– The Supreme Court has denied Virginia’s request to fast-track the state’s case against the health care law, MSNBC reports. Virginia’s attorney general had sought to take the case—which calls the law’s requirement that almost all Americans purchase health care unconstitutional—straight to the high court, a legal move that's hardly ever allowed. The decision means that the Virginia case, one of several against the law, will keep progressing through US appeals courts. AG Ken Cuccinelli said he asked for speedy review to end "crippling and costly uncertainty" about the law. The matter is likely to reach the Supreme Court by early summer 2012, reports the AP. MSNBC notes that when it does, all nine justices are set to hear it, despite efforts by conservative groups to remove Elena Kagan from the mix. The groups held that she should recuse herself because she’d been involved in the matter as solicitor general. She apparently took part in the court's order today, as there was no announcement that any justice sat out.

Expand this summary.

The Supreme Court rejected a call Monday from Virginia's attorney general to depart from its usual practice and put review of the health care law on a fast track. Instead, judicial review of President Barack Obama's signature legislation will continue in federal appeals courts.

 The justices turned down a request by Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, a leading opponent of the law, to resolve questions about its constitutionality quickly. The Obama administration opposed Cuccinelli's plea.

 Only rarely, in wartime or a constitutional crisis, does the court step into a legal fight before the issues are aired in appellate courts. Hearings already are scheduled in May and June in three appeals courts.

 The case still could reach the high court in time for a decision by early summer 2012.

 Cuccinelli said he asked for speedy review to end "crippling and costly uncertainty" about the law.

 "Expediting our case would have been the exception and so, although disappointing, this is not surprising," he said.

 Justice Elena Kagan apparently took part in the court's order Monday, as there was no announcement that any justice sat out. There had been questions about whether she would participate because she served as Obama's solicitor general when the law was passed. Kagan indicated in Senate testimony last year that she played no role in the administration's planning and handling of challenges to the law.

 So far, five federal judges have ruled on challenges to the law. Two Republican appointees, in Florida and Virginia, have declared it unconstitutional in whole or in part. Three Democratic appointees, in Michigan, Virginia and Washington, D.C., have upheld it.

 Cuccinelli filed suit on behalf of Virginia, while 26 states joined in a separate lawsuit in Florida claiming that Congress exceeded its authority in requiring citizens to buy health insurance or pay a penalty starting in 2014.

 In December, U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson in Richmond declared that the individual mandate, the heart of the sweeping legislation, is unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson of Florida came to the same conclusion in January in striking down the law in its entirety.

 Both rulings have been put on hold pending appeals.

 In the meantime, the federal and state governments have begun to put in place other parts of the law, including changes in payment rates under the Medicare system for older and disabled Americans and a provision allowing children up to age 26 to remain on the parents' health insurance policies. ||||| From NBC's Pete Williams

 The Supreme Court has rejected a request from the state of Virginia to take up a challenge to the Obama health care law on a fast track.

 Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli asked the court to let the state bypass the normal federal appeals process and take the case directly to the justices. While the court's rules allow for this, such a rapid review is granted only very rarely. The Justice Department opposed the request to put the case on a fast track.

 The court's decision means the issue will continue working its way through the federal appeals courts. Several cases are pending, including challenges to the law from Virginia, Florida, and 25 other states.

 They claim that the centerpiece of the law -- requiring virtually all Americans to buy health insurance -- is unconstitutional. Two federal judges, in Virginia and Florida, have agreed with the states.

 Three other judges, also in Virginia and in Michigan and Washington, DC, have found the law constitutional.

 The cases are moving quickly through the appeals courts. The two Virginia cases will be heard by the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals on May 10th. The Michigan case will be heard by the 6th Circuit on June 1st, and the case from Florida, with the challenges from over half the states, will be argued before the 11th Circuit appeals court on June 8th.

 *** UPDATE *** In today's brief one-sentence order rejecting the Virginia request, there's no indication that any justices were recused.

 When the issue reaches the Supreme Court, as it is expected to during the term that starts in the fall, it appears that all nine justices will hear it. (Some conservative groups were calling on Elena Kagan to bow out, claiming she was involved in some early calls when she was solicitor general about who in her office should handle the issue.)

 *** UPDATE II *** In a staetment, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell said he is "disappointed" that the case will not be expedited.

 "The court's refusal to hear this case now will force states and businesses to incur increased costs and expend significant effort to begin preparations necessary to ensure compliance with this law, which ultimately may be ruled unconstitutional," he said. |||||


Write an article based on this summary:

– As though Jared Lee Loughner didn’t already seem crazy enough, a strange shrine complete with a replica of a human skull has been found in his backyard. Inside a camouflage tent, Loughner has a small altar, atop which sits a pot filled with shriveled oranges, the skull replica, a row of candles, and a bag of potting soil, the New York Daily News reports. Experts tell the paper that the objects are common to many occult ceremonies. Loughner was obsessed with lucid dreaming, the process of attempting to consciously control one’s dreams, one friend tells Mother Jones. “I saw his dream journal once. That’s the golden piece of evidence,” he says. “You want to know what goes on in Jared Loughner’s mind, there’s a dream journal that will tell you everything.” He also says that Loughner had been obsessed with Giffords ever since she failed to answer his question at a campaign event. “The question was, ‘What is government if words have no meaning?’ … I told him, ‘Dude, no one’s going to answer that.’”

Gabrielle Giffords shooting: Frightening, twisted shrine in Arizona killer Jared Lee Loughner's yard

 DAILY NEWS EXCLUSIVE Miniature altar with human skull replica in backyard tent at Jared Lee Loughner's home.

 DAILY NEWS EXCLUSIVE Tent containing shrine in Jared Lee Loughner's Tucson backyard. FOR MORE PHOTOS OF LOUGHNER'S HOUSE AND THE SCENE OF THE SHOOTING, CLICK THE ABOVE IMAGE. Take Our Poll Gun Control in the U.S. What do you think of current gun laws in the United States? Current laws are too strict. Any infringement upon gun owners' rights is an infringement upon the 2nd amendment. Current laws are not strict enough. We need to regulate access to deadly weapons. Not sure. Related News Articles

 Giffords' husband blames inflammatory rhetoric for shooting

 Bystanders help subdue Arizona killer

 A sinister shrine reveals a chilling occult dimension in the mind of the deranged gunman accused of shooting a member of Congress and 19 others.

 Hidden within a camouflage tent behind Jared Lee Loughner's home sits an alarming altar with a skull sitting atop a pot filled with shriveled oranges.

 A row of ceremonial candles and a bag of potting soil lay nearby, photos reveal.

 Experts on Sunday said the elements are featured in the ceremonies of a number of occult groups.

 Investigators have focused on Loughner's online anti-government ramblings as the chief motivation for the shooting Saturday of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.).

 The discovery of the shrine raises the possibility that Loughner, 22, may have been driven by other forces. Students and faculty at Pima Community College, which he attended until his suspension last summer, said Loughner was clearly at odds with the world.

 CLICK HERE FOR MORE PHOTOS OF JARED LEE LOUGHNER'S HOUSE, THE SCENE OF THE TUSCON SHOOTING AND THE VICTIMS....

 "He was one of the last kids tocome in, and he sat down and almost immediately started laughing to himself in a way that was just kind of creepy," a classmate, Alex Kotonias, 20, told USA Today.

 "As soon as the teacher started going over the syllabus, he had this outburst out of nowhere, didn't even raise his hand, and started asking the teacher some sort of weird questions about whether he believed in mind control."

 Adjunct Prof. Ben McGahee, 28, worried about violence. "I remember going home and thinking to myself, 'Is he going to bring a weapon to class?'" he told USA Today.

 Lynda Sorenson, 52, who was in McGahee's basic algebra class with Loughner, expressed similar fears in emails to friends, The Washington Post reports.

 Inside Jared Lee Loughner's home (DAILY NEWS EXCLUSIVE).

 Adjunct Prof. Ben McGahee, 28, worried about violence. "I remember going home and thinking to myself, 'Is he going to bring a weapon to class?'" he told USA Today.

 Lynda Sorenson, 52, who was in McGahee's basic algebra class with Loughner, expressed similar fears in emails to friends, The Washington Post reports.

 On June 14, she wrote: "We have a mentally unstable person in the class that scares the living crap out of me. He is one of those whose picture you see on the news, after he has come into class with an automatic weapon. Everyone interviewed would say, 'Yeah, he was in my math class and he was really weird.' I sit by the door with my purse handy."

 In September, college officials sent campus police officers to Loughner's home, where he lives with his parents, with a letter informing him he could not return without a mental health professional's written assurance that hispresence at college would "notpresent a danger to himself or others."

 "It was obvious to everyone that Jared wasn't a normal guy,"said neighbor Anthony Woods, 19.

 Loughner worked as a volunteer at the Pima Animal Care Center, where he walked dogs and cleaned cages. "He loved animals and was a good worker," said another volunteer.

 Loughner had once tried to join the military but was deemed unsuitable, officials said.

 mlysiak@nydailynews.com ||||| Looking for news you can trust?

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 At 2:00 a.m. on Saturday—about eight hours before he allegedly killed six people and wounded 14, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), in Tucson—Jared Lee Loughner phoned an old and close friend with whom he had gone to high school and college. The friend, Bryce Tierney, was up late watching TV, but he didn’t answer the call. When he later checked his voice mail, he heard a simple message from Loughner: “Hey man, it’s Jared. Me and you had good times. Peace out. Later.”

 That was it. But later in the day, when Tierney first heard about the Tucson massacre, he had a sickening feeling: “They hadn’t released the name, but I said, ‘Holy shit, I think it’s Jared that did it.'” Tierney tells Mother Jones in an exclusive interview that Loughner held a years-long grudge against Giffords and had repeatedly derided her as a “fake.” Loughner’s animus toward Giffords intensified after he attended one of her campaign events and she did not, in his view, sufficiently answer a question he had posed, Tierney says. He also describes Loughner as being obsessed with “lucid dreaming”—that is, the idea that conscious dreams are an alternative reality that a person can inhabit and control—and says Loughner became “more interested in this world than our reality.” Tierney adds, “I saw his dream journal once. That’s the golden piece of evidence. You want to know what goes on in Jared Loughner’s mind, there’s a dream journal that will tell you everything.”

