Newsletter: Today: The Warnings Were on Facebook. Wearing Islam.

I'm Davan Maharaj, editor of the Los Angeles Times. Here are some story lines I don't want you to miss today.

TOP STORIES

The Warnings Were on Facebook

New questions are being raised about the screening process that allowed San Bernardino shooter Tashfeen Malik to enter the U.S. on a visa. Officials said that Malik had sent at least two private Facebook messages to friends in Pakistan in 2012 and 2014, pledging her support for Islamic jihad and saying she hoped to join.

Wearing Islam

In Berkeley, some students at the nation’s only Muslim liberal arts college are worried. They feel acutely aware of being an “other” among their non-Muslim acquaintances -- and trying to process the deadly attacks by people who invoked their religion. One student's reaction: “We need to be wearing our Islam a little more.”

Inside Syria: Hope Amid the Ruins

In Syria, the city of Homs was an outpost of the Roman Empire, a Byzantine hub and, more recently, the “capital” of the uprising against President Bashar Assad. It is now covered in huge expanses of rubble; the rebels are leaving; and the city is returning completely to government control. Get a firsthand look, in words and pictures, at the people who are forging onward in Homs.

When the Border Patrol Kills Mexican Teens

U.S. Border Patrol agents called them “rockings”: incidents in which large, heavy objects were tossed at them from Mexico, over a 20-foot-tall fence. The rocks injured agents and, in some cases, led them to fire back with guns. In the last five years, three Mexican teenagers have been shot dead by Border Patrol officials who, according to the agency, were under assault. Now, one agent stands accused of second-degree murder. Here’s how that could affect the nation’s largest law enforcement agency.

Reason to Be Crabby in Fog City

Dungeness crab is a holiday tradition for many in the San Francisco Bay Area, but this year everyone is feeling a pinch – and it’s not from a claw. The season is on hold because of a toxic algae bloom that makes eating crab potentially fatal. “Crab here is like a religion,” says one fisherman. See how the faithful are coping.

CALIFORNIA 

-- During its "green" expansion, the Port of L.A. rolled back measures to cut pollution. 

-- Developer Mohamed Hadid is facing criminal charges over construction of a Bel-Air mansion.

-- L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti says he supports higher water rates.

-- Lee Hogan Cass, a fashion director who provided alternatives to the '80s power suit for women in L.A., has died at 95. 

NATION-WORLD

-- A Texas plumber sues a car dealership after the truck he traded in was taken over by jihadists.

-- At a Donald Trump rally in Las Vegas, scuffles break out between protesters and supporters.

-- President Obama says the U.S. is hitting Islamic State "harder than ever."

-- Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, held by the Taliban for five years, will face a court-martial.

-- In Yemen, a Houthi rebel missile strike kills dozens in a Saudi-led force.

-- A study links antidepressant use during pregnancy to autism.

HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS

-- U.S. studios are increasingly looking to foreign films to grow their overseas business.

-- In a countersuit, Bill Cosby says seven women suing him are lying.

-- The Sumner Redstone saga continues.

-- Art review: The Huntington gets an "intervention" from neo-Pop artist Alex Israel. Ouch. 

-- Theater review: In the laudable "The Christians," the characterizations are a saving grace. 

BUSINESS 

-- Got a dispute over fees? Here's why you may have to go to arbitration.

-- The Pinkberry frozen yogurt chain was sold to the owner of Cold Stone Creamery. 

-- Amazon pulls some hoverboards from its website as safety concerns mount.

SPORTS

-- Bill Plaschke's Wakeup Call video: UCLA men's basketball is on the rise.

-- Shaquille O'Neal shares his favorite Kobe Bryant story.

WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING

-- Reuters looks at reports of torture by Iraqi militias.

-- The Guardian catches up with Rachel Dolezal: "I was being me."

ONLY IN L.A.