Barack Obama has ordered his senior national security and intelligence officials to draw up a list of potential overseas targets for US cyber-attacks, a top secret presidential directive obtained by the Guardian reveals.

 The 18-page Presidential Policy Directive 20, issued in October last year but never published, states that what it calls Offensive Cyber Effects Operations (OCEO) "can offer unique and unconventional capabilities to advance US national objectives around the world with little or no warning to the adversary or target and with potential effects ranging from subtle to severely damaging".

 It says the government will "identify potential targets of national importance where OCEO can offer a favorable balance of effectiveness and risk as compared with other instruments of national power".

 The directive also contemplates the possible use of cyber actions inside the US, though it specifies that no such domestic operations can be conducted without the prior order of the president, except in cases of emergency.

 The aim of the document was "to put in place tools and a framework to enable government to make decisions" on cyber actions, a senior administration official told the Guardian.

 The administration published some declassified talking points from the directive in January 2013, but those did not mention the stepping up of America's offensive capability and the drawing up of a target list.

 Obama's move to establish a potentially aggressive cyber warfare doctrine will heighten fears over the increasing militarization of the internet.

 The directive's publication comes as the president plans to confront his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at a summit in California on Friday over alleged Chinese attacks on western targets.

 Even before the publication of the directive, Beijing had hit back against US criticism, with a senior official claiming to have "mountains of data" on American cyber-attacks he claimed were every bit as serious as those China was accused of having carried out against the US.

 Presidential Policy Directive 20 defines OCEO as "operations and related programs or activities … conducted by or on behalf of the United States Government, in or through cyberspace, that are intended to enable or produce cyber effects outside United States government networks."

 Asked about the stepping up of US offensive capabilities outlined in the directive, a senior administration official said: "Once humans develop the capacity to build boats, we build navies. Once you build airplanes, we build air forces."

 The official added: "As a citizen, you expect your government to plan for scenarios. We're very interested in having a discussion with our international partners about what the appropriate boundaries are."

 The document includes caveats and precautions stating that all US cyber operations should conform to US and international law, and that any operations "reasonably likely to result in significant consequences require specific presidential approval".

 The document says that agencies should consider the consequences of any cyber-action. They include the impact on intelligence-gathering; the risk of retaliation; the impact on the stability and security of the internet itself; the balance of political risks versus gains; and the establishment of unwelcome norms of international behaviour.

 Among the possible "significant consequences" are loss of life; responsive actions against the US; damage to property; serious adverse foreign policy or economic impacts.

 The US is understood to have already participated in at least one major cyber attack, the use of the Stuxnet computer worm targeted on Iranian uranium enrichment centrifuges, the legality of which has been the subject of controversy. US reports citing high-level sources within the intelligence services said the US and Israel were responsible for the worm.

 In the presidential directive, the criteria for offensive cyber operations in the directive is not limited to retaliatory action but vaguely framed as advancing "US national objectives around the world".

 The revelation that the US is preparing a specific target list for offensive cyber-action is likely to reignite previously raised concerns of security researchers and academics, several of whom have warned that large-scale cyber operations could easily escalate into full-scale military conflict.

 Sean Lawson, assistant professor in the department of communication at the University of Utah, argues: "When militarist cyber rhetoric results in use of offensive cyber attack it is likely that those attacks will escalate into physical, kinetic uses of force."

 An intelligence source with extensive knowledge of the National Security Agency's systems told the Guardian the US complaints again China were hypocritical, because America had participated in offensive cyber operations and widespread hacking – breaking into foreign computer systems to mine information.

 Provided anonymity to speak critically about classified practices, the source said: "We hack everyone everywhere. We like to make a distinction between us and the others. But we are in almost every country in the world."

 The US likes to haul China before the international court of public opinion for "doing what we do every day", the source added.

 One of the unclassified points released by the administration in January stated: "It is our policy that we shall undertake the least action necessary to mitigate threats and that we will prioritize network defense and law enforcement as preferred courses of action."

 The full classified directive repeatedly emphasizes that all cyber-operations must be conducted in accordance with US law and only as a complement to diplomatic and military options. But it also makes clear how both offensive and defensive cyber operations are central to US strategy.

 Under the heading "Policy Reviews and Preparation", a section marked "TS/NF" - top secret/no foreign - states: "The secretary of defense, the DNI [Director of National Intelligence], and the director of the CIA … shall prepare for approval by the president through the National Security Advisor a plan that identifies potential systems, processes and infrastructure against which the United States should establish and maintain OCEO capabilities…" The deadline for the plan is six months after the approval of the directive.

 The directive provides that any cyber-operations "intended or likely to produce cyber effects within the United States" require the approval of the president, except in the case of an "emergency cyber action". When such an emergency arises, several departments, including the department of defense, are authorized to conduct such domestic operations without presidential approval.

 Obama further authorized the use of offensive cyber attacks in foreign nations without their government's consent whenever "US national interests and equities" require such nonconsensual attacks. It expressly reserves the right to use cyber tactics as part of what it calls "anticipatory action taken against imminent threats".

 The directive makes multiple references to the use of offensive cyber attacks by the US military. It states several times that cyber operations are to be used only in conjunction with other national tools and within the confines of law.

 When the directive was first reported, lawyers with the Electronic Privacy Information Center filed a Freedom of Information Act request for it to be made public. The NSA, in a statement, refused to disclose the directive on the ground that it was classified.

 In January, the Pentagon announced a major expansion of its Cyber Command Unit, under the command of General Keith Alexander, who is also the director of the NSA. That unit is responsible for executing both offensive and defensive cyber operations.

 Earlier this year, the Pentagon publicly accused China for the first time of being behind attacks on the US. The Washington Post reported last month that Chinese hackers had gained access to the Pentagon's most advanced military programs.

 The director of national intelligence, James Clapper, identified cyber threats in general as the top national security threat.

 Obama officials have repeatedly cited the threat of cyber-attacks to advocate new legislation that would vest the US government with greater powers to monitor and control the internet as a means of guarding against such threats.

 One such bill currently pending in Congress, the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (Cispa), has prompted serious concerns from privacy groups, who say that it would further erode online privacy while doing little to enhance cyber security.

 In a statement, Caitlin Hayden, national security council spokeswoman, said: "We have not seen the document the Guardian has obtained, as they did not share it with us. However, as we have already publicly acknowledged, last year the president signed a classified presidential directive relating to cyber operations, updating a similar directive dating back to 2004. This step is part of the administration's focus on cybersecurity as a top priority. The cyber threat has evolved, and we have new experiences to take into account.

 "This directive establishes principles and processes for the use of cyber operations so that cyber tools are integrated with the full array of national security tools we have at our disposal. It provides a whole-of-government approach consistent with the values that we promote domestically and internationally as we have previously articulated in the International Strategy for Cyberspace.

 "This directive will establish principles and processes that can enable more effective planning, development, and use of our capabilities. It enables us to be flexible, while also exercising restraint in dealing with the threats we face. It continues to be our policy that we shall undertake the least action necessary to mitigate threats and that we will prioritize network defense and law enforcement as the preferred courses of action. The procedures outlined in this directive are consistent with the US Constitution, including the president's role as commander in chief, and other applicable law and policies." ||||| The Obama administration is refining its use of offensive cyber operations to counter evolving threats of electronic assaults against the United States.

 Caitlin Hayden, spokeswoman for the National Security Council, said Friday a directive signed by President Barack Obama last year calls for government cyber tools to be "integrated with the full array of national security tools we have at our disposal."

 Hayden was responding a report in the British newspaper The Guardian that says Obama has ordered national security and intelligence officials to draw up a list of potential cyber targets overseas.

 The Guardian report comes as Obama was about to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, with alleged Chinese hacking against the U.S. to be one of the main topics of discussion.

 While the newspaper report offers details about Obama's directive that had not been made public before, the White House released a declassified summary of the directive in January.

 Moreover, the Pentagon acknowledged in March that it was setting up a series of cyber teams charged with carrying out offensive operations to combat the threat of an electronic assault on the United States.

 Gen. Keith Alexander, the top officer at U.S. Cyber Command and the National Security Agency, testified March 12 before the Senate Armed Services Committee that the potential for an attack against the nation's electric grid and other essential systems is real and that the federal government needed to take more aggressive steps.

 At the time, Alexander said 13 cyber teams were being formed to guard the nation against destructive attacks in cyberspace, stressing that their role would be offensive. He also said the teams would work outside the United States, but he did not say where.

 "This directive will establish principles and processes that can enable more effective planning, development and use of our capabilities," Hayden said in a statement Friday. "It enables us to be flexible, while also exercising restraint in dealing with the threats we face. It continues to be our policy that we shall undertake the least action necessary to mitigate threats and that we will prioritize network defense and law enforcement as the preferred courses of action."

 The timing of Friday's report coincides with Obama's two days of meetings with Xi at a California retreat. Top issues are cybersecurity and North Korea's nuclear threats.

 The Guardian's report is the third significant leak of classified information this week. Following other revelations, the Obama administration has conceded that it has been secretly seizing phone records from millions of Americans and scouring U.S. Internet data for evidence of potential terrorist plotting.

 Obama himself weighed in Friday, defending the counterterrorism measures and noting that they are authorized and reviewed by Congress. He also said the Internet surveillance program does not apply to U.S. citizens or to people living in the United States.

 "I don't welcome leaks, because there's a reason why these programs are classified," Obama said, before the latest Guardian report. "In our modern history, there are a whole range of programs that have been classified because, when it comes to, for example, fighting terror, our goal is to stop folks from doing us harm, and if every step that we're taking to try to prevent a terrorist act is on the front page of the newspapers or on television, then presumably the people who are trying to do us harm are going to be able to get around our preventive measures."