 On Sunday, federal prosecutors charged 22-year-old Loughner with one count of attempting to assassinate a member of Congress, two counts of unlawfully killing a federal employee, and two counts of attempting to kill a federal employee. Giffords was the target of Loughner’s rampage, prosecutors say, and the sworn affidavit accompanying the charges mentions that Loughner attended a Giffords “Congress in Your Corner” event in 2007. The affidavit also mentions that police searching a safe in Loughner’s home found a letter from Giffords’ office thanking the alleged shooter for attending an August 25, 2007 event.*

 Tierney, who’s also 22, recalls Loughner complaining about a Giffords event he attended during that period. He’s unsure whether it was the same one mentioned in the charges—Loughner “might have gone to some other rallies,” he says—but Tierney notes it was a significant moment for Loughner: “He told me that she opened up the floor for questions and he asked a question. The question was, ‘What is government if words have no meaning?'”

 “He said, ‘Can you believe it, they wouldn’t answer my question.’ Ever since that, he thought she was fake, he had something against her.”

 Giffords’ answer, whatever it was, didn’t satisfy Loughner. “He said, ‘Can you believe it, they wouldn’t answer my question,’ and I told him, ‘Dude, no one’s going to answer that,'” Tierney recalls. “Ever since that, he thought she was fake, he had something against her.”

 Tierney says he has “no clue” why Loughner might have “shot all those other people.” But, he notes, “when I heard Gabrielle Giffords has been shot, I was like ‘Oh my God…’ For some reason I felt like I knew…I felt like if anyone was going to shoot her, it would be Jared.”

 Loughner would occasionally mention Giffords, according to Tierney: “It wasn’t a day-in, day-out thing, but maybe once in a while, if Giffords did something that was ridiculous or passed some stupid law or did something stupid, he related that to people. But the thing I remember most is just that question. I don’t remember him stalking her or anything.” Tierney notes that Loughner did not display any specific political or ideological bent: “It wasn’t like he was in a certain party or went to rallies…It’s not like he’d go on political rants.” But Loughner did, according to Tierney, believe that government is “fucking us over.” He never heard Loughner vent about the perils of “currency,” as Loughner did on one YouTube video he created.

 Tierney, who first met Loughner in middle school, recalls that Loughner started to act strange around his junior or senior year of high school. Before that, Loughner was just a “normal kid,” says Tierney. When the two friends started hanging out in sophomore year of high school, “there was nothing really dark about Jared,” Tierney says. “He was playing drums, doing band things, playing sax. He was raised on writing and reading music.” Loughner also did a lot of creative writing in his high school days, Tierney says, and he used to carry around a copy of a short story he wrote involving a character named Angel; he’d ask people if they would like to read it. “It had a lot of hidden metaphors in it,” Tierney says.

 As Loughner and Tierney grew closer, Tierney got used to spending the first ten minutes or so of every day together arguing with Loughner’s “nihilist” view of the world. “By the time he was 19 or 20, he was really fascinated with semantics and how the world is really nothing—illusion,” Tierney says.

 Loughner would tell Tierney and his friends that life “means nothing.”

 Once, Tierney recalls, Loughner told him, “I’m pretty sure I’ve come to the conclusion that words mean nothing.” Loughner would also tell Tierney and his friends that life “means nothing,” and they’d reply, “If it means nothing, what you’re saying means nothing.” Other times, Tierney says, Loughner acted like any teen: “We’d go to concerts, play music, get into trouble.”

 Tierney believes that Loughner was very interested in pushing people’s buttons—and that may have been why he listed Hitler’s Mein Kampf as one of his favorite books on his YouTube page. (Loughner’s mom is Jewish, according to Tierney.**) Loughner sometimes approached strangers and would say “weird” things, Tierney recalls. “He would do it because he thought people were below him and he knew they wouldn’t know what he was talking about.”

 In college, Loughner became increasingly intrigued with “lucid dreaming,” and he grew convinced that he could control his dreams, according to Tierney. In a series of rambling videos posted to his YouTube page, dreams are a frequent topic. In a video posted on December 15, Loughner writes, “My favorite activity is conscience dreaming: the greatest inspiration for my political business information. Some of you don’t dream—sadly.” In another video, he writes, “The population of dreamers in the United States of America is less than 5%!” Later in the same video he says, “I’m a sleepwalker—who turns off the alarm clock.”

 “When you realize you’re dreaming, you can do anything, you can create anything.”

 Loughner believed that dreams could be a sort of alternative, Matrix-style reality, and “that when you realize you’re dreaming, you can do anything, you can create anything,” Tierney says. Loughner started his “dream journal” in an attempt to take more control of his dreams, his friend notes, and he kept this journal for over a year.

 In October 2008, Tierney was living in Phoenix, and Loughner came to visit. They went to see a Mars Volta concert with friends, and Tierney was surprised when Loughner said he had quit partying “completely.” Loughner, according to Tierney, said, “I’m going to lead a more healthy lifestyle, not smoke cigarettes or pot anymore, and I’m going to start working out.” Tierney was happy for his friend: “I said, ‘Dude, that’s awesome.’ And the next time I saw him he was 10 pounds lighter.” Tierney never saw Loughner smoke marijuana again, and he was surprised at media reports that Loughner had been rejected from the military in 2009 for failing a drug test: “He was clean, clean. I saw him after that continuously. He would not do it.”

 After Loughner apparently gave up drugs and booze, “his theories got worse,” Tierney says. “After he quit, he was just off the wall.” And Loughner started to drift away from his group of friends about a year ago. By early 2010, dreaming had become Loughner’s “waking life, his reality,” Tierney says. “He sort of drifted off, didn’t really care about hanging out with friends. He’d be sleeping a lot.” Loughner’s alternate reality was attractive, Tierney says. “He figured out he could fly.” Loughner, according to Tierney, told his friends, “I’m so into it because I can create things and fly. I’m everything I’m not in this world.”

 “He figured out he could fly.”

 But in this world, Loughner seemed ticked off by what he believed to be a pervasive authoritarianism. “The government is implying mind control and brainwash on the people by controlling grammar,” he wrote in one YouTube video. In another, Loughner complains that when he tried to join the military, he was handed a “mini-Bible.” That upset him: “I didn’t write a belief on my Army application and the recruiter wrote on the application: None,” he wrote on YouTube. In messages on MySpace last month, Loughner declared, “I’ll see you on National T.v.! This is foreshadow.” He also noted on the website, “I don’t feel good: I’m ready to kill a police officer! I can say it.”

 One of the last times Loughner and Tierney saw each other, a mutual friend had recently purchased a .22-caliber rifle. Until then, Loughner had never shown much interest in guns, Tierney says. “My friend had just gotten a .22, and Jared kept saying we should go shooting together.” But Tierney and the friend who had bought the .22 demurred. “We were sketched out,” Tierney says, “and we were like, ‘I don’t think Jared’s a good person to go shooting with.'” That was in February or March 2010. After that, Tierney didn’t hear much from Loughner.

 Since hearing of the rampage, Tierney has been trying to figure out why Loughner did what he allegedly did. “More chaos, maybe,” he says. “I think the reason he did it was mainly to just promote chaos. He wanted the media to freak out about this whole thing. He wanted exactly what’s happening. He wants all of that.” Tierney thinks that Loughner’s mindset was like the Joker in the most recent Batman movie: “He fucks things up to fuck shit up, there’s no rhyme or reason, he wants to watch the world burn. He probably wanted to take everyone out of their monotonous lives: ‘Another Saturday, going to go get groceries’—to take people out of these norms that he thought society had trapped us in.”

 Tierney dwells on the phone call he missed early Saturday morning. But it was late, and the TV show Tierney was watching was creeping him out. So he didn’t pick up. “I sort of wish I would have,” he says. “I wonder what would have happened if I answered it.”

 *This sentence has been corrected to reflect that August 30, 2007 was the date of the letter, not the date of the event itself. The event was on August 25.

 **Tierney says Loughner’s mom is Jewish. But a columnist who researched the subject doesn’t think that holds up. Tierney also said that Loughner himself was definitely not religious.

 MoJo’s full coverage of the shooting and its aftermath is here. |||||


Write a summary based on this article:

“This is not the kind of tourism we should be encouraging in Scotland, let alone allowing to happen in the 21st century.”

 A 2015 report shows that country sports tourism in Scotland brings in 155 million pounds, or almost $200 million, to the economy every year, according to the Scottish Country Sports Tourism Group.

 But hunting, or rather the display of animal trophies, has become a reviled activity in some corners of social media, as well-heeled individuals, including the older sons of President Trump, proudly display their trophies for the world to see on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

 The killing of Cecil the lion by an American dentist, Dr. Walter J. Palmer, in Zimbabwe in 2015 set off an international outcry and drew new scrutiny to the practice of paying to kill big game. Two years later, the lion’s son Xanda was killed in a trophy hunt near the same park.

 Since then, photographs of hunters posing triumphantly with the bodies of animals such as giraffes and a family of baboons have stirred global condemnation. In the latter case, the Idaho fish and game commissioner seen grinning with an array of carcasses from an African hunting trip resigned.

 While many defenders of hunting see it as an honorable, skilled and bonding experience, others denounce it as unnecessary waste in the modern age and detrimental to the environment and to the animals who roam in the wild. But the issue is more complex than a clash of cultures.

 Some countries like Zimbabwe encourage big-game hunting as a source of income, and others allow the activity to keep down herd populations through managed hunting trips and as a way to pay for the upkeep of game reserves. ||||| An American media personality and avid hunter caused an uproar after killing wild goats in Scotland and posing with their carcasses.

 Larysa Switlyk, who hosts the online hunting show "Larysa Unleashed," received a barrage of tweets after she shared a number of photos from a recent hunting trip in Islay, Scotland. One photo shows Switlyk holding up the head of a wild goat she shot. "We hunted hard for a big one for 2 days and finally got on this group. Made a perfect 200 yard shot," she wrote. A second photo showed one of her hunting partners with another dead wild goat.

