Los Angeles Times | Sunday, September 21, 2014

Islamic State seeks to recruit women to 'have kids and cook'

Raja Abdulrahim, who has spent years covering the Middle East, reports that the Islamic State militant group has taken to social media in hopes of recruiting women from abroad to marry its fighters. In a larger strategy of state-building, the Al Qaeda breakaway group, if successful in expanding its membership across the gender line, could make its ideology more difficult to dislodge. Read: Islamic State recruiting women in state-building effort

Undercover operation, intended to halt trade of artifacts, tore hole in town instead

Joe Mozingo, award-winning projects reporter for the Los Angeles Times, chronicles an FBI sting targeting dealers and collectors of ancient Native American artifacts in an in depth narrative. Instead of exposing a lucrative trade in stolen antiquities, federal agents, aided by an undercover dealer, tore a hole in a Utah town. Read: A Sting in the Desert

Once a power player, former police chief becomes increasingly marginalized on City Council

Emily Alpert Reyes and David Zahniser write that Los Angeles City Councilman Bernard C. Parks, once a force at City Hall, has now been politically sidelined, with some of his sympathizers saying he is routinely dismissed by fellow Council members. With less than 10 months before term limits force him from office, the reporters recount Park's long and influential career. Read: L.A. Councilman Bernard Parks finds himself in political wilderness

At 81, a justice faces her biggest decision

David G. Savage, who has covered the Supreme Court for the Los Angeles Times since 1986, writes that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, at the height of her influence and public acclaim, faces a decision that may be the most consequential of her career: Should she retire when the court's current term ends in June so President Obama can name her successor? Seen as the Supreme Court's liberal leader, Ginsburg has sent signals indicating her plans. Read: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg signals she has no plans to retire soon