Megaupload.com one of the world's most popular file-sharing sites was shut down yesterday on charges that it illegally shared movies, TV shows, and e-books. A federal indictment accuses the company of costing copyright holders at least $500 million in lost revenue. In retaliation hacker groups went after several Web sites including those of the Justice Department and Universal. Ira Rothken is a lawyer for Megaupload.com.

There are over 300 registered superheroes in the United States. Coming from all walks of life, they patrol the streets, stop crimes, and do community outreach in homemade costumes. While each real life superhero has a different reason for taking up the cause, the one thing that's certain about this eccentric bunch of concerned citizens is that their ranks are growing: The New York Initiative, a New York City-based collective of superheroes, has gone from four members to 12 in 2011.

Even though the housing bubble burst nearly five years ago, local governments are only now beginning to feel its repercussions with significantly lower tax revenues. Many municipalities across the country have chosen to bridge this gap by cutting services, specifically in police departments. In 2011, there were fewer cops on patrol than there have been in 25 years. This precipitous drop coincided with a 13 percent increase in the number of officers killed in the line of duty.

The country's "toughest sheriff" has had his gold star revoked. A scathing U.S. Justice Department report released Thursday found that Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's office carried out a blatant pattern of discrimination against Latinos and held a "systematic disregard" for the Constitution amid a series of immigration crackdowns that have turned the lawman into a prominent national political figure.

He has been described as "the world's most famous death-row inmate," but that description is no longer true. On Wednesday, prosecutors in Philadelphia said they were dropping the state's efforts to execute former Black Panther and journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal. His sentence will be converted to life in prison, without parole. District Attorney Seth Williams said it was "time to put the case to rest" for the city of Philadelphia. It was 30 years ago this week that Mumia Abu-Jamal, former journalist, was arrested for shooting a police officer Daniel Faulkner.

Each year, millions of dollars of Mexican drug money pass through the hands of American Drug Enforcement Administration officials. Undercover American narcotics agents launched the money laundering operation in order to trace the drug cartels. This is not the first instance of a U.S. governmental agency using illegal means to fight the war against drugs in Mexico. While the effectiveness of either program stopping the flow of drugs into the U.S. remains unclear, their impact on Mexican citizens is less ambiguous.

Since 2006, when President Felipe Calderón declared war on Mexico's drug cartels, 45,000 Mexicans across the republic have been disappeared, murdered, or mass-executed. Victims of this violence include journalists, over two thousand public officials, and bystanders. While drug-related activity was previously relegated to only a few Mexican states, the dramatic spread of violence — and its severity — is attributable to governmental policy north and south of the border.

In a small town in Texas, two young men knock on the door of a woman’s house as she's making cookies. They ask to use her phone. But as her back is turned, they kill her and then two other innocent bystanders all so they can enjoy a brief joyride in her car. In the end, one murderer is sentenced to life in prison. The other is given the death penalty.

Dr. Conrad Murray, the personal physician of Michael Jackson, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the pop star's death on Monday. Two and a half years after Jackson's death at age 50, a jury found that Murray acted recklessly when giving Jackson propofol, a surgical anesthetic Jackson used to sleep. Sharon Waxman, founder and CEO of TheWrap.com, discusses the trial.

Some shocking news about Penn State's football program broke this weekend when Jerry Sandusky, a former Penn State assistant defensive coach, was arrested on charges of sexually abusing eight boys over a 15 year period. Two top university officials — Gary Schultz, the senior vice president for finance and business, and Tim Curley, the athletic director — are expected to turn themselves into authorities today. They have been charged with perjury and failing to report what they knew about allegations against Sandusky. Still hanging in the air is the question of what Penn State coach Joe Paterno knew about the accusations against his assistant defensive coach.  

On Tuesday, federal agents arrested four men ranging from ages 65 to 73 from the north Georgia towns of Cleveland and Toccoa on charges of an ambitiously designed domestic terror plot. The men are accused of trying to procure 10 pounds of ricin — an extremely lethal biological toxin — as well as explosive devices and illegal firearms. Kim Severson, Atlanta bureau chief for The New York Times, reports on the latest.

Last year, according to The New York Times, the city of Chicago recorded nearly 1,400 rapes. But none of these appeared in the FBI's annual federal crime report. That’s because the FBI doesn’t accept Chicago’s definition of what constitutes "rape." And it’s not just Chicago. The annual figures from cities and municipalities across the country are understated every year in the FBI's yearly Uniform Crime Report due to how the Bureau defines the crime.

In 1970, a convicted murderer escaped from Bayside State Prison in New Jesery. Two years later, he hijacked a plane to Algeria and disappeared, seemingly forever. More than 40 years later, that fugitive, George Wright has been found in Portugal. Wright was arrested on Monday and faces extradition to the United States. Alison Roberts, Portugal correspondent for the BBC, reports on the latest.

Sam Childers was once drug dealer, who dabbled in violent crime. But in the summer of 1992, he attended a church revival and decided to abandon his life of crime, and travel to war-torn Sudan to find a way to aid children there. With his wife, Childers founded an orphanage in South Sudan, where they have now housed and educated over 1,000 youths. A new film, "Machine Gun Preacher," starring Gerard Butler depicts Childer's story.

British Prime Minister David Cameron has responded to last week's riots by bringing in outside counsel. On Saturday, Cameron announced that he’ll be seeking advisement from Bill Bratton, an American policeman with a history of combating street crime. Bratton served as New York City police commissioner under Rudy Guiliani, and as chief of police in Los Angeles he overhauled the police department after the 1992 Los Angeles riots. The British media are calling Bratton a "supercop," but the British Police have not taken kindly to the announcement.

The 81-year-old Boston mob boss James "Whitey" Bulger was arrested in Santa Monica, Calif. last night, ending the FBI's sixteen-year hunt for him. Bulger was on the FBI's Most Wanted list, indicted on the charge of nineteen murders. Many considered Bulger a source of embarrassment for the FBI, as he managed to elude authorities over the years. He was arrested in an apartment building overlooking the Pacific Ocean, where he was staying with his longtime girlfriend Catherine Greig.

The Supreme Court ruled Monday in Brown v. Plata that California's overcrowded prisons violate the Eighth Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment, and ordered the release of 30,000 prisoners. The 5-4 decision was sharply divided. Justice Kennedy, leading for the Majority, described “telephone-booth-sized cages without toilets,” used to house suicidal inmates. Justice Scalia, offering a vigorous dissent, called the prisoners who will eventually be released “just 46,000 happy-go-lucky felons fortunate enough to be selected.”

Last week, a New York judge ordered Strauss-Kahn released on a bail package that included a $1 million cash bail, a $5 million bond and 24-hour home confinement. Is this justice? How hard is it to sit confined in a multimillion dollar apartment? For a first-hand account, we speak to Nicholas Casale, former detective for the NYPD. Nicholas was assigned to watch over Bernie Madoff when he was under house arrest.

Today, the FBI made its largest mob raid ever, arresting 127 suspects. We're talking about just how pervasive the mob is today. Have you ever had what you thought was a mob experience?

The Illinois General Assembly has approved a measure that would abolish the death penalty in the state. Governor Pat Quinn seems ready to sign it. But what will the change of law mean for the 13 people on Death Row right now? We're joined by Ray Long, Statehouse reporter for the Chicago Tribune, and Rob Elder, author of "Last Words of the Executed," for a report from Illinois.