 Several Twitter users said the photos Switlyk shared were "disgraceful" and "sickening." Some Twitter users tagged Scottish legislators, receiving responses from the first minister and secretary for environment.

 “A unique hunt?”

 Disgraceful. It’s a goat. And it’s in Scotland. On a beautiful island. Stop this pls @scotgov. 🤬 https://t.co/7UE7QYSW94 — judy murray (@JudyMurray) October 24, 2018

 "Totally understandable why the images from Islay of dead animals being held up as trophies is so upsetting and offensive to people. @scotgov will review the current situation and consider whether changes to the law are required," First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted.

 Others defended Switlyk, arguing that hunting serves as population control for wild goats, which don't have any other natural predators on the island of Islay.

 For the pig ignorant. Estates offer wild goat hunting, as with deer. As man is the only predator for both species, this is essential for herd management, population control and thus preventing environmental damage caused through overgrazing. https://t.co/IgnFNPiOLj — Geoff the Goat (@Ronniesoak) October 24, 2018

 Both Sturgeon and Secretary for Environment Roseanna Cunningham said hunting wild animals such as deer and goats is not illegal, but they understood the concerns raised by the images. Cunningham said she will review the laws and consider if changes should be made.

 In response to concerns about the goat hunt on Islay: pic.twitter.com/HfA3pconIt — Roseanna Cunningham 🏴🇪🇺 (@strathearnrose) October 24, 2018

 Totally understandable why the images from Islay of dead animals being held up as trophies is so upsetting and offensive to people. @scotgov will review the current situation and consider whether changes to the law are required. https://t.co/SIQxcEYBzR — Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) October 24, 2018

 Switlyk, a former accountant from California, responded to the backlash on Instagram. She shared a photo of a small plane, writing she was on the way to her next hunting adventure and will be without service for two weeks. "Nothing better than disconnecting from this social media driven world and connecting back with nature," she wrote. "Hopefully that will give enough time for all the ignorant people out there sending me death threats to get educated on hunting and conservation."

 "FYI, I was in Scotland over a month ago," Switlyk added. Some critics took umbrage with this post as well. "How does "connect with nature" relate to killing it? Unbelievable," one Twitter user wrote. "Hope you're 'out of service' for a lot longer than that!! You clearly haven't got the hint from Twitter today have you???" said another. ||||| Beautiful wild goat here on the Island of Islay in Scotland. Such a fun hunt!! They live on the edge of the cliffs of the island and know how to hide well. We hunted hard for a big one for 2 days and finally got on this group. Made a perfect 200 yard s… https://ift.tt/2NWIGsw pic.twitter.com/x2FzvTF7No |||||

– It's a predictable cycle: A hunter posts a photo of themselves beaming over the carcass of a fresh kill only to become the target of international condemnation (like this, this, and this, to recall a few). This time, the ire-inducing image shows American Larysa Switlyk, host of Larysa Unleashed on the Wild Television Network, posing with a goat she'd just shot on Scotland's Island of Islay, the New York Times reports. "Such a fun hunt!!," Switlyk writes in the Twitter post. "Hunted hard for a big one for 2 days." Additional photos posted to Switlyk's Twitter account show hunters posing with other dead animals. Sarah Moyes, spokeswoman for animal advocacy group OneKind calls the photos "utterly shocking," saying, "This is not the kind of tourism we should be encouraging in Scotland, let alone allowing to happen in the 21st century." Some commenters on social media are more blunt about their displeasure, including "So basically you enjoy killing things? Scary but sad." Others are speaking up to support Switlyk, with one saying, "What’s the problem with going and hunting a goat … and using all parts of the goat, it's quite beautiful." Still others say that hunts are an important part of keeping animal populations in check. Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Environment Secretary Roseanna Cunningham both acknowledge that the images may be disturbing, but say that hunting wild animals is not illegal, ABC reports, with Cunningham saying she will review the laws. As for Switlyk, she posted on Instagram that she's heading back into the wild for two weeks, "Hopefully that will give enough time for all the ignorant people sending me death threats to get educated on hunting and conservation."


Summarize this article:

A New Jersey housewife claims retailer Century 21 ripped her off for 80 cents — and she’s making a $5 million federal case of it.

 Tova Gerson, a 32-year-old Bergenfield mom of four, yesterday filed the lawsuit, claiming the department store “unjustly enriched” itself and ripped off customers with a coupon-fraud “scheme.”

 In Manhattan federal court papers, Gerson claims she used a coupon, good for $5 off a $50-or-

 more purchase during a Jan. 10 shopping spree at Century 21’s Paramus, NJ, store.

 Gerson plunked down a total of $106.82, before tax, for items that included faux-suede moccasins, a child’s dress, stuffed toy and little girls’ lace tights, underwear and T-shirts, according to the filing.

 But then, on Jan. 19, Gerson returned a $17.97 kid’s ensemble, claiming it was the wrong color, the filing states. Century 21 refunded her money — minus the 80 cents she’d saved, on a pro-rated basis, by using the discount coupon.

 Gerson, a hat designer who sells her creations from her suburban home, flipped her lid.

 Century 21’s take-back, she claims, deprived her of the “full benefit” of the $5-off coupon.

 Gerson argued that if she’d known she’d lose coupon credit on returned items, she would have purchased them separately.

 The class-action suit, which names no other plaintiffs, seeks at least $5 million, and contends that “hundreds or thousands” of other shoppers could also be hurt by the store’s “fraudulent . . . [and] misleading” promotion.

 The store did not immediately return a call for comment.

 Gerson’s suit was filed by her lawyer dad, Harry Katz, who has a history of going after retailers in federal court.

 Dick’s Sporting Goods, Casual Male and The Children’s Place are among those sued by Katz over alleged coupon “schemes.” Those suits were either dismissed or settled.

 Asked for comment at her home yesterday, Gerson said, “No, thank you.”

 Additional reporting by Perry Chiaramonte

 jeane.macintosh@nypost.com

  ||||| Mom sues Century 21 for 80 cents, argues department store ripped her off

 Lono for News Tova Gerson says Century 21 ripped her off when she returned an item using a coupon.

 Take our Poll To Sue or Not to Sue Is Gerson's lawsuit frivolous? Yes, it's clearly little more than a publicity stunt. No, Century 21 owes her money. It doesn't matter that it's only 80 cents. I'm not sure.

 A coupon-clipping New Jersey mom insists Century 21 short-changed her and is suing the famed department store to recoup a grand total of...80 cents.

 That's right, 80 cents.

 Tova Gerson claims in court papers that she used a $5 coupon when she bought more than $100 worth of stuff last month at the chain's Paramus, N.J., store.

 When she returned one item a week later, Gerson claims she got back $17.17 instead of the $17.97 she had been expecting because the coupon had been pro-rated over all the goods she purchased.

 So she hired a New York lawyer and tried to up the ante by filing a class action lawsuit on Feb. 10 for damages.

 Gerson has "been injured as a result of defendant's fraudulent conduct," the lawsuit states.

 Reached at her suburban home in Bergenfield, N.J., Gerson refused to answer any questions about the case.

 "It's not a good time," she said, accompanied by a pair of kids. "I'm a mom. It's not a good time."

 Told there was going to be an article about the suit, Gerson said, "I'd really rather you didn't."

 Gerson's lawyer, Harry Katz in Fresh Meadows, Queens, did not return repeated calls to his office.

 There was also no comment from Century 21's legal team.

 Katz and Gerson, who records suggest are related, teamed up before to launch a similar lawsuit in December 2008 against the Modell's sporting goods chain.

 In that case, Gerson bought more than $100 worth of gear using a $25 coupon and complained "the consumer lost the full benefit" of the coupon if they returned "some or all items."

 It was not immediately clear what happened to that suit - or whether Gerson was getting any other disgruntled consumers to go after Modell's.

 In the Century 21 case, Gerson claims she bought $108.16 from the store on Jan. 10.

 Included in the court papers are a copy of a receipt for purchases of tights, leggings, "faux suede" moccasins and other items. It says Gerson paid cash and got the $5 off.

 On Jan. 19, Gerson returned a pink, two-piece, infant girl's outfit citing "incorrect size," according a copy of another receipt.

 "By pro-rating the $5.00, the plaintiff lost the amount of $0.80 she would have been entitled to as part of a coupon she used," the lawsuit states.

 csiemaszko@nydailynews.com |||||

– A New Jersey mom is suing a department store for $5 million, claiming she got ripped off 80 cents over a coupon, reports the New York Post. Tova Gerson used the $5 coupon to buy more than $100 worth of merchandise from Century 21, then returned one item. The store refunded her money, minus 80 cents from the pro-rated coupon. Gerson's lawsuit, filed by her lawyer-dad Harry Katz, says the store "unjustly enriched" itself with a coupon "scheme." The Daily News notes that the pair has tried this tack before, suing Modell's sporting goods chain over a $25 coupon and a subsequent return. It's not clear how that lawsuit got resolved. Reached for comment and told a newspaper article was being written, Gerson responded, "I'd really rather you didn't."


Here is a news article: LONDONDERRY, Vt. (AP) — Vermont State Police say a 5-year-old boy has died two days after his grandmother died while trying to save him from drowning.

 Authorities say Jaxon Lawrence was pronounced dead at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center Sunday.

 Police say Jaxon fell off a toy flotation device in the water of Lowell Lake in Londonderry on Friday. His 55-year-old grandmother, Julie Lawrence, tried to save him, but she also started to struggle.

 Rescuers and officers found Julie Lawrence and Jaxon unresponsive in the water and tried to resuscitate both. Julie Lawrence was pronounced dead at the scene.

 Jaxon's 9-year-old brother also tried to rescue him. Police say the boy swam for help and is in good health.

 ___

 This story has been corrected to show the spelling of the young victim's name is Jaxon, not Jackson. ||||| MILFORD, N.Y. (AP) — Authorities say a 3-year-old boy who went missing from a home in upstate New York has drowned in the Susquehanna River.

 New York State Police say the family reported Andrew Durkin missing a little before 3 p.m. Sunday from their seasonal residence in the Otsego County town of Milford, 60 miles (96 kilometers) southwest of Albany.