 ____

 Associated Press writer Richard Lardner contributed to this report. ||||| President Obama wants to strike up a friendly tone with Chinese President Xi Jinping when they meet today in California but the issues on the table are anything but informal. Patrick Chovanec, chief strategist at Silvercrest Asset Management, joins MoneyBeat.

 President Barack Obama and China's new leader, Xi Jinping, made broad commitments Friday to work together on cybersecurity and to improve military-to-military relations as the two leaders wound up a first round of talks during an informal summit at the Sunnylands estate in Rancho Mirage, California.

 But both leaders said they'd not yet had detailed talks on cybersecurity—one of the most contentious bilateral issues—and Mr. Obama said they would have "more extensive discussions" during a private dinner Friday night. They were due to hold more talks in the morning, before winding up the summit around midday Saturday.

 Enlarge Image Close Agence France-Presse/Getty Images Chinese President Xi Jinping and President Barack Obama shake hands at the Annenberg Retreat, Calif.

 At a news conference before the dinner, Mr. Obama said that China would have similar concerns about cybersecurity as its economy became more dependent on research and entrepreneurship. "Which is why I think we can work together on this rather than at cross purposes," he said.

 Mr. Xi said: "By conducting good faith cooperation, we can remove misgivings and make information security and cybersecurity a positive area of cooperation between China and the U.S."

 Enlarge Image Close Associated Press Chinese Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping sits in a model of the lunar rover vehicle during a tour of Johnson Space Center in Houston in 1979.

 Cowboy Hats and Barbecue Notable visits to the U.S. by Chinese leaders 1979 Deng Xiaoping, following normalization of relations, famously dons a cowboy hat at a Texas rodeo—and set the tone for a decade of warming ties. 1997 Arrival of President Jiang Zemin, at invitation of Bill Clinton, formalizes a thaw in ties eight years after Tiananmen. 2002 President George W. Bush hosts Jiang at the Bush family ranch in Texas, after Beijing backs U.S.-led war on terror. They eat barbecue and take a truck tour of the ranch. 2006 President Hu Jintao is denied full state honors and confronted by a Falun Gong protester on White House lawn. 2011 President Obama receives Hu at the White House with full honors, even as bilateral tensions mount. Obama welcomes China's 'peaceful rise,' a term coined by Hu. 2012 Xi Jinping—then vice president and President Hu's presumptive successor—attends a Lakers game and reunites in Iowa with a couple he stayed with on a visit there in 1985 2013 Xi returns as president for an informal two-day summit with Obama in California.

 Chinese and U.S. officials are both hoping that the informal format of the meeting—the two leaders' first since Mr. Xi became president in March—will give them the time and the right atmosphere to forge a personal rapport and reverse a downward spiral in relations that many analysts fear could lead to conflict.

 Chinese Leaders' Postcards From America View Slideshow Associated Press Chinese Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping visited the U.S. in 1979

 For Mr. Obama, who met Mr. Xi for the first time last year when he visited the U.S. as vice president, the summit was an opportunity to get to know the man who will lead China over the next decade. But the Obama administration also had a long list of economic and security concerns, many of which it has confronted China with for years, with mixed results. They include Chinese cyberespionage, North Korea's nuclear program, Beijing's maritime disputes in Asia and Chinese market reforms.

 Mr. Xi, too, had much at stake, bringing with him a proposal to redefine the relationship with the U.S. as one of equal "great powers,"–a personal initiative that is part of his broader campaign to promote a "Chinese dream" of a strong nation reclaiming the position in the world that it held until the Opium Wars of the 19th Century.

 Before the first round of talks, the two leaders—both wearing white dress shirts with open collars and no ties—walked together on the grounds of the estate in the 115-degree heat, and shook hands in front of the cameras. They each made brief statements calling for a new era of bilateral relations, although Mr. Obama stopped short of echoing Mr. Xi's "great power" formula.

 The news conference was dominated by cybersecurity, talks on which could be complicated by the recent disclosures on electronic surveillance by Mr. Obama's own government.

 "What both President Xi and I recognize is that because of these incredible advances in technology, that the issue of cybersecurity and the need for rules and common approaches to cybersecurity are going to be increasingly important as part of bilateral relationships and multilateral relationships," Mr. Obama said.

 "In some ways these are uncharted waters and you don't have the kinds of protocols that cover military issues for example and arms issues where nations have a lot of experiencing in trying to negotiate what's acceptable and what's not."

 Mr. Obama sought to draw a distinction between activities such as hacking or cyber-theft, and the kind of surveillance conducted by the National Security Agency. He also noted that cybersecurity wasn't just a concern for the U.S. and China, and that problems were often caused by nonstate actors.

 "We're going to have to work very hard to build a system of defense and protections both in the private sector and in public sector even as we negotiate with other countries around the world in setting up common rules of the road," he said.

 Mr. Xi remarked that in the days before the summit, he had noticed a sharp increase in media coverage of cybersecurity issues.

 Enlarge Image Close AFP/Getty Images President Barack Obama, left and Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, hold a bilateral meeting in California.

 "This might give people the sense or feeling that cybersecurity as a threat mainly comes from China or that the issue cybersecurity is the biggest problem in the U. S-China relationship," he said. "The application of new technology is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it will drive progress…. on the other hand it might create some problems for regulators and it might infringe upon the rights of states, enterprises, societies and individuals."

 He repeated China's long-standing position that it too has concerns about cybersecurity and is a victim of hacking attacks.

 Mr. Xi also said the two sides should improve military to military relations, as well as cooperation on trade and the environment. He said he looked forward to maintaining close communication with President Obama, who he invited to visit China for a similar summit "at an appropriate time".

 Mr. Obama said the two sides would "institutionalize and regularize" military-to-military talks that have often been suspended in the past, and which aren't yet formally part of a regular U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue, the latest round of which takes place next month.

 Enlarge Image Close Getty Images President Barack Obama, left, and Chinese President Hu Jintao, right, in 2011.

 Mr. Xi didn't appear to be using notes during either the news conference or his earlier statement with Mr. Obama—demonstrating a confidence in his own abilities and in his standing within the Communist Party that his predecessor, Hu Jintao, never displayed during his 10 years in office.

 U.S. officials said Mr. Xi pushed for the summit and agreed to the informal format despite Chinese leaders' usual preference for highly scripted talking points approved in advance by China's top decision-making body, the Politburo Standing Committee.

 Mr. Xi himself drew parallels with the 1972 meeting between Chairman Mao Zedong and President Richard Nixon in Beijing, which laid the ground for the normalization of relations six years later. Comparisons have also been made with a visit to the U.S. by Deng Xiaoping in 1979, signaling a return to personal diplomacy in the bilateral relationship.

 But with expectations in China running so high, analysts say that if Mr. Xi fails to demonstrate a rapport with Mr. Obama—and entice the U.S. to reciprocate his overtures—he could face criticism at home for spurning a Chinese trend of consensus-based decision-making in favor of concentrating more power in his own hands.

 Chinese media are already portraying the Sunnylands summit as a historic victory for Mr. Xi's "new-type great power" initiative—a formula designed to prevent the military conflict that has often arisen between a rising power and an established one.

 "China and the United States must find a new path, one that is different from the inevitable confrontation and conflict between the major countries of the past," Mr. Xi said. "And that is to say the two sides must work together to build a new model of major country relationship."

 Mr. Xi sought to allay U.S. concerns that his talk of national rejuvenation implied that China seeks to displace the U.S. as the dominant military power in Asia.

 "I stated very clearly to President Obama that China will be firmly committed to the path of peaceful development," he said. "By the Chinese dream we seek to have economic prosperity, national renewal and people's well-being.…It is connected to the American dream and the beautiful dreams people in other countries may have."

 Mr. Obama responded by saying he welcomed China's continued "peaceful rise"--echoing a term coined by Mr. Xi's predecessor, Hu Jintao, that has been used less frequently by Chinese officials since Mr. Xi took power.

 Mr. Obama endorsed the goal of seeking ways to avoid conflict, but stopped short of echoing Mr. Xi's "great power" formulation, saying instead that he hoped for "more extended" and informal talks leading to a "new model of cooperation."

 "We've got a lot of work to do to take these broad understandings down to the level of specifics and that will require further discussions not only today and tomorrow but for weeks, months, to come," he said.

 "But what I'm very encouraged about is that both President Xi and myself recognize that we have a unique opportunity to take the US-China relationship to a new level and I am absolutely committed that we don't miss that opportunity."

 Enlarge Image Close Newport News Daily Press/Associated Press Chinese President Jiang Zemin waves to the crowd during a visit to Colonial Williamsburg in 1997.

 Beijing offered some apparent sweeteners in the run-up to the meeting in California. Chen Guangfu, the brother of Chen Guangcheng, the blind Chinese activist who took refuge in the U.S. Embassy last year and later moved to the U.S., said on Friday that Chinese authorities had issued passports to him and their mother, following long delays.

 China also suggested last week that it might be willing to join U.S.-led talks to strike an Asia-Pacific free-trade agreement, which it previously denounced as part of a U.S. containment strategy. On North Korea, there were also glimmers of hope for the U.S. side, according to U.S. officials. The new Chinese leader has displayed less tolerance for North Korean sabre-rattling, and China recently ordered a state bank to close the account of North Korea's foreign-exchange bank.

 The Xinhua news agency, a mouthpiece of the Chinese government, said Friday that the North Korean nuclear issue could be a "converging point," but called on Washington to improve its ties with Pyongyang.

 —Andrew Browne in Chengdu and Tom Catan in Rancho Mirage, Calif. contributed to this article.

