Seattle May Open Homeless Housing Allowing Heroin Use:  The creation of a safe-consumption site for addicts -- a supervised facility where an addict could obtain clean needles, anti-overdose medication, medical attention and treatment opportunities -- has been endorsed by Seattle's Heroin Task Force.  Bob Young and Vernal Coleman of the Seattle Times report that the task force, formed by Seattle Mayor Ed Murray and King County Executive Dow Constantine, has proposed a dormitory-style homeless shelter that would welcome pets, partners, storage for personal belongings and intoxicated residents in an effort to coax residents out of encampments, such as the the city's infamous Jungle.  "But you need to allow people to use on-site, so they don't in an alley or back in The Jungle," said Kris Nyrop, an outreach worker and drug-policy researcher in the city.  However, the idea, which would be funded by taxpayers, is controversial and the limited data available on similar models has policymakers moving "slowly and cautiously."  The task force is expected to announce formal recommendations next month.  If the idea comes to fruition, it will be the first in the U.S.

CA High Court Overturns Death Penalty Conviction:  In a 4-3 ruling, the California Supreme Court overturned the death sentence of a man convicted of murdering an elderly Shasta County woman over two decades ago.  Damon Arthur of the Redding Record Searchlight reports that Gary Grimes was sentenced to death in 1999 for the 1995 stabbing and strangling of Betty Elizabeth Bone, 98, during a home invasion robbery he committed with two other men, John William Morris and Patrick James Wilson.  Shortly after their arrests, Morris killed himself while in custody but allegedly had told a witness that he killed Bone, not Grimes or Wilson, and stated to another that Grimes and Wilson were present in Bone's home during the murder but didn't participate.  Another witness said Grimes played a leadership role in the slaying.  The former statements were not allowed at Grimes' trial, but the latter was.  Justices ruled that Morris' statements to witnesses should have been allowed at Grimes' trial because it could have swayed the jury.  Though Grimes' death sentence was overturned, his murder conviction was not.

Stockton Cop Killed in Hit-and-Run Crash:  An off-duty Stockton police officer was fatally struck by a car operated by an unlicensed driver in a hit-and-run crash over the weekend.  KCRA reports that Officer Justin Kepler, who had been with the Stockton Police Department since 2012, was riding his motorcycle Saturday evening when Isidro Urista-Meza, 27, turned into hit path and collided with him, throwing him from his motorcycle.  Kepler was pronounced dead at the scene.  Urista-Meza fled the scene on foot but was arrested a short time later.  He faces charges of driving unlicensed, felony hit-and-run and misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter.  Officials say alcohol and drugs were not a factor in the crash.

FBI Investigating Whether VA Stabbings were ISIS-inspired:  Dual stabbings in Virginia over the weekend are being investigated by federal authorities to determine whether the attack was inspired by the Islamic State terror group.  Fox News reports that Wasil Farooqui, 20, faces two counts of aggravated malicious wounding after stabbing and seriously wounding a man and woman at a Roanoke apartment complex on Saturday while yelling "Allah Akbar."  Authorities believe he may have been attempting to behead the male victim.  He had no connection to either victim.  Farooqui had traveled to Turkey within the last year, leading investigators to believe he may have sneaked into Syria to meet with ISIS militants.  The FBI is working with the Roanoke County Police Department on the case and have declined to provide any further details.