 State troopers and the Otsego County Sheriff's Office conducted a search, alongside firefighters, emergency responders and civilians.

 The boy was located by a state police underwater recovery team about 17 feet from a dock around 4:30 p.m. Troopers say resuscitation was attempted, but Andrew was later pronounced dead at a hospital.

 Police on Monday ruled his death an accidental drowning.

 Andrew, who has a twin brother, was from Gilboa in neighboring Delaware County.

 ___

 This story has been corrected to say that drowning was in the Susquehanna River, not a lake. |||||
A summary of this is?

– Vermont State Police say a 5-year-old boy has died two days after his grandmother died while trying to save him from drowning, the AP reports. Authorities say Jaxon Lawrence was pronounced dead at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center Sunday. Police say Jaxon fell off a toy flotation device in the water of Lowell Lake in Londonderry on Friday. His 55-year-old grandmother, Julie Lawrence, tried to save him, but she also started to struggle. Rescuers and officers found Julie Lawrence and Jaxon unresponsive in the water and tried to resuscitate both. Julie Lawrence was pronounced dead at the scene. Jaxon's 9-year-old brother also tried to rescue him. Police say the boy swam for help and is in good health. (In upstate New York, a 3-year-old boy went missing from his family's home Sunday afternoon and drowned in the Susquehanna River.)


Article:
Darmstadt, Germany, November 1, 2016 - Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, a leading science and technology company, and the American Cancer Society (ACS) today released a report that shows all four of the top causes of cancer deaths in women worldwide are mostly preventable or can often be detected early, when treatment is more successful. The report, titled "The Global Burden of Cancer in Women," is the first tangible output from an innovative partnership between Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, and the American Cancer Society focused on raising awareness and strengthening advocacy around women's cancers.

 "We are proud to partner with the American Cancer Society to address the impact cancer has on women worldwide," said Belén Garijo, member of the Executive Board and CEO Healthcare at Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. "This collaboration is a first-of-its-kind public-private partnership that recognizes that no one sector can tackle this challenge alone. Improving women's health and well-being has an uplifting ripple effect on our world, and we know when women do better, our communities do better."

 The research examines the increasing impact of cancer among women in low- and middle-income countries - and outlines potential solutions to minimize the economic and societal impact of the disease for women, their families and healthcare systems.

 Cancer is the second leading cause of death in women, with breast, colorectal, lung and cervical cancers claiming the most lives each year. With cancer rates on the rise as the global population grows and ages, the number of women who will lose their lives to cancer is expected to increase, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. In 2012, there were 3.5 million deaths among women due to cancer; by 2030, that number is expected to increase to 5.5 million deaths - a more than 57 percent increase in less than two decades. Increased education and prevention efforts will be essential to addressing this growing global health crisis.

 "It's incumbent upon both the public and private sectors, as members of the global health community, to find ways to reduce the impacts of cancer on women by increasing prevention and treatment, saving the lives of women across the globe," said Ambassador Sally Cowal, senior vice president, global cancer control at the American Cancer Society.

 In addition to the physical challenges women with cancer and their families experience, the burden of cancer also extends to the economy. The study found that in 2009, the global economic burden of cancer was estimated at about $286 billion, and much of that cost was due to premature death of members of the workforce. In the United States alone in 2008, years of productive life lost due to cancer in women corresponded to $82 billion, not to mention the many professional achievements that might have been realized.

 The report was released at the World Cancer Congress during a panel moderated by Ambassador Cowal. Other participants included HRH Princess Dina Mired of Jordan; Dr. Alise Reicin, Head of Global Clinical Development in the biopharma business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany; and Dr. Edward L. "Ted" Trimble, director, Center for Global Health at the National Cancer Institute.

 This partnership will also catalyse the evolution of the American Cancer Society's' All of Me Young Scholars program, which aims to educate and cultivate health and civil society professionals in Brazil, Mexico, Colombia and India to affect meaningful change in prevention and early detection of cancers among women in low- and middle-income countries.

 This report is part of the involvement of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, with the Healthy Women, Healthy Economies initiative, which explicitly links the issue of women's health and well-being with economic growth. The full "Global Burden of Cancer in Women" report is available http://www. cancer. org/ research/ cancerfactsstatistics/ global-burden-cancer-in-women .

 ###

 About the Healthy Women, Healthy Economies Initiative

 Merck KGaA, Darrmstadt, Germany, is a founding partner of the Healthy Women, Healthy Economies initiative, which brings together the evidence about women's health and well-being and its impact on economic growth with the best practices that governments, employers and non-governmental organizations can follow. It aims to identify and implement policies that advance women's health and well-being to increase their economic participation in the societies in which they live.

 About the American Cancer Society

 The American Cancer Society is a global grassroots force of more than three million volunteers saving lives and fighting for every birthday threatened by every cancer in every community. As the largest voluntary health organization, the Society's efforts have contributed to a 20 percent decline in cancer death rates in the U.S. since 1991, and a 50 percent drop in smoking rates. Thanks in part to our progress, nearly 14 million Americans who have had cancer and countless more who have avoided it will celebrate more birthdays this year. We're determined to finish the fight against cancer. We're finding cures as the nation's largest private, not-for-profit investor in cancer research, ensuring people facing cancer have the help they need and continuing the fight for access to quality health care, lifesaving screenings, clean air and more. For more information, to get help, or to join the fight, call us anytime, day or night, at 1-800-227-2345 or visit cancer.org

 About the American Cancer Society's All of Me Young Scholars Program

 The American Cancer Society's All of Me Young Scholars program aims to educate and cultivate young health and civil society professionals around the world to bring their energy, voice and new ideas to the new and growing field of integration of women's cancer prevention and early detection.

 About Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany

 All Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, press releases are distributed by e-mail at the same time they become available on the EMD Group Website. In case you are a resident of the USA or Canada please go to http://www. emdgroup. com/ subscribe to register again for your online subscription of this service as our newly introduced geo-targeting requires new links in the email. You may later change your selection or discontinue this service.

 Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, is a leading science and technology company in healthcare, life science and performance materials. Around 50,000 employees work to further develop technologies that improve and enhance life - from biopharmaceutical therapies to treat cancer or multiple sclerosis, cutting-edge systems for scientific research and production, to liquid crystals for smartphones and LCD televisions. In 2015, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, generated sales of € 12.85 billion in 66 countries.

 Founded in 1668, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, is the world's oldest pharmaceutical and chemical company. The founding family remains the majority owner of the publicly listed corporate group. Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, holds the global rights to the Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, name and brand. The only exceptions are the United States and Canada, where the company operates as EMD Serono, MilliporeSigma and EMD Performance Materials. ||||| By mid-day online correspondent | Posted 02-Nov-2016

 A latest report warned that cancer will kill nearly 5.5 million women by 2030. Amongst all forms of cancer responsible for this deadly cause, breast cancer seems to be the major one. An analysis conducted by the American Cancer Society released this report at the World Cancer Congress in Paris. The study suggested that as population will grow and age, the highest toll will be on women, especially those belonging to poor and middle income countries. Another report suggested that total number of women diagnosed with breast cancer can solely double up to 3.2 million a year by 2030 from 1.7 million in 2015.

 Though factors like postponing motherhood, inactivity and obesity are major causes of cancer, especially breast and cervical cancers, there are ways by which we can lower the risk of the disease occuring in different parts of the body. Here is what you need to do:

 1. Avoid tobacco: Female body is highly sensitive to tobacco and tobacco use is the sole greatest risk factor for cancer mortality globally. Though smoking is highly linked to lung cancer, it also leads to cancer of oesophagus, mouth, throat, kidney, bladder, pancreas, stomach and cervix.

 2. Participate in cancer screening tests: Women should undergo Papanicolaou (pap) smear tests to detect if they are suffering from cervical cancer. This form of cancer can be staved off by vaccination against the cancer causing human papillomavirus (HPV). Women aged between 50- 74 years should get a mammogram done in every two years. Women below this age group should consult doctors about when to start and how often to get a mammogram, a breast cancer screening test. Such cancer screening tests need be undertaken as per to recommended guidelines.

 3. Balanced and healthy diet: A healthy diet consisting of ample fruits and green vegetables are prerequisite for a healthy life. Cutting down on processed and canned food also lowers the risk of certain types of cancer.

 4. Exercise regularly: Regular physical activity cuts down the risk of obesity and types of cancers caused by obesity. Maintaining a healthy weight is necessary to stay fit and live long.

 5. Protect skin from the sun damage: This is important for preventing skin cancer. It is good to avoid midday sun and to use a sunscreen with sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 15 while going out.

 World Health Organisation (WHO) states that at least one-third of all cancer cases are preventable. A person himself/herself can reduce the risk of cancer to a great extent by adopting as well as maintaining a good lifestyle. |||||Summary:

– Two disturbing reports were issued this week on the cancer front, with one noting women will see a spike in cancer deaths over the next decade or so—5.5 million cancer deaths by the year 2030. The other report adds that women afflicted with breast cancer alone could nearly double from 1.7 million diagnosed last year to 3.2 million by 2030, the Guardian reports. The first report, compiled by Merck and the American Cancer Society and released at the World Cancer Congress in Paris on Tuesday, says the predicted surge in cancer deaths would amount to a 57% increase, per a press release. The same report notes all four top cancers—breast, lung, colorectal, and cervical—are mostly preventable or easily detected early on, aiding treatment. The second report, based on three papers in the Lancet, adds cervical cancer may rise by as much as 25% by 2030, leading to 700,000 diagnoses. That report also notes women in low- and middle-income countries carry much of the burden of breast and cervical cancers, with less access to quality care and a greater likelihood of dying from their illnesses than women in richer nations. Perhaps a bit ironically, some of the cancers in the lower-income countries used to be prevalent only in higher-income ones, but as the poorer countries started going through "rapid economic transition," the women there began experiencing risk factors like their more affluent counterparts, including "physical inactivity, unhealthy diet, obesity, and reproductive factors" like putting off having kids, per an ACS VP. "The global community cannot continue to ignore the problem—hundreds of thousands of women are dying unnecessarily every year," Richard Sullivan, co-author of the Lancet report, says in the release. (Good news on the pancreatic cancer front.)


