4 arraigned in gang rape of girl at school in Calif.

4 arraigned in gang rape of girl at school in Calif.

RICHMOND, Calif. — Wearing bulletproof vests, three teen suspects appeared for the first time in court Thursday on charges of gang raping a 15-year-old girl outside a high school dance while as many as two dozen people watched without calling police.

Defendant Cody Ray Smith, 15, pleaded not guilty, and Ari Abdallah Morales, 16, and Marcelles James Peter, 17, did not enter pleas during their arraignment in Contra Costa County Superior Court.

Another suspect, 19-year-old Manuel Ortega, was arraigned separately but did not enter a plea. He is charged with rape, robbery and assault causing great bodily injury. He is being held on $1.2 million bail.

Reports have indicated onlookers laughed and joked during the attack. Police would not comment on rumors the episode had been recorded on cell phones.

Report: Americans are using less water

FRESNO, Calif. — Americans are using less water per person now than they have since the mid-1950s, thanks to water-saving technologies and a nationwide push to safeguard dwindling supplies.

A report released Thursday by the U.S. Geological Survey also shows that industries as well as the general population are sucking up less water overall than in 1980, when the nation’s thirst for water peaked.

Experts said it was particularly welcome news in the burgeoning West, where cities built in dry regions are grappling with intense disputes and ecosystem collapse tied to dwindling supplies.

“Even during a time of population growth and economic growth, we are all using less water,” said Susan Hutson, a USGS hydrologist in Memphis, and an author of the report. “It’s exciting to see we have responded to these crises by really seeking solutions.”

Feds investigating Islamic group’s motives

DETROIT — The FBI is trying to determine whether members of a radical Detroit-area Islamic group were homegrown jihadists or merely a “bunch of thugs with bluster,” a congressman said Thursday. One thing is certain: They are not mainstream Muslims, the agency said.

Luqman Ameen Abdullah skimmed 20 percent of the profit off the furs, electronics and other items his followers fenced, and he preached that it was OK for them to steal as long as they prayed, FBI agent Gary Leone wrote in an affidavit filed with a criminal complaint against 11 group members.

Abdullah, 53, was killed Wednesday in a shootout with agents after the FBI raided a suburban warehouse the group used.

Eight members, including Abdullah’s son, have been arrested, and authorities were seeking the public’s help in capturing the other two. The group members are charged with various federal crimes, chiefly conspiracy to sell stolen goods.

Police seek shooter who wounded 2 at synagogue

LOS ANGELES — A gunman escaped after wounding two men in the parking garage of a North Hollywood synagogue Thursday, frightening worshippers who heard gunshots and screams before the bleeding victims stumbled in during morning services.

Police initially feared the attack was a hate crime and briefly held a black teenager who matched a vague description of the attacker.

The 17-year-old was released a short time later, and police continued their hunt for the assailant.

Mori Ben-Nissan, 38, and Allen Lasry, 53, were shot in the legs in the parking garage underneath the Adat Yeshurun Valley Sephardic Orthodox synagogue in the San Fernando Valley.

They arrived in separate cars for the morning service shortly before 6:30 a.m. and were in a stairwell leading up to the synagogue sanctuary when a gunman shot them several times. The gunman then fled on foot.

Rocket damaged in test flight, NASA says

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The booster rocket used in a test flight was badly dented when it fell into the Atlantic because of a deflated parachute, NASA said Thursday.

The new Ares I-X — the precursor to NASA’s planned moon rockets — completed a two-minute flight Wednesday.

The launch itself went well, officials said, but one of the three parachutes on the booster failed to work properly.

All three parachutes opened, but one ended up deflating for unknown reasons, said NASA spokesman Allard Beutel. That caused the booster to hit the ocean with extra force.

Associated Press