 Write to Jeremy Page at jeremy.page@wsj.com and Colleen McCain Nelson at colleen.nelson@wsj.com

 A version of this article appeared June 8, 2013, on page A1 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: Stakes Are High for Summit. ||||| RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. — It was Leonore Annenberg’s wish that the sumptuous winter home that she and her billionaire husband, Walter H. Annenberg, built in the Southern California desert would become, after their deaths, “Camp David West” for American presidents — a place both to relax and to parley with world leaders, preferably those from Pacific powers.

 And both Annenbergs, associates say, wanted their Sunnylands estate to shed its reputation as a retreat only for Republican elites.

 Now, nearly 11 years after Mr. Annenberg’s death and four years after his wife’s, President Obama begins to realize the couple’s dream by welcoming President Xi Jinping of China at Sunnylands on Friday. By its unusual informality, the presidents’ two-day meeting is already being interpreted as a milestone in their nations’ often tense and generally stilted four-decade diplomatic history. Mr. Obama will sleep at the estate, presumably in the canary yellow master bedroom where speakers pipe in the songs of the birds outdoors; Chinese officials and their leader, reportedly fearful of eavesdropping bugs, have opted for a nearby hotel.

 “This meeting fits the Annenbergs’ conception to a T,” said George P. Shultz, who as a member of both the Nixon and Reagan cabinets often joined those presidents at Sunnylands, along with their spouses and celebrities like Bob Hope and Frank Sinatra.

 Yet as properties go, Sunnylands is no Camp David.

 Camp David, the wooded retreat of presidents since Franklin D. Roosevelt, in the Maryland mountains near Washington, is plenty nice for those who favor rustic chic and cabins. Sunnylands, by contrast, is a 25,000-square-foot structure of postwar Modernist design near Palm Springs, with 22 guest bedrooms and a sprawling living room with walls of windows that look out to the surrounding San Jacinto Mountains. The house sits on 200 acres that include a nine-hole golf course, 11 artificial lakes, three guest cottages, a tennis court and landscaped grounds with sculptures and groves of olive trees.

 Inside, and certain to make the guests from Beijing feel more at home, are ancient Chinese porcelain, sculptures and cloisonné pieces. But there also are paintings by Picasso and sculptures by Rodin and Giacometti, among others. The home’s 52 Impressionist and post-Impressionist works, by Cezanne, Manet, Monet and more, are digitized copies of the real things; the originals are in the Metropolitan Museum of Art because of a billion-dollar bequest from the Annenbergs after Mr. Annenberg’s death.

 Sunnylands remains much as it was in past decades, Mr. Shultz said. “It’s a magical place, and a wonderful place to sit and talk,” he added.

 But he and Mr. Reagan were on their feet and golfing one year, he said, playing their traditional pre-party New Year’s Eve game, when the president asked Mr. Shultz, his secretary of state, if he had any good economic policy ideas. Mr. Shultz, who had been Treasury secretary to Mr. Nixon, passed along a tax proposal he had heard from a friend. That was the idea that led to the landmark 1986 law overhauling the tax code.

 The Annenbergs broke ground for Sunnylands 50 years ago, and it was three years under construction before the couple, who also had residences in Pennsylvania, New York, Washington and Sun Valley, Idaho, began spending the winter months at the desert oasis. When they were in residence, so were others: Dwight and Mamie Eisenhower enjoyed post-presidency getaways. Richard M. Nixon, who is still revered in China for opening relations between the two countries, was a frequent guest and escaped here after his resignation as president, writing in the Annenbergs’ guest book, “When you’re down, you find out who your real friends are.” Gerald and Betty Ford visited repeatedly, as did George and Barbara Bush.

 In 1975, Mr. Annenberg, who had been Mr. Nixon’s ambassador to Britain, wrote to Margaret Thatcher, who was then the opposition leader in the House of Commons, to arrange a meeting with Mr. Reagan at the latter’s request; it soon took place in London, just a few years before each would take power and forge a trans-Atlantic alliance. Mrs. Thatcher, the former prime minister, who died in April, visited Sunnylands a number of times, as has Queen Elizabeth.

 The first President Bush set the precedent for incumbent world leaders conferring at Sunnylands, 22 years before the estate would open for that purpose in 2012. In 1990 he held a state dinner for Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu of Japan, and the two men had talks to avert a trade crisis.

 In 1988, a casually dressed Mr. Reagan signed the first free-trade pact with Canada in Mr. Annenberg’s office at Sunnylands, communicating by phone with the Canadian prime minister. According to Geoffrey Cowan, the president of the Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands, the office is now called “the president’s office,” and, he added, “It will be President Obama’s office.”

 Mr. Obama will be the eighth president to stay at the estate, and the third Democrat. Both Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton have been guests, if not such frequent visitors and Annenberg friends as the Republican presidents. Both Annenbergs “really liked the Clintons,” Mr. Cowan said, “and that I know from my own conversations with them.”

 A 21-minute video created for the trust, called “A Place Called Sunnylands,” is rich with footage of the estate’s Republican heritage. But it closes with Mr. Clinton, who expresses hope that Sunnylands will become a meeting place for world leaders in the 21st century. |||||

Write a summary.

– Cyber-spying, trade, North Korea, US military maneuvers—there's no shortage of big issues for President Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping to tackle tonight and tomorrow during their informal summit in Southern California. But the biggest emphasis is on establishing "personal chemistry," reports the Wall Street Journal. The leaders will have six hours of talks, a private dinner, and walks around the Sunnylands estate in Rancho Mirage to try to achieve it. As the summit opened this evening, Obama said he hoped it would establish a "new model of cooperation" between the nations, and Xi used the phrase "a new model of major country relations," reports Politico. China's alleged cyber-spying is likely at the top of the US agenda, and the Guardian reinforced the point earlier today with a story saying that Obama ordered up a list of potential overseas cyber-targets last year. It doesn't include specifics, but any such list would likely have plenty of Chinese targets. (The AP doesn't think the story is bombshell material—it notes that the White House released a declassified version of the president's directive in January.) As for the summit, the New York Times has the unusual detail that while Obama will be sleeping on site at the estate in Rancho Mirage, Xi and his officials will bunk at a nearby hotel, apparently worried about their rooms being bugged.


Write an article based on this summary:

– Originally facing 10 years in prison for giving water to pigs on their way to a slaughterhouse, a Canadian animal rights activist is a free woman after a judge dismissed the mischief charge against her Thursday, the Guardian reports. According to CBC, the pigs were in a truck headed for an Ontario slaughterhouse in 2015 when 49-year-old Anita Krajnc gave them water, ignoring the truck driver's orders to stop. She was accused of tampering with private property and giving the pigs an "unknown substance," the Canadian Press reports. The farmer who owned the pigs says he was worried Krajnc had contaminated them in some way. Judge David Harris ruled Krajnc only gave the pigs water, and since the pigs were still accepted by the slaughterhouse, Krajnc didn't "obstruct, interrupt, or interfere with the lawful use, enjoyment, or operation of the property." By the time the charge was dismissed, Krajnc was only facing a maximum sentence of six months in jail and a $3,600 fine. Krajnc's lawyers say she was acting in the public good and compared her actions to those of Nelson Mandela and Gandhi. Following her victory in court, Krajnc said she and her fellow activists still have "a lot of work to do" because while the judge ruled in her favor, he also ruled that pigs were property and not persons.

But the judge rejected a defence argument that Krajnc should be cleared because she was acting in the greater good, and suggested she may have been motivated in part by the prospect of drawing attention to her cause.

 Despite the Crown’s argument that Krajnc gave the pigs an “unknown substance,” potentially contaminating the food supply, there was no evidence she gave them anything but water or that the slaughterhouse was concerned about such a risk, Harris said.

 Court heard that on June 22, 2015, Krajnc was dumping liquid from a water bottle into a truck carrying pigs in Burlington, Ont., as the vehicle approached a slaughterhouse.

 Anita Krajnc also did not intend to hurt the pigs or mean to cause the slaughterhouse to reject them, Justice David Harris told a Milton, Ont., courtroom packed with animal activists.

 MILTON, ONT.—A Toronto woman who gave water to pigs on a truck headed to an abattoir didn’t break the law since she didn’t harm the animals or prevent them from being slaughtered, an Ontario judge ruled Thursday as he found the activist not guilty of a mischief charge.

 “This may be the most ironic aspect of this case,” Harris said. “The fact that Ms. Krajnc gave water to a pig received little attention initially.”

 Pig owner testifies at trial of animal activist, says he was concerned about safety

 Woman who gave water to pigs ‘just following the golden rule’

 “Conversely, the act of prosecuting Ms. Krajnc has probably led to enough bad publicity for the pork industry that it might be said that the prosecution actually accomplished what they accused Ms. Krajnc of trying to do.”

 Cheers erupted in the courtroom as Krajnc, an activist with the group Toronto Pig Save, was acquitted on the charge of mischief laid in connection with the incident. She had pleaded not guilty, although she admitted to giving the pigs water.

 Outside court, Krajnc acknowledged that the case has bolstered her cause and said she hoped it would encourage others to stand up for animal rights.

 “This is how social movements get their word out, we go outside our comfort zone and we do what’s right,” she said.

 James Silver, one of Krajnc’s lawyers, said the court ruling “acknowledges that compassion is not a crime,” which he deemed an important victory.

 Her other lawyer, Gary Grill, nonetheless expressed some disappointment that the judge “missed the greater arguments . . . about Anita acting in the public good.”

 “Should the matter arise again, we’ll be ready to make that argument all over,” he said.

 A spokesman for a group representing farmers said he recognized Krajnc was trying to do the right thing but said the ruling was a letdown.

 Pat Jilesen, director of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, said that for farmers, it was a matter of protecting food safety.

 Krajnc’s behaviour, no matter how well-intentioned, “puts not only the animals at risk, it puts people at risk,” he said.