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 After you enable cookies, please click here. ||||| Just Met Someone?

 A background check just makes good sense.

 Founded by law enforcement officials with over 60 years of experience, MyMatchChecker was created to help protect online daters from the multitude of scammers, identity thieves, sexual predators, felons and even worse. Wherever you are in your relationship, you should do a background check. ||||| Advertisement Continue reading the main story

 Never mind whether your date is smart or good-looking. How do you know you aren’t flirting with a felon?

 For a small fee, a nascent crop of companies wants to help you find out by running background checks on the potential flames you encounter on Match.com, eHarmony or any of the nation’s nearly 1,500 dating Web sites.

 At the same time, at least two states, New York and New Jersey, have begun regulating Internet dating sites, and legal experts say they believe changes to the liability laws that protect such sites are on the horizon.

 And you thought your mother was the only one who wanted to vet your love life.

 The focus on background screenings comes as some 20 million Americans are using dating sites, more than double the number five years ago, according to the market research firm IBISWorld. While they are finding casual dates and even love, they are also encountering married people pretending to be single or, worse, sexual predators and convicted felons.

 No one has put a number on how much violence stems from dating sites, according to groups that keep track of rape and other violent crimes, like the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics and the National Center for Victims of Crime.

 Yet plenty of crime stories begin with two people skimming each other’s online dating profiles. Consider the widely reported case of Jeffrey Marsalis, a serial rapist in Philadelphia who met his victims on Match.com.

 Such perils have been around since the dawn of the Internet, an ideal medium for complex cover-ups. But now that online dating is a billion-dollar industry, state officials, public safety advocates and enterprising businesses are calling for further safeguards.

 Whether it is possible, however, to effectively screen people and make sites more truthful is unclear. After all, members are not always honest about their age and weight.

 “What we want to do is provide some degree of safety,” said Robert Buchholz, a retired New York State Police captain who, with Andrew J. Scott, a former police chief in Boca Raton, Fla., founded MyMatchChecker.com, a Web site that went live in April, enabling people to request background checks on anyone they have met on a dating site.

 Mr. Buchholz and Mr. Scott, who each have more than 30 years of law enforcement experience, said that having daughters inspired them to try to make online dating safer. Their company offers a basic background search for $9.95.

 In addition to Web sites, a flurry of mobile phone apps aim to make background checks as quick and easy as ordering a pizza: Just plug in a couple of facts like a name and birth date. ValiMate, the creator of the Instant National Criminal Search app, even allows users to send the results of the check to a friend for added safety.

 Date Check, from Intelius, encourages users to “look up before you hook up.” The app is marketed to women who want to perform a background check on would-be Romeos “in the time it takes to redo your lip gloss.” (Industry professionals say that predators are usually men.)

 Advertisement Continue reading the main story

 Advertisement Continue reading the main story

 State officials are also pushing for safer Internet dating. A law that takes effect this month in New York State, the Internet Dating Safety Act, requires sites to post common-sense safety tips, like “meet in a public place.”

 Assemblywoman Audrey I. Pheffer, a sponsor of the Internet law, said that it grew out of her realization that online dating had become ubiquitous, even among people she “never dreamed” would pursue romance online.

 Some states have considered similar legislation but ultimately rejected it. New York’s law is like one passed in 2008 by New Jersey, which also requires dating sites with a membership fee to inform users whether they do criminal background checks (most do not).

 Such legislation was championed by True.com, one of the first major online dating companies to screen members to determine if they are married, felons or sexual offenders (about 2 percent of those who try to sign up are rejected, they said). Ruben Buell, the company’s president, said that the type of checks it conducted were inexpensive. “You’re talking pennies per check.”

 Still, most online dating companies question whether such checks can be effective. They contend that because state and county databases are incomplete, the checks give daters a false sense of security. Even advocates of criminal screenings concede that they are imperfect because the databases vary in quality and availability. Some counties, for instance, do not keep digital records. Others do not provide data about sex offenders.

 “If I really knew that there was great ability for us to not let anyone on the site that shouldn’t be on the site, I would do it,” said Mandy Ginsberg, the general manager and executive vice president of Match.com. Background checks, she said, might lead daters to think everyone they encounter on the sites is safe. (Ms. Pheffer said she originally wanted background checks but decided against them for the same reason.)

 Critics also point out that companies that conduct background screenings are not necessarily perfect. Some have mishandled information. Another concern involves mobile apps, which can provide personal information to people who may abuse it.

 Braden Cox, a policy counsel for NetChoice, a group that advocates for Internet companies, said that background screenings were well intentioned but that most could be thwarted.

 “Most people, thankfully, are good people on these Web sites,” said Mr. Cox, who speaks from experience: a few weeks ago he married a woman he met on Match.com.

 Dating sites have no incentive to police their members. The Communications Decency Act absolves Internet service providers of liability because the sites are not considered the publishers of the information on their pages — their members are. The reasoning is that sites would not be able to operate if they were responsible for everything posted by their users. Lawyers have tried to get around this law, but “they usually fail,” said Brian Carver, an assistant professor at the School of Information at the University of California, Berkeley. “Every start-up depends on this protection.”

 Parry Aftab, a lawyer and safety expert, says she is increasingly hearing about alarming cases involving online dating, like pedophiles who woo single mothers to get near their children. She expects there will be challenges to that immunity if sites accept money from members and have knowledge of criminal behavior.

 Meanwhile, she advises singles to be cautious. “Don’t give up your heart so fast,” she said. |||||
What is a one-paragraph summary of the above article?

– With 20 million Americans using online dating sites, how can you be sure that your prospective date isn't married? Or, say, a mass murderer? New online security services—such as MyMatchChecker.com, Date Check, and the Instant National Criminal Search—are offering background checks on people using the nearly 1,500 dating websites in the United States, reports the New York Times. New York and New Jersey are the first two states to offer some regulations on Internet dating sites, such as requiring sites to post safety tips and to say whether they require background checks of their members. Experts say that many more states will soon follow. Although some sites like True.com insist on background checks for all members, other dating sites say this is a false sense of security because criminal screening databases are imperfect. But with online dating a billion-dollar industry, increasingly government officials and public safety advocates are calling for better safeguards. Failing that, there's always a healthy sense of skepticism: “Don’t give up your heart so fast,” cautions one safety expert.


Article:
The Washington Post’s Philip Rucker explains how unusual it is that Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is withholding his endorsements of House Speaker Paul D. Ryan and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in their primary races. (Bastien Inzaurralde/The Washington Post)

 The Washington Post’s Philip Rucker explains how unusual it is that Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is withholding his endorsements of House Speaker Paul D. Ryan and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in their primary races. (Bastien Inzaurralde/The Washington Post)

 Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump escalated his war with his own party’s leadership Tuesday by refusing to endorse House Speaker Paul D. Ryan or Sen. John McCain, two of the GOP’s highest-ranking elected officials, in their primary campaigns.

 Trump’s comments — an extraordinary breach of political decorum that underscores the party’s deep divisions — came as President Obama delivered his sternest rebuke yet of the celebrity mogul candidate. Obama declared Trump “unfit to serve as president” and “woefully unprepared to do this job,” and he challenged Republican leaders to withdraw their support of their nominee.

 Obama punctuated his remarks, delivered at a Tuesday morning news conference, by explaining that he had never before felt compelled to so thoroughly denounce a political opponent. While he recalled disagreeing with McCain and Mitt Romney on policy issues in the 2008 and 2012 campaigns, Obama said that he never questioned their qualifications or their “basic decency,” and that he knew they would “abide by certain norms and rules and common sense. But that’s not the situation here.”

 [Obama: Trump is ‘unfit to serve as president’]

 In an interview with The Washington Post on Tuesday, Trump said he was not backing Ryan in his primary election next Tuesday in Wisconsin, or McCain in his Arizona primary later this month. Both have endorsed Trump but have criticized some of his policies and statements, most recently his belittling of the parents of dead U.S. Army Capt. Humayun Khan.

 1 of 60 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad × What Donald Trump is doing on the campaign trail View Photos The GOP presidential nominee is out on the trail ahead of the general election in November. Caption The GOP presidential nominee is pressing his case ahead of Election Day. Nov. 7, 2016 Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event at SNHU Arena in Manchester, N.H. Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post Buy Photo Wait 1 second to continue.

 Trump praised Ryan’s underdog opponent, Paul Nehlen, for running “a very good campaign” and said of Ryan: “I like Paul, but these are horrible times for our country. We need very strong leadership. We need very, very strong leadership. And I’m just not quite there yet. I’m not quite there yet.”

 Trump’s comments underscore the continuing divisions in the GOP two weeks after the party’s national convention in Cleveland, which was carefully choreographed to showcase unity. Also Tuesday, Rep. Richard L. Hanna (N.Y.) became the first sitting Republican member of Congress to declare publicly his plans to vote for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

 Trump said that Ryan has sought his endorsement but that he is only “giving it very serious consideration.” Responding to Trump, Ryan spokesman Zack Roday said in a statement: “Neither Speaker Ryan nor anyone on his team has ever asked for Donald Trump’s endorsement. And we are confident in a victory next week regardless.”

 Trump made his comments during a wide-ranging 50-minute interview Tuesday afternoon over lunch at the Trump National Golf Club in Northern Virginia.

 He said he will work to negotiate the terms of general-election debates in his favor, saying that three is “the right number” but that they should not be scheduled on the same nights as National Football League games or the baseball World Series. He said that he should have influence in selecting “a fair moderator” for each debate and that third-party candidates Gary Johnson and Jill Stein should not be allowed on stage. “I’d rather have head to head” with Clinton, Trump said.

 He took issue with the characterization of Clinton at last week’s Democratic National Convention as a fighter and a change-maker. “Hillary’s not a change person. She’s going to be a person to keep it just the way it is,” Trump said, biting into his cheeseburger. “It’s going to be four more years of Obama.”

 Trump lashed out at the media, including The Post, which he accused of turning sharply against him since he secured the nomination. “It’s myself really against the media,” he said, citing what he views as “a tremendous bias against me.”

