m. “We responded to an altercation between two students,” Kimbrough said at a news conference, adding that “there was a loss of life.” In an email to families and staff, Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools superintendent Don Phipps said one student died and another was injured. Kimbrough did not take questions at the news conference, citing the ongoing investigation. No information about potential charges...