 The Crown had argued that the pigs were the property of a farmer, and Krajnc was interfering with his property.

 In his decision, Harris said the activist had not interfered with anyone’s property.

 But he took issue with the defence equating Krajnc giving water to pigs with people giving water to Jews transported on cattle trains during the Holocaust, calling the comparison “offensive.”

 He also rejected comparisons to historic rights activists such as Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and Susan B. Anthony.

 Harris said that while it is legal for activists such as Krajnc to tout a meat-free lifestyle and put pressure on governments to change the law, “they must however do this within the confines of the law that currently exists.”

 Krajnc had testified that she was treating the pigs as she would want to be treated.

 The pigs’ owner, farmer Eric Van Boekel, testified that he complained to police because he was worried there were contaminants in the water, and that could lead the slaughterhouse to turn his hogs away. ||||| An Ontario Court judge has found animal activist Anita Krajnc not guilty of mischief for giving water to pigs outside a slaughterhouse.

 A lot of taxpayer money was wasted on this case. - Gary Grill, Anita Krajnc's lawyer

 Judge David Harris dismissed a charge Thursday against Krajnc, the 49-year-old founder of Toronto Pig Save. Krajnc was charged after she poured water into the openings of a metal trailer outside Fearman's Pork Inc. in Burlington, Ont., in June 2015.

 The trial began last year and included five days of testimony. If convicted, Krajnc could have been fined and sent to jail for six months.

 It was clear Krajnc was giving the pigs water, Harris said, and not an "unknown liquid" as police initially alleged. And the pigs were slaughtered anyway, which means she didn't obstruct their "lawful use."

 Harris rejected the assertion by Krajnc's vegan lawyers, James Silver and Gary Grill, that pigs are persons and not property. He also had stern words for the lawyers comparing Krajnc to Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and Susan B. Anthony, a comparison that seemed designed to generate headlines for her cause and "look good in the social media posts."

 Compassion is not a crime. - James Silver, defence lawyer

 He was also annoyed that Krajnc's lawyers compared her giving water to pigs to Hungarians giving water to Jews headed to concentration camps.

 "I found the comparison to be offensive," Harris said, "and I will be attaching no weight to it in my decision."

 Krajnc didn't ask to be charged, Silver said outside the Milton, Ont., courthouse afterward. But since she was, she had the right to present her argument.

 "The Crown decided that this was a case that they wished to pursue," he said. "At the very outset, the Crown always had the opportunity to stop the process. In fact, it took weeks before Anita was charged in the very first place. They never had to start the process."

 "A lot of taxpayer money was wasted on this case," Grill said.

 Overall, Silver called the dismissal a victory. Harris's decision shows "compassion is not a crime," he said.

 Farm groups, meanwhile, called it a "disappointing day." They maintain that Krajnc was messing with the food supply.

 Anita Krajnc, centre, with lawyers James Silver and Gary Grill are flanked by media and animal activists in March. (Samantha Craggs/CBC)

 "What was at stake was our family farms and producing safe quality food," said Clarence Nywening, president of the Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario. "This puts a big jeopardy on our livelihood now."

 This puts a big jeopardy on our livelihood now. - Clarence Nywening, Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario

 Bruce Kelly, program manager with Farm and Food Care Ontario, didn't see it as a precedent. "This was one day and one court and one incident on one sidewalk in Burlington."

 Krajnc's case has attracted intense international interest. It has inspired 150 other Pig Save groups, and celebrities such as Maggie Q and Moby have lent support. Mckenna Grace, the 10-year-old star of the movie Gifted, attended Thursday.

 This isn't the end of Krajnc's legal woes. She's charged with obstructing police after a truck rollover near Fearman's in October.

 Her next appearance on that charge is May 17 in Milton court.

 samantha.craggs@cbc.ca | @SamCraggsCBC ||||| Canada judge says Toronto activist Anita Krajnc did not interfere ‘with the lawful use’ of property in case that rallied animal rights activists

 A judge in Canada has dismissed a case against a Toronto activist who gave water to pigs heading to the slaughter on a hot day, bringing an end to a two-year case that had become a rallying point for animal rights campaigners around the world.

 Anita Krajnc, 49, initially faced up to 10 years in prison after she dribbled water through the metal slats of a tractor-trailer carrying the pigs in 2015. She continued to do so even after the driver ordered her to stop, leading the owner of the pigs to file police complaint.

 I'm on trial for giving water to thirsty pigs. If they were dogs, I would be a hero | Anita Krajnc Read more

 Krajnc – the founder of a group called Toronto Pig Save, whose mission is to “bear witness of suffering of animals in transport and at slaughterhouses” – pleaded not guilty to a charge of mischief, but asserted she had done nothing wrong in helping animals she believed were suffering.

 The crown countered that the pigs were the private property of the farmer and raised the possibility that Krajnc could have given the pigs something other than water.

 Months after the charge was laid, the crown said it would proceed by summary conviction, meaning Krajnc faced a maximum sentence of six months in jail or a C$5,000 fine (about US$3,600), or both.

 On Thursday, Justice David Harris said his decision had been based on the idea of property. “By law in Canada, pigs are not persons. They are property,” he said. “Did Ms Krajnc obstruct, interrupt or interfere with the lawful use, enjoyment or operation of the property? My simple answer to this question is: no. She did not.”

 The pigs, he noted, had managed to make it to their final destination, despite Krajnc’s actions. “Protesters had given water to pigs before. The driver was aware of this. The slaughterhouse was aware of this. Despite this, the slaughterhouse had never refused to accept a load of pigs for that reason,” he said.

 As he dismissed the charge, a loud applause erupted among the many activists who had crowded into the Toronto-area courtroom to hear the verdict.

 The case – described as a “landmark” by Peta – attracted media attention around the world as it pitted property rights against animal welfare.

 During the six days of court testimony, Krajnc’s lawyers drew comparisons between her actions and those of Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela. They seized on the trial to offer a window into the meat industry, calling on witnesses who described its impact on environmental sustainability and animal welfare.

 On Thursday, organisations representing farms in Ontario expressed their disappointment with the decision, highlighting concerns that it would embolden animal rights activists and spark further confrontations between the two groups. “Actions by Krajnc and activists like her should not be condoned by the courts as they threaten acceptable and legal farming practices and are a threat to food safety,” said Bruce Kelly of Farm and Food Care Ontario in a statement.

 Krajnc said she and her supporters would mark the decision with a vegan lunch at the courthouse before heading to a nearby slaughterhouse to hold an afternoon vigil.

 “I’m relieved that the judge recognises that compassion is not a crime, that compassion should never be illegal,” she told the Guardian. “But he did say that pigs under Canadian law are considered property, not persons. So I think we have a lot of work to do still.” |||||


Article:

A flying snake flattens out into a weird flying-saucer shape in order to get some extra airtime, new research suggests.

 The findings, published today (Jan. 29) in The Journal of Experimental Biology, show that the Southeast Asian snake's flattened, UFO-like cross-section gives it the right aerodynamic properties for gliding.

 "The shape is unusual," said study co-author Jake Socha, a biomechanics researcher at Virginia Tech. "You never find this kind of shape in any other animal flyer; you don't find it in engineered flyers. We didn't know if that was a good shape to have." [See Images of the Flying Snake]

 Gliding animals

 The weird flying snake, Chrysopelea paradisi, curls its tail around a tree branch more than 50 feet (15 meters) above the ground before launching upward, curling its body and gliding to the next tree limb.

 While birds, and even humans using glider wings, are much better at their airborne maneuvers, the snake's performance compares favorably to that of other gliding animals, such as flying squirrels, lizards and even ants, Socha said.

 Researchers already knew that the snakes curved around, splayed out their ribs to flatten their bodies and undulated as they were airborne — but they didn't know why.

 "It looks like it's swimming in the air," Socha told LiveScience.

 No snake-shaped planes

 To answer one part of the puzzle, the team created physical models of the cross-section and tested them in a water tunnel, which, if set up properly, can have the same flow characteristics as air, Socha said.

 It turned out that the flying saucer cross-section was a surprisingly good shape to take — much better than the cylindrical shape the snake would have if it didn't compress itself.

 Compared to a more familiar flying shape, such as an airplane wing scaled down to snake size, "you'd find the snake is actually comparable," Socha said.

 "The animal has figured out a solution to an engineering problem that we didn't even know we had," Socha said.

 But don't expect to board a 747 with flying-snake-shaped wings anytime soon, as the shape wouldn't be nearly as aerodynamically effective at a plane's size and speed, Socha said.

 Now, the team has to solve another mystery: why the snake undulates once or twice every second while gliding, Socha said.

 Follow Tia Ghose on Twitter and Google+. Follow LiveScience @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on LiveScience. ||||| By Charles Q. Choi

 Snakes don’t need to be on a plane to fly: Five species of the gliding reptiles can soar as far as 100 feet (30 meters) in the tropical rain forests of Southeast Asia.

 Now scientists have discovered the secret behind how these snakes stay airborne—they twist their bodies into an S shape that resembles an alien’s flying saucer from the side.

 Scientists already knew that flying snakes climb up trees by using ridges on their belly scales to help grip bark as they slither upward, and that when the animals glide downward, they undulate from side to side. (Related: “How Snakes Can ‘Fly.’”)

 These movements—done by flexing the ribs—transform the serpent’s body into a totally aerodynamic surface, according to biomechanist Jake Socha, of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, and his colleagues.

 As frightening as the idea of a 4-foot (1.2-meter) flying snake might be to some, these mildly venomous reptiles are harmful only to small prey.

 Scientists don’t know how often or exactly why flying snakes fly, but it’s likely they use their aerobatics to escape predators, to move from tree to tree without having to descend to the forest floor, and possibly even to hunt prey.

