Whereas the American mob has steadily lost power for decades as all of its members pursued careers as Hollywood character actors, Japan's Yakuza is still totally involved in shit, hardcore. Will a government crackdown make the Yakuza go wild?

The criminal that old people love to hate, Colton Harris-Moore, the "Barefoot Bandit," yesterday pleaded not guilty to charges related to his years-long spree of stealing airplanes and boats. And, unsurprisingly, he's now mulling over book and movie deals.

The mysterious shooting death of Hollywood publicist Ronni Chasen gets even more mysterious: Citing a "city official," The Hollywood Reporter reports that the attack was planned in advance—"not the result of road rage or a carjacking gone awry."

Despite being in handcuffs and leg irons in the back of an unmarked police car, Jose Rodriguez managed to steal the car—steering with his knees— and escape, for 14 hours. He's been recaptured, but his legend will live on.

Veteran Hollywood PR woman Ronni Chasen was shot five times while driving her Mercedes in Beverly Hills early yesterday morning. She crashed, and died. The circumstances are tragic, sensational, and bizarre. Here's what we know so far.

Kyle Shaw, the 19-year-old who set off a bomb outside a Manhattan Starbucks last year in a Fight Club-inspired bit of anarchist idiocy, has been sentenced to 3.5 years in prison. Speaking as a former teen idiot: that seems harsh.

Accused arms dealer Viktor Bout, the "Merchant of Death," arrived in New York last night to face terrorism charges. But according to his website, Bout is "a dynamic, charismatic, spontaneous, well-dressed, well-spoken, and highly energetic person." Well, okay then!

Former Survivor and Pimp My Ride producer Bruce Beresford-Redman was arrested by U.S. Marshals last night outside his California home in connection to the April murder of his wife, Monica Beresford-Redman, in Cancun, Mexico. He denies the charge. [Hollywood Reporter]

Two sisters were shot in Colorado on Monday. One survived; one didn't. Here's the thing: They were twins, and the police don't know which one is which.

At 2:00 AM on Saturday morning, 70-year-old Jacqueline Cutright's Akron, Ohio home was robbed by a man wearing a clown mask and waving a knife. How did Cutright react? By remaining on the toilet! Cutright's charming local news interview, inside.

RadarOnline's reporting that Ronni Chasen—a 64 year-old Hollywood PR woman who started her own firm after stints at Rogers & Cowan and MGM—was shot five times and killed while driving in Beverly Hills this morning. An uncommon crime.

James Fowler, a 77 year-old white former state trooper in Alabama, has pleaded guilty and received six months in prison for the 1965 killing of Jimmie Lee Jackson—whose shooting death inspired the Selma-to-Montgomery civil rights marches. [Montgomery Advertiser]

Accused Russian arms dealer Viktor "Merchant of Death" Bout is on a US-bound plane today to face terrorism charges after losing a two-year extradition battle in Thailand, even after the DoJ almost blew the whole thing. Russia is pissed. [NYT]

On Friday, Elizabeth Crull was arrested for DUI after crashing her car into a school bus in Orlando, Florida. Moments after the crash, Crull gave an... enlightening (read: still drunk) interview to a local news crew. Watch—and laugh—inside.

Tressa Amerson was arrested after attempting to carve a tattoo of her name out of her boyfriend's neck following an argument. The man who'd inked her name above his collar told police, "She's pretty crazy." Clearly, they deserve each other!

If it takes $800,000 in charges before you notice your credit card was stolen, then you might be a Hong Kong megamillionaire.

Mississippi man Thomas Steven Sanders was arrested in Mississippi on Sunday in the kidnapping and murder of Las Vegas 12-year-old Lexis Roberts. Which must have come as a surprise to his family, who declared him dead in 1994.

Erica Winchester, the racist, Volvo-crashing rageaholic caught on tape berating and slapping a postal worker, has been placed under police protection from the Internet rage machine. Meanwhile, the mail carrier she abused speaks out.

The Department of Justice was too scared to prosecute the CIA for deliberately destroying evidence that its employees illegally tortured terror detainees. But fear not: The National Archives and Records Administration is still on the case.