Crowd stones reckless driver who caused the death of six

A driver was stoned to death after he recklessly drove into a group of funeral-goers late Sunday, according to Reuters. The driver crashed his BMW at a high speed into a group of people who were returning from a funeral in the northwestern Limpopo province town of Klipgat. Reuters reported that, according to police, the driver attempted to speed away but a frenzied, irate crowd of more than 500 ripped him from his car and stoned him to death on the side of the road. When police arrived and attempted to prevent the mob from incinerating the driver's body and blowing up his car, the mob turned its rage on them. Officials said the mood was so angry that everyone refused to cooperate, with some throwing stones and others shooting at officers. The police returned fire with tear gas and rubber riot bullets. The driver killed four people instantly and two more were pronounced dead at a local hospital, according to Reuters. South Africa has one of the world's highest driving fatality rates with thousands dying each year as a result of reckless driving.

National: Amman, Jordan

Unknown gunman assassinates U.S. diplomat outside home

A U.S. diplomat was shot dead Monday morning outside his home in Amman, Jordan. Jordan's information minister explained that they believe an unknown, masked gunman shot Laurence Foley, an official with the U.S. Agency for International Development, six times as he was leaving for work at the U.S. Embassy, according to CNN. There was no immediate claim of responsibility, and U.S. officials said they did not know whether terrorism was involved. Foley, who was said to be in his 50s, is survived by his wife, three children and a number of grandchildren. The U.S. Embassy in Jordan said it was working closely with Jordanian officials to investigate the shooting. "Amman is usually a very secure city," said Jordan's information minister. "We give priority to all diplomatic missions, especially the United States mission in Jordan. We are fairly certain that we will catch the perpetrators and will [bring] them to justice." There is growing speculation, however, that this was a motivated anti-U.S. attack, according to the BBC. U.S. officials are speculating that this is another in a recent series of anti-Western attacks around the world, according to The New York Times.

National: Eveleth, Minnesota

Senator Wellstone and family perish in private plane crash

Two-term democratic Senator Paul Wellstone, previously locked in one of the tightest campaigns in the nation, was killed Friday morning in a plane crash in his home state of Minnesota. Along with the Senator, his wife Sheila, daughter Marcia, three campaign aids and two pilots died in the crash in a wooded, rural area of the state. Wellstone, one of the Senate's most "unabashed liberal[s] who often landed on the short end of 99-1 votes, was a vigorous spokesman for the traditional brand of Democratic New Deal liberalism at a time when his party's mainstream was moving to the right, putting him at the center of a complicated political year," according to The New York Times. While Wellstone's death was mourned across the political spectrum, it produced a partisan reaction because the Minnesota race is seen as critical to the balance of power in the Senate, where the Democrats hold a 50-to-49 edge. Former Vice President Walter Mondale has emerged, over the weekend, as the front-runner to replace Wellstone on the ballot. Mondale represented Minnesota in the Senate from 1964 to 1976.