 Watch a video of a flying snake.

 Clues From 3-D Printing

 To learn more about the aerodynamic forces the snakes generate, Socha and his colleagues used a 3-D printer, which works by depositing layers on top of layers to create 3-D objects. (Related: “Improving 3-D Printing by Copying Nature.”)

 The researchers printed a 3-D rod with a UFO-like cross section that mimicked the body of the paradise tree snake (Chrysopelea paradisi), the most proficient snake glider. The team then placed the rod within a tank of water that flowed over it, re-creating the air conditions the reptiles experience as they glide through the forest.

 The scientists tilted the rod at various angles as water flowed over it at different speeds, and measured how the current moved the rod up or down.

 The results, published January 29 in the Journal of Experimental Biology, showed that at most angles, the snake model’s undulating shape generated enough lift to account for the animal’s gliding ability. (See more snake pictures.)

 The researchers added that real flying snakes appear to glide even better than their findings from the 3-D printed model would suggest.

 They are now investigating what else these reptiles might do to boost their aerial performances. As it is, these serpents remain somewhat Unexplained Flying Ophidians.

 Follow Charles Q. Choi on Twitter and Google+. |||||
What is a summary?

– Researchers think they've at long last solved, at least partially, the mystery of so-called "flying snakes." The five species of Chrysopelea don't actually fly, but they're impressive gliders, capable of sailing up to 100 feet through the air. Until now, scientists didn't know how they managed it, but now they think they do: As the snakes jump, they flatten out their ribs and contort themselves into an S-shape that sorta kinda resembles a flying saucer, LiveScience reports. "You never find this kind of shape in any other animal flyer; you don't find it in engineered flyers," says one study co-author. "We didn't know if that was a good shape to have." The snake's body develops a curve a little like an airplane wing, the BBC explains, which coupled with its undulating movements generates lift. Researchers hit on the discovery using 3D-printed models in tanks of water, National Geographic reports. But observations of real snakes indicate that they're even better gliders than the model suggested, meaning some aspect of their prowess remains unexplained. (In another recent animal-kingdom discovery, meet the world's new toad.)


News article:

Buy Photo University of Cincinnati President Santa Ono speaks in the Fifth Third Arena during the 197th Spring Commencement Saturday April 30, 2016. (Photo: Madison Schmidt for The Enquirer)Buy Photo

 Santa Ono, president of the University of Cincinnati, astonished a fund-raising audience and his 70,000-plus Twitter followers over the weekend by revealing that, in his youth, he twice tried to kill himself. In a week when UC remembers a student who died by suicide in 2014, Ono said he wanted to send the message that depression is treatable, and sufferers can move on with life.

 In an interview with The Enquirer after his revelation, Ono, 53, said he recovered from depression and being suicidal, and he wanted to erase the stigma attached to the mental illnesses.

 "Someone was there for me to help me work my way through that with medication and also seeing a professional to help me through very dark times in my life," Ono said. "There's light at the end of the tunnel. If you have the proper counseling and support, it's really possible for you to move past that and move back into functioning life."

 A university official said Sunday that in the immediate aftermath of UC student Brogan Dulle’s May 2014 death, Ono was instrumental in finding the resources for UC to provide any student with five free sessions of mental health counseling.

 “It’s a courageous revelation for him to put it out there,” said Dr. Phil Diller, who oversees the University Health Service in his role as chairman of UC’s department of family and community medicine. “He’s using his office to really communicate this point: that people who are highly successful in their lives have issues with mental health as well. This is a very courageous thing to do.”

 College students are particularly vulnerable to depression and suicide, Diller said. The most recent data shows that 174 Ohioans between 15 and 24 died in 2012 by suicide. More than 100,000 college students nationwide attempted suicide in 2012.

 Saturday night, Ono attended an Indian Hill fundraiser for a group called 1N5, named for the statistic that one in five people will suffer from mental illness; the group is focused on helping teenagers. At that event, Ono told about 200 people that, when he was 14, he locked himself in his bedroom and tried to overdose on cold medication and beer. He attempted suicide again in his late 20s.

 The Indian Hill event raised more than $115,000, according to organizers.

 After the event, Ono took to social media. Ono told his more than 70,000 followers on Twitter about his suicide attempts. He later told The Enquirer: "Speaking at the event, I reached a couple hundred people and I felt that if I really wanted to break the silence, the right thing to do was to take advantage of the fact that I communicate with a lot of people over Twitter and social media. I wanted to get that message out to a broader audience."

 Diller said Sunday that Ono’s revelation did not surprise him. More than a year ago, Ono met with Diller and other mental health care providers at UC following Dulle’s death. The 21-year-old UC student went missing May 18, 2014, and a massive search ended eight days later when his body was found in the basement of the building next door to Dulle’s apartment. He had hanged himself.

 Dulle’s mother, Beth, of Cincinnati, said of Ono’s statement: "It's amazing that he was willing to share that to help other people. It's not easy for people to talk about things like that."

 She said Ono has become a great friend of her family since he helped with the search for her son. She said he has supported their efforts to honor her son with the “8 Days of Greatness” campaign, a movement of kindness and generosity.

 “He’s an amazing person,” she said. “For him, such a public person, to come out. I think it has to give a lot of people courage to open a dialogue. It’s hard to ask for help.”

 Diller said, at the meeting after Dulle’s death with the mental health care providers, Ono confided about his own suicide attempts and struggle with depression. “You could tell that (Dulle’s death) really touched him, and he really wanted to do more. It was, 'what can I do to help?' He was very open about trying to see what he could do to make a difference.”

 The result, Diller said, was that Ono was instrumental in arranging for University Health Services to provide more mental health services, a key request of the UC student government. Students now can have the five free counseling sessions. If they need more help, Diller said, they can be referred to other resources, and, “we take all the insurances there.”

 Dr. Charles W. Collins, a UC Health physician and executive vice chairman of the UC College of Medicine’s department of psychiatry and behavioral neuroscience, saw the Ono statements pop up Saturday night on Facebook.

 “I thought, ‘Wow, this is an important revelation,’ because he is at the top of his game as a person and as a great individual, and he admits this, which can be quite helpful to people,” Collins said. “It has a powerful effect because it brings it out of the darkness. So many people have depression and have no one to really discuss it.”

 Collins said Ono can counteract the misimpression that people harbor about depression “that it’s a weakness, and to have such a powerful figure who clearly is not weak talk about something that happened to him and something that he clearly overcame, that can help make people seek treatment earlier.”

 Ono said he did research into mental illness during his time at Emory University under his mentor, Earl Lewis, now president of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. They focused on the high suicide rates among Korean students who felt extreme shame in failure. Since then, Ono said, he's been passionate about suicide prevention.

 "Our students really are an inspiration to me," he said. "The millennial students are much more empathetic toward each other. Many of them have seen someone commit suicide. People are much more aware of what's happening, and that's a good thing. It's motivating them to do something about it. That's motivating them to demand adults and leaders within organizations to do something about it."

 Ono is the son of a noted mathematician who emigrated from Japan after World War II and held research posts in Princeton, New Jersey, and at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. Ono, an accomplished cellist as well as a college administrator, became UC president in 2012.

 "For the last 25 years, I've been symptom-free," Ono told The Enquirer. "A big part of the balance in my life is that I have a loving family, and they're there for me even though I have a stressful life.” Speaking about his own dark periods "will be an encouragement to other people who are going through difficult times."

 When he was younger, Ono said, he would have been "petrified" to tell his story. "Now I'm speaking from a much stronger station in life, and it's important for me and others to speak about this to encourage legislators to support more programs."

 Twitter responded warmly to Ono’s revelations. Many people thanked him for speaking out.

 "As a staff member at UC, I'm so thankful you said this. Proud of your leadership and vulnerability. Our students need to see this," Alex Fields wrote.

 "Honesty like this from a man who has seen so much success and is loved by so many is incredibly inspiring," Mike Hawke wrote.

 Resources for mental health services

 University of Cincinnati Counseling & Psychological Services: Provides counseling, outreach programs, and related services for UC students and those concerned about their welfare. We help students address and resolve personal issues so that they can make the most of their educational opportunities at the University. www.uc.edu/counseling.html 24-hour consultation and crisis helpline 513-556-0648

 The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: A 24-hour, toll-free, confidential suicide prevention hotline available to anyone in suicidal crisis or emotional distress. 1-800-273-8255, www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org

 Crisis Text Line: a not-for-profit organization that provides support to people through text. Text START to 741-741, www.crisistextline.org

 Hamilton County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board: Provides mental health assessments, medication management, crisis intervention and makes connections to mental health professionals. MHAP 24-hour hotline 513-558-8888, www.mentalhealthaccesspoint.org

 Lindner Center of HOPE: Provides patient-centered, scientifically-advanced care for individuals suffering from mental illness. 513-536-HOPE, lindnercenterofhope.org

 Active Minds: A UC student-run organization focused on decreasing mental health stigma on campus. orgsync.com/login/university-of-cincinnati

 Read or Share this story: http://cin.ci/1TvehAc ||||| Tweet with a location

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What is a shorter version of the above article?