 Trump’s statements about Ryan are the latest hiccup in what has been a fraught relationship for the two party leaders. Ryan endorsed Trump this spring and spoke on his behalf at the convention, but only after a period of public soul-searching.

 Ryan has disagreed with Trump on several key issues — including his proposed temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States — and he issued a statement over the weekend that indirectly criticized Trump’s comments about the Khans.

 “Many Muslim Americans have served valiantly in our military, and made the ultimate sacrifice,” Ryan said in the statement. “Captain Khan was one such brave example. His sacrifice — and that of Khizr and Ghazala Khan — should always be honored. Period.”

 Khizr Khan spoke at the Democratic convention with his wife, Ghazala, at his side. He said that Trump “smears the character of Muslims” and challenged his knowledge of the Constitution. The Khans have sat for numerous interviews in the days since, calling Trump’s character into question.

 In the Tuesday interview, Trump defended his commentary about the Khans by saying, “I was viciously attacked on the stage, and I have a right to answer back.”

 However, his campaign acknowledged the crisis in an email sent to congressional supporters this week with the subject line “Urgent Pivot: Khan and TPs.” The email asked allies on Capitol Hill to defend Trump’s heavily criticized remarks about the Khans by underscoring his commitment to ending “radical Islamic terror” and deemphasizing his most confrontational comments.

 In the interview, Trump rejected the suggestion that some people have concluded that he lacks common decency. “I think frankly a lot of people agree with what I’m saying,” he said. “I was viciously attacked on the stage. All I did was respond to it. Pure and simple. It should’ve been a one-hour story, and they make it a longer story.”

 He blamed what he called “unfair media” for giving the Khans a platform.

 Nehlen, Ryan’s primary opponent, came to Trump’s defense over his confrontation with the Khans, for which Trump thanked him in a tweet Monday night. Trump’s shout-out sparked speculation that he might endorse Nehlen.

 Asked about this in the interview, Trump said Ryan’s “opponent is a big fan of what I’m saying — big fan. His opponent, who’s running a very good campaign, obviously, I’ve heard — his opponent sent me a very scholarly and well-thought-out letter yesterday, and all I did was say thank you very much for your very nice letter.”

 In making his comments Tuesday, Trump may have been seeking retribution for Ryan’s dragging his feet about endorsing Trump in May. Trump’s phrasing of his uncertainty about Ryan — “I’m just not quite there yet” — echoes what Ryan told CNN’s Jake Tapper in a May interview about endorsing Trump: “I’m just not ready to do that at this point. I’m not there right now.”

 [Trumps draw fire for suggesting ‘strong’ women can avoid sexual harassment]

 On Monday, McCain, a Vietnam War hero, issued a lengthy statement denouncing Trump for his comments about the Khan family. Asked about McCain’s rebuke, Trump said, “I haven’t endorsed John McCain.

 “I’ve never been there with John McCain because I’ve always felt that he should have done a much better job for the vets,” Trump continued. “He has not done a good job for the vets, and I’ve always felt that he should have done a much better job for the vets. So I’ve always had a difficult time with John for that reason, because our vets are not being treated properly. They’re not being treated fairly.”

 McCain did not comment on Trump’s remarks Tuesday. But he did meet with Trump’s running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, who was in Arizona on Tuesday for two rallies.

 McCain is locked in a three-way primary — the election is Aug. 30, and early voting begins this week — against former state senator Kelli Ward and tea party activist Clair Van Steenwyk. A third challenger, Alex Meluskey, suspended his campaign this week.

 In the interview, Trump said he thought it was a mistake for senators to distance themselves from him because of his popularity with the Republican base. He singled out Sen. Kelly Ayotte — who, like Ryan and McCain, criticized his comments about the Khans — as a weak and disloyal leader in New Hampshire, a state whose presidential primary Trump won handily.

 “New Hampshire is one of my favorite places,” Trump said. “You have a Kelly Ayotte who doesn’t want to talk about Trump, but I’m beating her in the polls by a lot. You tell me. Are these people that should be representing us, okay? You tell me.”

 He continued: “I don’t know Kelly Ayotte. I know she’s given me no support — zero support — and yet I’m leading her in the polls. I’m doing very well in New Hampshire. We need loyal people in this country. We need fighters in this country. We don’t need weak people. We have enough of them. We need fighters in this country. But Kelly Ayotte has given me zero support, and I’m doing great in New Hampshire.”

 Ayotte, whose aides said she still plans to vote for Trump, responded with a statement: “I call it like I see it, and I’m always going to stand up for our military families and what’s best for the people of New Hampshire.”

 Trump went on to say that if he loses the election, he will start two or three “anti-certain candidate” super PACs, which he vowed to fund with $10 million apiece, to savage Republicans or Democrats of his choosing in future elections. He said his targets might include Sen. Ted Cruz (Tex.) or Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who both lost in the primaries to Trump but are eyeing another run in 2020.

 Hanna, a three-term congressman who is not running for reelection this year, has bucked his party in the past on issues including same-sex marriage and climate change. He said Trump’s prolonged feud with the Khans was the final straw that pushed him to declare his support for Clinton.

 “I saw that and felt incensed,” Hanna told Syracuse.com. “I was stunned by the callousness of his comments.”

 If the Republican disunity is alarming Trump, he did not show it in the interview. He predicted that he would “do great” in Ohio and Pennsylvania, where Clinton and running mate Tim Kaine campaigned together over the weekend.

 “I’m going to do great in states that some people aren’t even thinking about,” Trump said. “I’ve got states that we can win that other Republican candidates wouldn’t even stop over for dinner.”

 Asked which states he had in mind, Trump paused.

 “Well,” he said. “I’d rather not say. . . . That’s my attitude on the military. I don’t like telling the enemy what I’m doing.”

 Lateshia Beachum, Callum Borchers, Mike DeBonis, Karoun Demirjian, Michelle Ye Hee Lee, Kelsey Snell, Isaac Stanley-Becker, Sean Sullivan, David Weigel and Katie Zezima contributed to this report. ||||| Trump Thanks Paul Ryan's House Challenger For Supporting Him In Khan Dispute

 Enlarge this image toggle caption Win McNamee/Getty Images Win McNamee/Getty Images

 Rep. Paul Ryan is a powerful member of Congress — he's House speaker serving his ninth term, and up for re-election. But some persuasive forces — including GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump and conservative pundit Ann Coulter — are expressing support for his Wisconsin primary opponent Paul Nehlen.

 The state holds its Republican primary next Tuesday, Aug. 9.

 Ryan has endorsed Trump, though it's hardly a cozy relationship — Ryan took a while to endorse, and during his Republican convention speech he barely mentioned the candidate.

 And he hasn't been shy about criticizing Trump. Over the weekend, Ryan defended Khizr Khan, a Muslim father who spoke at the Democratic convention about his soldier son who was killed in Iraq in 2004. Ryan said he "rejects" any religious test for entering the country — a clear jab at one of Trump's evolving immigration proposals — and that "Captain Khan was one such brave example" of Muslim-Americans who have "served valiantly in our military and made the ultimate sacrifice."

 A religious test for entering our country is not reflective of America's fundamental values. I reject it. pic.twitter.com/DdsYj2XoLS — Paul Ryan (@SpeakerRyan) July 31, 2016

 Members of Congress were mostly silent or critical of Trump's response to Khan. Sen. John McCain said, "I hope Americans understand that the remarks do not represent the views of our Republican Party, its officers, or candidates."

 But Nehlen, who has referred to Ryan as "Lyin' Ryan" (reminiscent of Trump's own attacks of his presidential primary opponents), defended Trump's response to Khan, saying it was Khan who had "attacked, ridiculed and attempted to humiliate Mr. Trump and his positions on critical national security issues." In a statement, Nehlen wrote a point-by-point defense of Trump's response to the Khans and stance on terrorism.

 Paul Ryan AGAIN Misrepresents Trump Position, This Time on “Religious Test” Brouhaha. https://t.co/i5rkVHDExG pic.twitter.com/3F9Tl6FWn1 — Paul Nehlen (@pnehlen) August 1, 2016

 "Just because Capt. Khan was a patriotic Muslim-American who loved and fought for his adopted country, that doesn't mean other Muslim-Americans don't hate the United States and wish our people deadly harm," Nehlen wrote.

 In a tweet, Trump thanked Nehlen for his post:

 Thanks to @pnehlen for your kind words, very much appreciated. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 1, 2016

 Nehlen has also attracted national attention beyond Trump. Conservative pundit Ann Coulter will join Nehlen at two rallies this Saturday in Janesville and Kenosha. And former vice presidential nominee and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has endorsed Nehlen, saying Ryan's "political career is over but for a miracle because he has so disrespected the will of the people."

 Nehlen is tapping into that populist sentiment with his #DumpRyan campaign — hitting Ryan over immigration and for not proposing to build a border wall like Trump has. One TV ad features parents whose children were apparently killed by undocumented immigrants:

 YouTube

 "Don't let one more American child die because Paul Ryan won't secure the border. Your vote on August 9th can save a life," Nehlen said at a recent campaign rally.

 On Tuesday, Trump told the Washington Post he's not yet ready to endorse Paul Ryan in the Wisconsin primary. "I like Paul, but these are horrible times for our country," Trump said. "We need very strong leadership. We need very, very strong leadership. And I'm just not quite there yet. I'm not quite there yet."

 Former Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders has also waded into a House race by supporting Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz's primary opponent Tim Canova. Sanders had repeatedly called for Wasserman Schultz to resign as chair over her handling of the election. She did so after the convention, and after an email leak showed DNC staffers trying to undercut the Sanders campaign.

 "The political revolution is not just about electing a president, sisters and brothers. We need a Congress with members who believe, like Bernie, that we cannot change a corrupt system by taking its money," an email from the Sanders campaign in support of Canova read. ||||| Trump said he’s “never been there” on backing McCain “because I’ve always felt that he should have done a much better job for the vets.” | Getty Trump declines to endorse Ryan or McCain

 Donald Trump is “not quite there yet” when it comes to endorsing Paul Ryan, the Republican presidential nominee said Tuesday, echoing the House speaker’s rhetoric before he ultimately endorsed Trump as the GOP nominee earlier this year.