– Those who follow the University of Cincinnati's president on Twitter may have been thrown by a tweet he posted over the weekend, as well as by a speech he made at a local event. "My message tonight: There should be no stigma for those with mental illness. I tried to take my own life 2X. We need to support each other," Santa Ono tweeted Saturday night. Earlier that day, Ono had told 200 or so people attending a fundraiser that he attempted to OD on cold meds and beer when he was 14, and that he tried to kill himself once more in his late 20s, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports. The 53-year-old says his revelations, which came during a week when the university was remembering Brogan Dulle, a student who hanged himself in 2014, were his way of shattering the mental illness stigma and supporting others with similar struggles. "I felt that if I really wanted to break the silence, the right thing to do was to take advantage of the fact that I communicate with a lot of people over Twitter and social media," he says. "I wanted to get that message out to a broader audience." Ono's message was lauded online and by colleagues like Dr. Phil Diller, head of the college's Department of Family and Community Medicine, who says Ono was particularly affected after Dulle's death and helped lobby for resources so the school could offer more mental health services, including five free counseling sessions to which every student is now entitled. Meanwhile, Dulle's mom says Ono has become a family friend. "It's amazing that he was willing to share that to help other people," she says. "It's not easy for people to talk about things like that." Ono says he's now been free of symptoms for 25 years and that although he would've been "petrified" to talk about his struggles during his younger years, "now I'm speaking from a much stronger station in life, and it's important for me and others to speak about this to encourage legislators to support more programs." (The suicide rate has jumped for most Americans.)


Write an article based on this summary:

– It’s not a good week for celebrity relationships: After three years together, New York Yankee Derek Jeter and actress Minka Kelly are splitting up. “The split was amicable,” sources tell Just Jared. “But they remain friends. They still really care for each other.” Kelly’s rep confirmed the break-up to Popsugar. Guess this means all those engagement rumors weren’t true…

Derek Jeter and Minka Kelly have called it quits after three years together, JustJared.com can confirm.

 “The split was amicable,” sources exclusively tell JJ of the 37-year-old Yankees superstar and 31-year-old actress. “But they remain friends. They still really care for each other.”

 PHOTOS: Check out the latest pics of Minka Kelly

 When JJ contacted her reps, they did confirm the split.

 Last month, HBO premiered Deter Jeter 3K, a documentary that chronicles Derek’s journey of becoming the second player to reach 3,000 hits as a shortstop (the first was Honus Wagner).

 Minka is busy in Miami shooting the ABC reboot of the classic show Charlie’s Angels, which is being produced by Drew Barrymore and Leonard Goldberg. Charlie’s Angels, which co-stars Rachael Taylor and Annie Ilonzeh, premieres Thursday, September 22, at 8/7c. |||||

 After more than three years together, Minka Kelly and Derek Jeter have broken up. Minka Kelly's rep confirmed the news to PopSugar. The sexy couple who first got together around May of 2008 faced rumors ranging from splits to engagements over the years, though apparently they weren't able to make it work in the end. Derek is in the middle of his season with the NY Yankees while Minka is currently on location in Miami where she is shooting the Charlie's Angels reboot. Minka has her badass Charlie's Angels work to keep her distracted from any post-breakup blues and Derek crossed his own amazing milestone this Summer, becoming only the 28th MLB player to ever cross the 3000 hit mark. It's sad to hear that Minka and Derek are going their separate ways, though neither of the freshly single stars should have too much trouble finding new love if they want to. |||||


– Tales of Amy Schumer's generosity continue: While jogging around Chicago on April 13, Schumer stopped in at the Six Corners Mattress Firm, hoping to find a bathroom, reports People. Employee Sagine Lazarre, not recognizing the visitor, quickly showed her the way. But when Schumer had done her business, she returned to Lazarre and asked which mattress she liked the best. Lazarre pointed to a $2,000 mattress, and Schumer immediately bought it for her, per WGN. Schumer, who identified herself as an actress and comedian, "told me she wanted to buy it for me" as a thank you for letting her use the bathroom, Lazarre says. Mind blown, she adds she Googled the name on Schumer's credit card after the actress left the store and only then realized she had previously seen her stand-up comedy. "I'm still in shock," says Lazarre, who notes the mattress is a perfect fit in her new apartment. (Schumer previously left a massive tip on a $77 bill.)

Expand this summary.

If Amy Schumer asks to use your toilet, make sure you say yes.

 Get push notifications with news, features and more.

 The Snatched star was jogging around Chicago recently when she stopped into the local Six Corners Mattress Firm hoping for an emergency bathroom.

 Sagine Lazarre, the store employee, happily pointed her towards the restroom, not realizing the desperate jogger was Schumer.

 Grateful for the hospitality, Schumer walked up to Lazarre on her way out and asked which mattress was her favorite. She then bought the $2,000 mattress on the spot as a gesture of her appreciation.

 RELATED: Take That, Haters! Amy Schumer Fights Back at Her Body-Shamers by Sharing Bikini Photos

 The mattress came at a perfect time, as Lazarre and her daughter had just recently moved into a new apartment. It wasn’t until later that she realized the Inside Amy Schumer star was her generous benefactor.

 “It’s amazing, mind blowing. I’m still shocked,” Lazarre told Chicago’s WGN News on Wednesday.

 “After she left, I Googled her name. The lady that was right there talking to me is Amy Schumer. It was amazing. Unbelievable.”

 Schumer’s new film with Goldie Hawn, Snatched, hits theaters May 12. ||||| Please enable Javascript to watch this video

 CHICAGO – A mattress store employee got a huge surprise last week when a stranger – to her – stopped in to the store and bought a mattress – for her.

 After the customer left, Sagine Lazarre did some digging and discovered the good deed was courtesy of Amy Schumer.

 “It’s amazing, mind blowing. I’m still shocked,” Lazarre told WGN News today.

 Lazarre says she was working at the Six Corners Mattress Firm last Thursday when a woman jogging by stopped in and asked to use the bathroom.

 Lazarre told her she could.

 “She comes out of the bathroom and asks me which one of these (mattresses) is my favorite. I told her … She told me she wanted to buy it for me. And I was was so shocked!”

 Lazarre says she thought she was being set up. But the woman told her she wanted to thank her for letting her use the bathroom and mentioned that she was an actress and comedian. And when she went to pay for the mattress, Lazarre saw the name “Amy Schumer” on the credit card.

 She said she knows who Schumer is and has watched her stand-up comedy, but was shocked when the whole thing was happening.

 “After she left, I Googled her name. The lady that was right there talking to me is Amy Schumer. It was amazing. Unbelievable.”

 Lazarre said when they were chatting, the woman told her she lives in New York but visits Chicago often to see friends.

 Lazarre and her daughter just moved to a new apartment in Woodridge last month, so the new, $2,000 mattress came at a perfect time.

 WGN reached out to Amy Schumer and her people, but never heard back. |||||


Here is a news article: Attorney General Eric Holder told residents of Ferguson, Missouri — the scene of heated protests since the death of an unarmed teen — that he understands their mistrust of law enforcement, saying as a black man, he too has been confronted by police.

 “I understand that mistrust. I am the attorney general of the United States. But I am also a black man,” Holder said at a meeting Wednesday with community leaders and students at the Florissant Valley Campus of St. Louis Community College, according to excerpts of his speech.

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 reset Holder spoke to Brown family 'as a father' Holder meets Police Chief Ron Johnson

 Holder recounted to the group of 50 how he was stopped in New Jersey twice, accused of speeding as officers searched his car.

 “I remember how humiliating that was and how angry I was and the impact it had on me,” he said.

 (Also on POLITICO: Why Obama can’t go there)

 Holder also recalled how he and his cousin were stopped in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C., while heading to a movie, and his cousin started “mouthing off.”

 “I’m like, ‘This is not where we want to go. Keep quiet.’ I’m angry and upset. We negotiate the whole thing and we walk to our movie,” the attorney general said. “At the time that he stopped me, I was a federal prosecutor. I wasn’t a kid. I was a federal prosecutor. I worked at the United States Department of Justice. So I’ve confronted this myself.”

 Of the events in Ferguson, Holder said there is a history to it, adding that the “history simmers beneath the surface in more communities than just Ferguson.”

 The town has been rocked by tensions and unrest for nearly two weeks following the death of 18-year-old Michael Brown, who was shot Aug. 9 by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson. Holder, emphasizing the federal investigation into Brown’s death, said dialogue is not enough.

 “We are starting here a good dialogue. But the reality is the dialogue is not enough. We need concrete action to change things in this country,” Holder said, pointing to the federal inquiry.

 (Also on POLITICO: Pols on Ferguson: Sound of silence)

 Holder arrived in the St. Louis suburb Wednesday morning where met with community leaders as well as FBI investigators and prosecutors from both the Justice Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office. During his time in Ferguson, Holder did not hold a news conference.

 Holder met with Brown’s parents later in the day; he previously called them last week to expressed his condolences. They met privately for 20 minutes and asked Holder about the federal investigation, to which Holder pledged it would be “fair and independent. Brown’s mother also viewed her son’s body at a local morgue for the first time since the shooting.

 The attorney general also met with Missouri lawmakers including Gov. Jay Nixon, Reps. Emanuel Cleaver and Lacy Clay and Sens. Claire McCaskill and Roy Blunt.

 While meeting with local residents, Holder, who hoped his presence will have a calming influence, also promised change.

 “We can make it better,” Holder, responding to a local mayor, said while meeting diners at a local restaurant.

 The Holder’s meeting at the community college was closed to the press, but the Justice Department said Holder spoke to the group for 15 minutes before taking questions. He told the group he wished they were meeting under better circumstances and that he assigned the department’s “most experienced agents and prosecutors” to the investigation into Brown’s death.

 (Also on POLITICO: Holder's big test: Ferguson)

 It’s not the first time Holder has spoken about his experience in Georgetown and New Jersey. The attorney general spoke of the incidents last year at the NAACP convention in Orlando, Florida, where he also addressed the shooting of Trayvon Martin.

 Holder “promised things were going to change,” said one student who attended the meeting, according to a pool report.

 Holder also asked the group to work together to improve the relationship between protesters and local law enforcement. The meeting was arranged by the department’s Community Relations Service, an agency created by the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The service has held numerous meetings in Ferguson since protests began.

 Afterward at a local restaurant, Holder met Missouri Highway Patrol Capt. Ron Johnson, telling the officer to “get some rest,” according to a pool report.

 Johnson was asked whether Holder’s visit gave him reassurance regarding the local investigation.

 “Holder, by being here, is a guarantee on that,” Johnson said, according to a pool report.

 The attorney general was joined Wednesday by officials from the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

 Later in the day at the local FBI headquarters, Holder spoke before an investigative briefing.

 “Our investigation is different,” Holder said in a meeting room filled with local federal officials. “We’re looking for possible violations of federal civil rights statutes.”

 Holder’s visit to Ferguson was announced earlier this week by President Barack Obama, who in his own remarks Monday, called for a reduction in tensions and for people “to seek some understanding.”

 Ahead of his arrival, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch published an op-ed by Holder, who wrote that the Justice Department’s investigation into Brown’s death will be full, fair and independent. Holder added that it will be coordinated by the agency’s Civil Rights Division as well as the FBI and will bring some “measure of calm.” He said the additional autopsy he called for earlier this week was conducted on Monday. Holder called Brown’s parents last week to express his condolences.

 After heated protests last week, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon announced the Missouri Highway Patrol would take over security in Ferguson, led by Johnson. However, by Monday, Nixon announced a state of emergency, bringing in the National Guard after earlier imposing a temporary curfew. But protests escalated yet again by Monday evening, with dozens of people arrested and a handful shot.

 Regarding the handling of the local investigation, including the release of security footage of Brown prior to the shooting, Holder in a statement earlier this week said the “selective release of sensitive information that we have seen in this case so far is troubling to me.” ||||| ST. LOUIS (AP) — To reassure the people of Ferguson, Attorney General Eric Holder reached into his own past, recalling the times he had been stopped by police officers who seemed to target him because of his race.

 Attorney General Eric Holder speaks with Capt. Ron Johnson of the Missouri State Highway Patrol at Drake's Place Restaurant, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2014, in Ferguson, Mo. Holder arrived in Missouri on Wednesday,... (Associated Press)

 Protesters stand in the street as lightning flashes in the night sky in Ferguson, Mo. on Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2014. A grand jury has begun hearing evidence as it weighs possible charges against the Ferguson... (Associated Press)

 Protesters march in the street as lightning flashes in the distance in Ferguson, Mo. on Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2014. On Aug. 9, 2014, a white police officer fatally shot Michael Brown, an unarmed black 18-year... (Associated Press)

 Protesters march to the Buzz Westfall Justice Center Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2014, in Clayton, Mo. A grand jury has begun hearing evidence as it weighs possible charges against the Ferguson police officer... (Associated Press)

 Spiritual teacher Iyanla Vanzant, right, consoles Shirley Scale, a resident at the Canfield Apartments, at the shrine to Michael Brown where he was shot and killed on Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2014, in Ferguson,... (Associated Press)

 Attorney General Eric Holder, left, listens during his meeting at the U.S. Attorney's office in St. Louis, Mo., Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2014. Sitting with clockwise from the far left, Richard Callahan, US... (Associated Press)

 People stand in prayer after marching about a mile to the police station to protest the shooting of Michael Brown Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2014, in Ferguson, Mo. Brown's shooting in the middle of a street... (Associated Press)

 Attorney General Eric Holder stops to shake hands with a patron at Drake's Place Restaurant, before his meeting with local community leaders, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2014 in Ferguson, Mo. Holder arrived in... (Associated Press)

 On a visit to the St. Louis suburb that has endured more than a week of unrest, Holder sought to build confidence in the investigation into the death of the black 18-year-old who was shot by a white officer. The trip also underscored the priority to the Obama administration of civil rights in general and the Michael Brown case in particular.

 The attorney general said Wednesday that he understands why many black Americans do not trust police and that he has experienced many of the same frustrations. He described being stopped twice on the New Jersey Turnpike and accused of speeding. Police searched his car, looking through the trunk and under the seats.

 "I remember how humiliating that was and how angry I was and the impact it had on me," Holder said during a meeting with about 50 community leaders at the Florissant campus of St. Louis Community College.

 Once while living in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, Holder was running to catch a movie with his cousin when a squad car rolled up and flashed its lights at the pair. The officer yelled, "Where are you going? Hold it!" Holder recalled.

 His cousin "started mouthing off," and Holder urged him to be quiet.

 "We negotiate the whole thing, and we walk to our movie. At the time that he stopped me, I was a federal prosecutor. I wasn't a kid," he said.

 Holder also met with federal officials investigating Brown's Aug. 9 death and with Brown's parents. Before getting briefed at the local FBI headquarters, he said he hoped the visit would "have a calming influence" on the area.

 In addition, the attorney general met briefly with Missouri State Highway Patrol Capt. Ron Johnson, who has been in charge of security in Ferguson for nearly a week. The National Guard is also helping to keep the peace.

 Asked whether he had confidence in the local investigation of the police officer, Johnson said Holder's presence "is a guarantee on that."

 In nearby Clayton, a grand jury began hearing evidence to determine whether the officer, Darren Wilson, should be charged in Brown's death. A spokesman for St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch said there was no timeline for the process, but it could take weeks.

 Outside the St. Louis County Justice Center, where the grand jury convened, two dozen protesters gathered in a circle for a prayer, chanted and held signs urging McCulloch to step aside.

 McCulloch's deep family connections to police have been cited by some black leaders who question his ability to be impartial in the case. McCulloch's father, mother, brother, uncle and cousin all worked for the St. Louis Police Department, and his father was killed while responding to a call involving a black suspect.

 The prosecutor, who is white, has insisted his background will have no bearing on the handling of the Brown case, which has touched off days of protests that have sometimes turned violent at night, when authorities used tear gas and rubber bullets to clear the streets.

 On Wednesday, police said an officer had been suspended for pointing a semi-automatic assault rifle at demonstrators, then cursing and threatening to kill one of them. A protester captured the exchange on video Tuesday and posted it to YouTube and other websites.

 Some protesters returned to the streets Wednesday evening but in diminished numbers. They marched around a single block as a thunderstorm filled the sky with lightning and dumped rain. Police still stood guard, but many wore regular uniforms rather than riot gear.

 Johnson said there were six arrests, compared to 47 the previous night, and called it "a very good night." Johnson also said the visit by Holder let people know their voices had been heard.

 The Justice Department has mounted an unusually swift and aggressive response to Brown's death, conducting an independent autopsy and sending dozens of FBI agents to Ferguson in search of witnesses to the shooting.

 Brown's funeral is set for Monday in St. Louis. His uncle, the Rev. Charles Ewing, will deliver the eulogy. The Rev. Al Sharpton will also speak. Brown will be buried at St. Peter's Cemetery in St. Louis County.

 Holder said the Obama administration has been working to achieve change through the Justice Department's civil rights division.

 "The same kid who got stopped on the New Jersey freeway is now the attorney general of the United States," he added. "This country is capable of change. But change doesn't happen by itself."

 ___

 Associated Press writers Jim Salter in St. Louis, David A. Lieb in Jefferson City and Nigel Duara in Ferguson contributed to this report. |||||
A summary of this is?

– In his visit to Ferguson, Mo., yesterday, Eric Holder told residents that he understands their frustration about police. "I am the attorney general of the United States," he said. "But I am also a black man,” Holder recounted being stopped by police on a Washington street while he and his cousin ran to catch a movie, reports Politico. "I was a federal prosecutor," he said. "I wasn't a kid." He also recalled being pulled over twice in New Jersey and accused of speeding as cops searched his car, reports Fox News. "I remember how humiliating that was and how angry I was," he told the crowd, and later in the day said, "We can make it better." While he praised the "good dialogue" going on about race relations, he added that "dialogue is not enough. We need concrete action to change things in this country." Holder also met with Michael Brown's parents for about 20 minutes and promised a "fair and independent" investigation. Meanwhile, Missouri Highway Patrol Capt. Ron Johnson said last night was "a very good night" in Ferguson, with just six arrests, reports the AP.


When she stayed at her grandparents home after school, 6-year-old Alessandra Perez saw the two adoptive children who lived there locked in a bathroom, a shower curtain taped to the walls to trap them in the bathtub.

 Other times, she saw the children forced to stand in garbage bins.

 Alessandra was told to keep what she saw a secret. But she couldnt hide it anymore.

 Alessandra told a therapist what she saw, sparking a short-lived child welfare investigation and an unfolding drama that culminated Monday when Alessandras grandfather, Jorge Barahona, was found inside a red pickup truck along Interstate 95 in West Palm Beach, with one dead child, a girl, doused in chemicals in the back of the truck and a boy, in the cab, near death next to him.

 On Wednesday, state Department of Children & Families administrators confirmed the worst about Victor and Nubia Doctor, 10-year-old twins adopted by Jorge and Carmen Barahona.

 All evidence indicates that Nubia is deceased, said Mark Riordan, a DCF spokesman.

 And Victor was clinging to life at Jackson Memorial Hospitals burn unit, where he was transferred with chemical burns that were spreading across his body. Doctors were confounded by their inability to identify the chemicals.

 Late Wednesday, DCFs Riordan said Victor was receiving intensive treatment from burn unit specialists. Victor remained in bed but was able to interact and move when he was awake, Riordan said.

 Earlier in the day, Dr. Walter Lambert, who heads the states Child Protection Team in Miami, said the chemical burns on Victors body were progressing, and that doctors were seeing signs that the boys kidneys may be failing. Appearing Wednesday afternoon before a child welfare judge, Lambert said the boy was slipping in and out of consciousness.

 West Palm Beach Police said doctors discovered additional horrors as they treated Victor: His body showed signs of prior injuries, including a fractured clavicle and arm, scarring to his buttocks and lower abdomen  and telltale ligature marks on both wrists.