 In an interview with The Washington Post on Tuesday, Trump refused to endorse Ryan, who faces a primary challenge against Paul Nehlen in Wisconsin next Tuesday, and Arizona Sen. John McCain, who is squaring off against a tea party-backed doctor and former state senator, Kelli Ward.

 Story Continued Below

 “I like Paul, but these are horrible times for our country,” Trump told the Post. “We need very strong leadership. We need very, very strong leadership. And I’m just not quite there yet. I’m not quite there yet.”

 Trump’s snub of the Wisconsin Republican — he told the Post that Ryan sought his endorsement — comes a day after he thanked Nehlen via Twitter, blasting out the lesser-known candidate’s handle to his 10.5 million followers.

 “Thanks to @pnehlen for your kind words, very much appreciated,” Trump tweeted Monday.

 Ryan's campaign spokesman denied that the speaker solicited Trump's backing.

 "Neither Speaker Ryan nor anyone on his team has ever asked for Donald Trump's endorsement. And we are confident in a victory next week regardless," the spokesman, Zack Roday, said.

 Ryan is expected to trounce Nehlen in next Tuesday's primary.

 In a statement blasted out by his campaign after Trump's comments were published, Nehlen accused the House speaker of "working against his party’s nominee and the American people" and said his "repeated betrayals of the GOP nominee is beneath the dignity of the speakers’ office and is morally disqualifying."

 Ryan, who has been critical of Trump throughout his campaign, shied away from condemning him by name after he attacked a Gold Star family in response to remarks Khizr Khan made last week at the Democratic National Convention. Nehlen has sided with Trump -- linking Monday to a Breitbart story accusing Ryan of being a “double agent” for defending the Khans.

 Trump's non-endorsement of the House speaker mimicked the language Ryan used when he declined to back Trump even after he had vanquished the last of his Republican rivals. “I’m not there right now,” the speaker told CNN in May. A month later, though, Ryan got on board.

 Trump said he’s “never been there” on backing McCain “because I’ve always felt that he should have done a much better job for the vets.”

 “So I’ve always had a difficult time with John for that reason, because our vets are not being treated properly,” Trump said. “They’re not being treated fairly.”

 The real estate mogul also attacked Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), who has also been critical of his remarks on the Khan family, for not supporting his campaign.

 “I don’t know Kelly Ayotte. I know she’s given me no support — zero support — and yet I’m leading her in the polls,” Trump said. “I’m doing very well in New Hampshire. We need loyal people in this country. We need fighters in this country. We don’t need weak people. We have enough of them.”

 Trump doubled down in an appearance on Fox News on Tuesday evening.

 "I’ve never been a big fan of John McCain and I just hate the way our veterans have been treated by John and other people," Trump said. "I hate it. I look at our veterans, how badly they’ve been treated, the suicides, the tremendously bad treatment.”

 As for Ayotte, Trump said, “If she’s not involved with me, I’m just not involved with that. I’m very involved with New Hampshire. I love New Hampshire. I’ve done a lot for New Hampshire. And New Hampshire frankly likes me. I have a nice lead in New Hampshire and she doesn’t."

 Ayotte appeared to respond with this tweet, which did not mention Trump by name: "I call it like I see it and I'm always going to stand up for our military families and what's best for the people of New Hampshire."

 Jake Sherman contributed.

 Authors: |||||Summary:

– In what the Washington Post calls an "extraordinary breach of political decorum," Donald Trump isn't endorsing Paul Ryan in his Wisconsin primary battle. Trump tells the Post he's "not quite there yet" when it comes to backing Ryan. Trump may be getting his revenge on Ryan, who last spring said he was "not there right now" about endorsing Trump before finally giving in. It's also possible Trump's decision not to endorse Ryan has to do with Ryan not supporting Trump's continued attacks on the Khans. Meanwhile, Ryan's primary opponent, Paul Nehlen, defended Trump's comments this week, saying the Khans "attacked, ridiculed, and attempted to humiliate Trump," according to NPR. Trump then publicly complimented Nehlen's "very good campaign." “I like Paul, but these are horrible times for our country,” Trump tells the Post. “We need very strong leadership." Trump claims Ryan sought his endorsement, a claim denied by a Ryan spokesperson. Regardless, Ryan is expected to easily defeat Nehlen, Politico reports. Trump also refused to endorse John McCain in his primary campaign, claiming McCain hasn't done right by the country's veterans. In the same Post interview, Trump called out New Hampshire Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte. It should be noted that both Ayotte and McCain denounced Trump's attacks on the Khans. Ayotte says she still plans to vote for Trump.


Article:

While browsing amber markets in Myanmar, scientists discovered the feathers and partial tail of a tiny baby dinosaur that lived some 99 million years ago.

 The find, described in the journal Current Biology, offers a rare window onto the structure and organization of dinosaur feathers — one that could help shed new light on their evolution.

 Scientists have long studied feathers that pop up in the fossil record in part because they want to understand the origins of birds. Birds are thought to be the only living descendants of dinosaurs — and questions of how and when their ancestors first developed flight (and the feathers that enabled it) remain confounding mysteries.

 In recent years, paleontologists have also realized that many dinosaurs were not scaly (a la Jurassic Park) but feathered like birds. However, their plumage’s original purpose (for example, for insulation or for camouflage) remains up for debate. Researchers want to understand the origin of feathers, as well as figure out how they eventually evolved for flight.

 But there are limits to what they can learn from studying feathers in isolation, without seeing how they were positioned and organized on the body — and without knowing which species the feathers came from. And those preserved plumes found with fossil skeletons are typically compressed flat in the rock, which makes it difficult to know what the animal looked like in three dimensions.

 Scientists have discovered the partial tail and feathers of a 99-million-year-old baby dinosaur covered in feathers. (R.C McKellar / Royal Saskatchewan Museum)

 This new fossil, encased in amber, solves all of those issues. Co-lead author Lida Xing of the China University of Geosciences discovered the fossil at an amber market in Myanmar last year. Because of its bushy appearance, the seller believed the tail to be some kind of trapped plant — but Xing believed differently and asked the Dexu Institute of Paleontology to purchase it.

 “It wasn’t until Lida took a close look at it that he realized there were feathers coming off the side of the little filaments running through the amber,” said co-lead author Ryan McKellar, a paleontologist with the Royal Saskatchewan Museum in Regina, Canada. “That’s when the real fun began, from a research standpoint.”

 Amber is a paleontologist’s best friend for many reasons: Among them, it insulates the fossil from chemical alteration by the environment and helps to preserve it in three dimensions.

 “Amber is like nature’s plastic,” McKellar said. “It seals in a lot of information at the same time it’s basically drying out a lot of inclusions that end up in the resin.”

 Cheung Chung-tat and Liu Yi A reconstruction of the sparrow-sized coelurosaur. A reconstruction of the sparrow-sized coelurosaur. (Cheung Chung-tat and Liu Yi)

 Xing, McKellar and colleagues CT-scanned the tail through the amber, studying its microscopic structure.

 The partial tail, which probably belonged to a coelurosaur about the size of a sparrow, consists of eight full vertebra surrounded by highly preserved feathers. In birds, tailbones are fused together in what’s known as a pygostyle, which is why scientists think this one must have come from a non-avialan dinosaur.

 “This flexible tail isn’t something that you see in modern birds, so it restricts you to a group of dinosaurs that are outside of archaeopteryx and modern birds,” McKellar said. “You have to be dealing with something lower down in the evolutionary tree. And this means you’re firmly in dinosaur territory, as opposed to bird territory.”

 Unlike birds, the dinosaur’s feathers had an underdeveloped main stem, or rachis. The top feathers were dark and those on the underside were light, so it may have been used for camouflage or signaling, McKellar said.

 There are limits to what this particular fossil can reveal about feathered dinosaurs, the scientist added – but it does show that more such fossils might well exist, mistaken for bushy plants or other debris, just waiting to be found. His colleagues, he added, were continuing to search amber markets, hoping to get lucky once again.

 CAPTION Revelers joined community members and indigenous leaders from around the world at the Symbiosis Gathering in Big Summit Prairie, Ore., to mark the Great American Eclipse. Revelers joined community members and indigenous leaders from around the world at the Symbiosis Gathering in Big Summit Prairie, Ore., to mark the Great American Eclipse. CAPTION Revelers joined community members and indigenous leaders from around the world at the Symbiosis Gathering in Big Summit Prairie, Ore., to mark the Great American Eclipse. Revelers joined community members and indigenous leaders from around the world at the Symbiosis Gathering in Big Summit Prairie, Ore., to mark the Great American Eclipse. CAPTION This motion graphic shows highlights of Cassini's missions from 2004-2017. This motion graphic shows highlights of Cassini's missions from 2004-2017. CAPTION NASA employees, friends and family attend a watch party at Caltech for Cassini's final signal back to Earth. NASA employees, friends and family attend a watch party at Caltech for Cassini's final signal back to Earth. CAPTION Eclipse chasers will tell you that seeing a total eclipse will change your life. But keep in mind, a total eclipse is a fleeting phenomenon. (Aug. 15, 2017) (Sign up for our free video newsletter here http://bit.ly/2n6VKPR) Eclipse chasers will tell you that seeing a total eclipse will change your life. But keep in mind, a total eclipse is a fleeting phenomenon. (Aug. 15, 2017) (Sign up for our free video newsletter here http://bit.ly/2n6VKPR) CAPTION The Great American Eclipse The Great American Eclipse

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 On average, people born in the U.S. in 2015 will live 36.5 days less than those born in 2014 ||||| The tail of a 99-million-year-old dinosaur, including bones, soft tissue, and even feathers, has been found preserved in amber, according to a report published today in the journal Current Biology.

 While individual dinosaur-era feathers have been found in amber, and evidence for feathered dinosaurs is captured in fossil impressions, this is the first time that scientists are able to clearly associate well-preserved feathers with a dinosaur, and in turn gain a better understanding of the evolution and structure of dinosaur feathers.

 View Images A segment from the feathered tail of a dinosaur that lived 99 million years ago is preserved in amber. A Cretaceous-era ant and plant debris were also trapped in the resin. Photograph by R.C. McKellar, Royal Saskatchewan Museum

 The research, led by paleontologist Lida Xing of the China University of Geosciences, was funded in part by the National Geographic Society's Expeditions Council.

 A Telling Tail

 The semitranslucent mid-Cretaceous amber sample, roughly the size and shape of a dried apricot, captures one of the earliest moments of differentiation between the feathers of birds of flight and the feathers of dinosaurs. (Learn more about the evolutionary relationship between dinosaurs and birds.)

 Inside the lump of resin is a 1.4-inch appendage covered in delicate feathers, described as chestnut brown with a pale or white underside.

 View Images A micro-CT scan reveals the delicate feathers that cover the dinosaur tail. Photograph by Lida Xing

 CT scans and microscopic analysis of the sample revealed eight vertebrae from the middle or end of a long, thin tail that may have been originally made up of more than 25 vertebrae.

 View Images A scan of the underside of the tail shows the feather arrangement. Photograph by Lida Xing

 Based on the structure of the tail, researchers believe it belongs to a juvenile coelurosaur, part of a group of theropod dinosaurs that includes everything from tyrannosaurs to modern birds.

 Feathered, but Could It Fly?

 The presence of articulated tail vertebrae in the sample enabled researchers to rule out the possibility that the feathers belonged to a prehistoric bird. Modern birds and their closest Cretaceous ancestors feature a set of fused tail vertebrae called a pygostyle that enables tail feathers to move as a single unit.

 "[A pygostyle] is the sort of thing you've seen if you've ever prepared a turkey," says study co-author Ryan McKellar, curator of invertebrate paleontology at Canada's Royal Saskatchewan Museum.

 View Images The dinosaur feather structure is open, flexible, and similar to modern ornamental feathers. Photograph by Royal Saskatchewan Museum

 The dinosaur feathers feature a poorly defined central shaft (rachis) and appear to keel to either side of the tail. The open, flexible structure of the feathers is more similar to modern ornamental feathers than to flight feathers, which have well-defined central shafts, branches, sub-branches, and hooks that latch the structure together.

 In a report in June of this year by the same research team, Cretaceous-era bird wings preserved in amber revealed feathers remarkably similar to the flight feathers of modern birds.

 The current study concludes that if the entire length of the dinosaur tail was covered in the type of feathers seen in the sample, the dinosaur "would likely have been incapable of flight." Rather, such feathers may have served a signaling function or played a role in temperature regulation, says McKellar. (Could dinosaurs fly?)

 Pull Quote Maybe we can find a complete dinosaur. Lida Xing, paleontologist

 The weakly developed tail feathers also suggest that the owner of the Cretaceous tail falls somewhere lower down on the evolutionary tree of theropod dinosaurs, "perhaps a basal [primitive] maniraptoran," Xing suggests, referring to the subgroup of coelurosaurs that includes oviraptorosaurs and therizinosaurs. (See the oviraptorosaur that paleontologists have dubbed the "chicken from hell.")

 Destined for Jewelry, but With a Silver Lining

 The amber sample—formally called DIP-V-15103 and nicknamed "Eva" in honor of paleobotanist Eva Koppelhus, the wife of co-author Philip Currie—comes from a mine in the Hukawng Valley in Kachin state, northern Myanmar. Amber from this region most likely contains the world's largest variety of animal and plant life from the Cretaceous period.

 It was one of more than a dozen amber samples with significant inclusions that were collected by Xing and his research team in 2015 at a well-known amber market in Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin state. Two of the other samples contained the dinosaur-era bird wings published earlier this summer.

 The majority of Burmese amber is used in jewelry and carvings, and the "Eva" sample had already been subject to shaping by the time it was collected by the researchers.

 View Images The amber sample, from a mine in Myanmar, had already been partially shaped into an oval by a jewelry maker. Photograph by R.C> McKellar, Royal Saskatchewan Museum

 The modification had a silver lining, however: It offered "a nice cross section" through the tail that enabled the scientists to study the chemistry of the exposed surface, notes McKellar.

 That study revealed the presence of ferrous iron, a decomposition product from the blood hemoglobin that was once present in the dinosaur's soft tissue.

 "The fact that [the iron] is still present gives us a lot of hope for future analysis, to obtain other chemical information on things like pigmentation or even to identify parts of the original keratin," says McKellar. "Maybe not for this particular specimen, but for other [samples] down the road."

 Meanwhile, Xing believes that the "nearing end" of a decades-old conflict between the Myanmar government and the Kachin Independence Army, which controls the Hukawng Valley, will lead to increased scientific access to the amber mines and, in, turn, to an increase in spectacular discoveries. |||||
What is a summary?

– Researchers were perusing an amber market in Myanmar when they stumbled across a truly extraordinary specimen, National Geographic reports. Trapped inside a golden piece of amber—already partially shaped to be sold as jewelry—was a fully feathered section of a dinosaur's tail. According to the Los Angeles Times, the person selling the amber thought it was some kind of plant. While scientists have found evidence of feathered dinosaurs, not to mention feathered prehistoric birds, this piece of amber is the first time feathers have been found perfectly preserved and attached to what is unmistakably a dinosaur. The find was published Thursday in Current Biology. The tail section is believed to belong to a young, sparrow-sized coelurosaur that lived 99 million years ago. Researchers know the tail belongs to a dinosaur because of its articulated vertebrae; birds have vertebrae that are fused together. And because of the way the features are structured, researchers believe they were useless for flight. It remains unclear exactly what purpose the feathers served, though researchers theorize dinosaurs may have used them for camouflage, regulating their body heat, or signaling to other animals. Now that researchers can see how feathers actually appeared on a dinosaur's body, they hope to learn how they evolved for flight in modern-day birds. They also believe that, given access to Myanmar's amber mines, they may one day find a whole preserved dinosaur.


Article:
“The photographs had to be taken by someone who was very close,” Mr. Tredwen said. “All photographs of Adolf Hitler were very much controlled because obviously they did not want photographs coming out that made him look bad. They would not have been made for the general public.”

 There were no signatures in the book to suggest ownership, or the identity of the photographer, he said.

 He described the bidding as “very competitive,” with telephone bidders from Britain and the United States, as well as interest online from Germany, China, South Africa and other countries.

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 Mr. Tredwen, a specialist of more than a dozen years in military history items, said buyers of Nazi memorabilia were generally historians. “I have never in my life met anyone who shared the political views of the Third Reich,” he said. “They are literally only there to collect. World War II was one of the biggest events to affect the world.”

 “People are fascinated by how evil the Third Reich were,” he added.

 The description of the item online traced its journey from April 1945, when a British Fleet Street photographer, Edward Dean, “obtained” it from a Russian soldier whom he had watched find the album in a drawer in Braun’s bunker bedroom, shortly after the couple committed suicide. The item changed hands several times after Mr. Dean auctioned it.

 In one photograph, Hitler salutes as he walks toward the camera down a path at his Berghof headquarters in the Bavarian Alps. His guards are also depicted on duty and in relaxed poses in the images, which date mostly from the early to mid-1930s.

 Ownership of items related to Nazi history poses ethical questions. Some art collectors have stepped forward to try to find out whether their art was looted from Jews. A replica of a gate that was believed to have been stolen from the Dachau concentration camp in Germany was recovered last year.

 Advertisement Continue reading the main story

 And an attraction in Berlin that recreates the interior of Hitler’s bunker and opened last year suggests an uncomfortable phenomenon — that Hitler sells.

 Memorials dedicated to preserving the historical context of the Holocaust, in which six million Jews were killed, have often called on collectors or people with personal items from survivors to donate the artifacts.

 In January, in commemorating the 72nd anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration and death camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland, the memorial director, Dr. Piotr M. A. Cywinski, issued a statement calling for donations.

 “We kindly ask the public to hand over any documents, photos, personal letters, diaries, or other materials that are in private hands,” he said.

 “I am absolutely convinced that only mutual effort can lead to a fuller understanding of the mechanisms of hatred, and analyses from the perspective of the victims, given the course of events, cannot fully serve the purpose,” he added. “Today, we need new sources for a comprehensive picture of the history of Auschwitz and the Holocaust.” ||||| "Eva Braun was the "first lady" of the Third Reich and without question this was with her at the last stages of the war in the Fuhrer Bunker in Berlin in 1945.

 "Very few significant artefacts liberated from the Fuhrer Bunker in 1945 exist today in the open market, especially with such concrete provenance dating all the way back to the time of liberation.

 "Photographs of Hitler were very carefully controlled to ensure they fitted in to the image the Nazis were trying to project of him.

 "So it is rare to come across easy-going photographs of him that wouldn't have got through the censorship, especially during the height of the Second World War.

 "The one of him walking down the path outside the Berghof in a kind of a jocular pose giving an almost Charlie Chaplin-type salute is quite striking. |||||Summary:

– A photo album featuring candid shots of some of the most evil people ever to walk the Earth has been snapped up for $41,000 by an anonymous buyer at an auction in England. The album, found in the bunker bedroom of Eva Braun, Adolf Hitler's mistress, features Hitler and henchmen including Heinrich Himmler and Josef Goebbels in lighter moments, the Telegraph reports. Some of the 73 photos can be seen on the auction site, including one of Hitler relaxing in the Alps. C&T Auctioneers says the photo album was taken in April 1945 from the bunker as a souvenir by British wartime photographer Edward "Dixie" Dean, who sold it to a collector in 1983. Per the auction house, "Very few significant artifacts liberated from the Fuhrer Bunker in 1945 exist today in the open market, especially with such concrete provenance." Auction house owner Matthew Tredwen tells the New York Times that it is clear that the photos were taken by a member of Hitler's inner circle, though the book gives no indication of who that might be. "The photographs had to be taken by someone who was very close," he says. "All photographs of Adolf Hitler were very much controlled" to show him in the best light. These "would not have been made for the general public." Tredwen adds that in his years of dealing in Nazi memorabilia and other military history items, he has never met anybody who actually supports Nazi ideology. "People are fascinated by how evil the Third Reich were," he says. (There is a dispute over whether "Hitler's personal phone" is the real thing.)