 Barahona, who also remained hospitalized, told police he was so distraught over Nubias death that he intended to kill himself as he sat inside the truck on a grassy shoulder of I-95. It was not clear late Wednesday how, when or where Nubia died.

 He gave Victor a handful of sleeping pills and told him to take them so he could sleep, according to police records. Barahona told investigators he poured gasoline over his head and planned to ignite himself, but had second thoughts because Victors head was resting on his lap.

 Police have formally charged Barahona with aggravated child abuse in Victors case. Charges are pending in Nubias death.

 In a crowded courtroom Wednesday, Circuit Judge Cindy Lederman ordered two other adoptive children  a 7-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy  formally removed from the Barahonas home to a therapeutic foster home.

 Carmen Barahona shielded her face with a sheet of white paper when she entered the courtroom. Through a lawyer, she asked for the children to be sent to live with a family friend.

 Lederman refused her request.

 I dont want anyone who had any knowledge of what was going on in that home to have any visits or any contact with these children, she said. ||||| J Pat Carter, AP

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 A Florida pest exterminator has confessed to putting his dead daughter in the back of his truck before a botched suicide attempt that left him and his adopted son hospitalized in critical condition, police said. Jorge Barahona , 53, is charged with felony aggravated child abuse for an alleged attack on his 10-year-old adopted son, identified in local media reports as Victor Vocter.According to a probable cause affidavit filed by West Palm Beach police , Barahona told officers he placed the body of his deceased daughter -- identified by local media as Victor's twin, Nubia -- in the back of his pest-control vehicle early Monday and then drove north on Interstate 95 from his home in Miami to West Palm Beach."Jorge told us he was distraught over the death of his daughter and intended to commit suicide," the affidavit says. "Jorge said he pulled over onto a grassy area of the expressway where he would easily be found. He gave [Victor] a handful of sleeping pills and told him to take them so he could sleep."Barahona allegedly told police he took a five-gallon gas can he had inside the truck and poured gasoline over his head. His son was beside him in the truck, with his head on Barahona's lap."Jorge intended to ignite a lighter to set himself on fire, but he could not do it because [Victor] was present," the affidavit says.The police report does not detail how the girl died and does not mention whether Barahona discussed her death with police.The bizarre case began to unfold early Monday , when a Florida Department of Transportation employee discovered Barahona's pickup truck parked on the side of I-95, not far from the Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard exit. When he looked inside the truck, the employee saw Victor seated next to a gas can. The boy was soaked in chemicals and suffering from respiratory distress. An unresponsive Barahona was found on the ground outside the truck.Florida Highway Patrol spokesman Lt. Tim Frith said the occupants had been "exposed to some type of spilled chemical," which investigators have since determined to be an acid-based metal-cleaning solution.A hazardous materials crew was called in to manage the cleanup of the truck. The crew was in the process of moving containers out of the vehicle when they found the young girl's body covered in acid and wrapped in a plastic bag, police said.Barahona remains hospitalized at Columbia Hospital. Victor is hospitalized in the intensive care unit at St. Mary's Medical Center.The boy is suffering from severe burns to his abdomen, upper thighs and buttocks. During an examination, medical staff also discovered prior injuries, including a fractured clavicle, a fractured arm, scarring to his buttocks and lower abdomen, and ligature markings to both wrists, police said.Police said Victor's injuries are not consistent with Barahona's story."Jorge incurred no obvious burns to his person unlike injuries suffered by [Victor]," the affidavit states. "When confronted about the severity of [Victor's] injuries, Jorge explained some of the gasoline must have splattered on [Victor]. Jorge's account of events is inconsistent with [Victor's] injuries."The boy is being kept in a hyperbaric chamber. According to The Associated Press , he has stopped urinating and doctors are having a difficult time treating him because they do not know what kind of chemical agent caused his injuries.Meanwhile, child welfare officials are investigating Barahona and his wife, Carmen Barahona."We are in the preliminary stages of a very tragic, complex case, and DCF will be working with all our community partners," Florida Department of Children and Families spokesman Mark Riordan told the AP.The Barahonas married in 1996 and reportedly operated CJ's Pest Exterminator Inc. out of their home. Records obtained by The Palm Beach Post show neither had a criminal record in Florida. They reportedly adopted four children, ages 7 to 11, with special needs from foster care.DCF has investigated the Barahonas on three other occasions in the past several years. The previous cases were closed with "some or no indicators of abuse or neglect," the AP reported. According to The Miami Herald , the most recent investigation began on Thursday, four days before Barahona was found on the side of the interstate. The agency reportedly received information from a teacher that Nubia and Victor were being bound by their hands and feet and made to stand in the bathtub, the newspaper reported.Investigators tried to locate the children, but Carmen Barahona told them that she was separated from her husband and that he had custody of them. A report issued later, however, "implicated" Carmen Barahona in Nubia's disappearance, the Herald reported.DCF took custody of the two other children on Tuesday. A hearing will be held sometime today to determine whether they will be sent to foster care. ||||| (CNN) -- A Florida exterminator and father of four children adopted from Florida's foster care system has told police that a body found in the pest-control truck he was driving is one of them -- his 10-year-old daughter, authorities said Wednesday.

 Jorge Barahona, 53, already faces a charge of aggravated child abuse for injuries to the dead girl's twin, Victor, who was also found in the truck, which was parked on the side of I-95 near West Palm Beach, Florida, officials said.

 According to a probable-cause affidavit filed by the West Palm Beach Police Department, a roadside assistance ranger with the Florida Department of Transportation stopped to check the red Toyota pickup Monday around 5:30 a.m. and found the 10-year-old boy inside next to an open gas can.

 The boy "appeared to be in respiratory distress and (was) trembling" and his clothing "was soaked with an unknown chemical," the affidavit said.

 The ranger then found Barahona on the ground beside the truck and called for help.

 The boy was hospitalized in intensive care with severe burns to his abdomen, upper thighs and buttocks, the affidavit said. While examining the boy, doctors noted he had sustained previous injuries, including a broken collarbone, a broken arm, scarring to his buttocks and lower abdomen, and ligature marks on both wrists, police said.

 After Barahona and his son were taken to a hospital, a worker decontaminating the truck discovered the body of the girl, wrapped in a plastic bag, the document said.

 Barahona told police he was distraught over the death of his daughter, and had intended to commit suicide by dousing himself with gasoline and setting himself afire, the affidavit said. Barahona said he didn't go through with his suicide plan because his son was with him, the document added.

 "Basically, to paraphrase, he was stating that he placed his daughter in a plastic bag being distraught over her death," West Palm Beach Police Spokesman Chase Scott told reporters. "He drove here from South Florida accompanied by his son, Victor. He then pulled off to the side of the road saying that he poured gas on his self, intending to light himself on fire. His son's head was in his lap and he decided, after giving his son some sleeping pills, that he wasn't going to do that."

 Barahona told police that he doused himself with gasoline and inadvertently got some on the boy, Police Capt. Mary Olsen said.

 But, she added, the man's story doesn't add up -- there was no gasoline on the boy. Instead, he was covered with another chemical whose composition had yet to be determined. "That's why we're still treating this as a hazmat (hazardous materials case)," she said.

 Scott said the chemicals were so potent that staff caring for the boy at the hospital became ill as well, he said.

 Victor, who was transferred Wednesday morning to a specialized burn unit at Miami's Jackson Memorial Hospital, has not been able to talk to investigators because he is on a breathing tube, she said.

 Olsen said police would decide how to charge Barahona further once the autopsy on his daughter determines her cause of death.

 Asked whether Barahona has expressed remorse, she said, "He feels remorse, but we're not getting consistent statements with what we're seeing in our evidence." She added, "It's a complex case."

 At a hearing Wednesday in Miami attended by Barahona's wife, Carmen, a judge ordered that the remaining two children in the home be placed in foster care.

 Florida's Department of Children and Families had opened a child protection investigation within the past few days to look into a complaint involving the Barahona family, and it wasn't the first such complaint, spokesman Mark Riordan said.

 Reporters in the courtroom Wednesday heard tales of abuse, mainly concerning the twins, from state officials and experts. The caller to the child protection hotline in the latest case reported that the twins were routinely locked in a bathroom for long periods of time and had been bound with tape, the court heard. The story was corroborated by interviews with the other two children in the home, officials said in court.

 An investigator told the court that she had showed up last Friday night at the family's home but had not seen the children. Instead, she said, she had left the family's house after speaking with Carmen Barahona, planning to return on Monday. Asked why she had not planned to return sooner, she said, "I'm not allowed to do investigations on a weekend."

 However, a spokesman for the department, John Harrell, said it is the job of investigators to follow through immediately or refer to someone else in the department to follow through when a matter is urgent.

 CNN's Kim Segal, Shawn Nottingham and John Zarrella contributed to this report |||||
What is a one-paragraph summary of the above article?

– It's one of the more horrific allegations of a child abuse to come along for some time: Florida police found the corpse of a 10-year-old girl, covered in acid, in the back of her adopted father's truck. Her twin brother was in the front seat, nearly overcome by toxic fumes, and is recovering in intensive care from previous injuries including a broken arm and collar bone. Their adopted father, 53-year-old Jorge Barahona, was found outside the truck and has been charged with aggravated child abuse for now, reports CNN. The story coming together suggests the twins were adopted by Jorge and his wife and subjected to systemic abuse, including being bound by their hands and feet and forced to stay in the bathroom, reports the Miami Herald. State authorities had two previous reports of something amiss, including one on Feb. 10, but took no action against the parents. A heart-wrenching detail from the Herald: An investigation finally began when the couple's biological granddaughter told her therapist she wanted to break open her piggy bank to help the twins escape. Click for more.