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A federal judge on Friday granted Michael Cohen’s request for a delay in a lawsuit brought against him by porn star Stormy Daniels, saying it appeared likely Cohen will be indicted in a related criminal investigation.

 Judge S. James Otero’s order for a 90-day stay comes two days after Cohen, President Trump’s personal attorney, said he would invoke his Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate himself in the lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court of the Central District of California. Cohen’s declaration cited the investigation by federal prosecutors in New York, who are examining his role in quashing embarrassing stories about Trump during the 2016 campaign, according to a person familiar with the matter.

 Otero said Friday that the issues in the civil dispute with Daniels overlap with the criminal probe into Cohen. The lawyer’s Manhattan office and home were raided on April 9.

 “This is no simple criminal investigation; it is an investigation into the personal attorney of a sitting President regarding documents that might be subject to the attorney client privilege,” Otero wrote. “Whether or not an indictment is forthcoming, and the Court thinks it likely based on these facts alone, these unique circumstances counsel in favor of stay.”

 Daniels’s attorney, Michael Avenatti, said he planned to file an appeal early next week.

 “While we certainly respect Judge Otero’s 90-day stay order based on Mr. Cohen’s pleading of the 5th, we do not agree with it,” he wrote on Twitter.

 Cohen’s attorney, Brent Blakely, did not respond to a message seeking comment.

 Daniels, who says she had an affair with Trump more than a decade ago, is seeking to void a deal she reached with Cohen days before the election under which she was paid $130,000 in exchange for her silence. Cohen has said he “facilitated” the payment using his own money from a home-equity line of credit.

 Trump, who previously denied knowing anything about the $130,000 arranged by Cohen, acknowledged Cohen’s efforts on Thursday for the first time.

 “Michael represents me, like with this crazy Stormy Daniels deal, he represented me,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News. “And from what I’ve seen, he did absolutely nothing wrong. There were no campaign funds going into this.”

 Daniels’s suit, filed last month, named the president and Essential Consultants, a limited liability company Cohen created as a vehicle for the payment, as defendants. Daniels later added Cohen as a defendant.

 It is not uncommon for defendants facing both civil liability and criminal prosecution to request a pause in civil proceedings to avoid giving sworn testimony and producing documents that could prove incriminating. ||||| A federal judge in California on Friday ordered a three-month delay in the lawsuit brought by the pornographic film star Stephanie Clifford against President Trump, citing what he called the likelihood that Michael D. Cohen, Mr. Trump’s longtime personal lawyer, will be indicted.

 In granting a defense request for the postponement, the judge, S. James Otero of United States District Court in Los Angeles, sided with the president’s legal team that the unusual circumstances of the case warranted the stay of action. Judge Otero acknowledged in his order that complications might arise from an overlap with a criminal investigation into Mr. Cohen.

 “This is no simple criminal investigation,” Judge Otero wrote. “It is an investigation into the personal attorney of a sitting president regarding documents that might be subject to the attorney-client privilege. Whether or not an indictment is forthcoming, and the court thinks it likely based on these facts alone, these unique circumstances counsel in favor of stay.”

 On Wednesday, Mr. Cohen, whose New York office, apartment and hotel room were raided this month by the F.B.I., invoked his Fifth Amendment rights in Ms. Clifford’s lawsuit, citing the “ongoing criminal investigation” in New York. ||||| Judge Delays Stormy Daniels' Lawsuit Against Trump, Lawyer Michael Cohen

 Enlarge this image toggle caption Mary Altaffer/AP Mary Altaffer/AP

 A federal judge in Los Angeles says the Stormy Daniels civil lawsuit against President Trump and his attorney Michael Cohen will take a 90-day break while events play out in a criminal investigation in New York.

 As we have reported, Cohen has said he would invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination in the Daniels lawsuit because of the related criminal inquiry in New York. FBI agents working on that probe raided Cohen's home and office looking for documents related to the Daniels nondisclosure agreement.

 Cohen had worked out a deal with Daniels that kept her from talking about a sexual encounter she says she had with Trump in 2006. She signed the agreement with Cohen just before the 2016 election, and Cohen says he paid her $130,000 to stay quiet. Now she wants the court to invalidate that arrangement.

 Judge James Otero finds that a lot of the same facts are potentially at issue in both the civil suit in his court and the criminal one in New York, which "would heavily implicate Mr Cohen's Fifth Amendment rights."

 Cohen's attorney had argued that answering questions in the Daniels case would reduce Cohen's ability to defend himself in the other court.

 In New York, Judge Kimba Wood refused to let Trump's attorneys review Cohen's seized documents to see if they should be returned because they are secret under attorney-client privilege. Wood appointed a "special master" to review which of material will be available to prosecutors, and which will be withheld.

 Earlier this week Trump, who previously had denied knowing about his attorney's payoff to Daniels, acknowledged that Cohen did represent him in the deal. ||||| While we certainly respect Judge Otero’s 90 day stay order based on Mr. Cohen’s pleading of the 5th, we do not agree with it. We will likely be filing an immediate appeal to the Ninth Circuit early next week. Justice delayed is justice denied. # basta ||||| Focused crawls are collections of frequently-updated webcrawl data from narrow (as opposed to broad or wide) web crawls, often focused on a single domain or subdomain. |||||

– When you've got a civil matter overlapping with a criminal one, you may need to prioritize which fire to deal with first. A federal judge agrees in the case of Michael Cohen, approving on Friday a 90-day stay in the civil lawsuit against him and President Trump by Stephanie Clifford (aka porn star Stormy Daniels), the Washington Post reports. The reasoning: Trump's personal lawyer filed a declaration this week noting he intends to plead the Fifth in the Daniels case, as he fears answering questions in that matter could potentially implicate himself in the criminal probe against him in New York, per NPR. FBI agents working on the latter investigation carried out a raid on Cohen's home and office in early April, and because part of that mission was to seek documents related to Daniels' nondisclosure agreement, there may be "large potential factual overlap" with Daniels' civil case, per Otero. "This is no simple criminal investigation," Otero noted Friday. "Whether or not an indictment is forthcoming, and the Court thinks it likely based on these facts alone, these unique circumstances counsel in favor of stay." Daniels' lawyer, Michael Avenatti, responded to Otero's ruling on Twitter, tweeting: "While we certainly respect Judge Otero's 90 day stay order based on Mr. Cohen's pleading of the 5th, we do not agree with it. We will likely be filing an immediate appeal to the Ninth Circuit early next week. Justice delayed is justice denied." He added to the New York Times that "we want to get the truth to the American people as quickly as possible." The Post, however, notes it's not unusual for those facing both civil and criminal issues to do exactly what Cohen's doing to avoid incrimination. The next hearing for the civil case has been set for July 27.


BRASÍLIA — The Senate on Wednesday impeached Dilma Rousseff, Brazil’s first female president, and removed her from office for the rest of her term, the capstone of a power struggle that has consumed the nation for months and toppled one of the hemisphere’s most powerful political parties.

 The Senate voted 61 to 20 to convict Ms. Rousseff on charges of manipulating the federal budget in an effort to conceal the nation’s mounting economic problems.

 But the final removal of Ms. Rousseff, who was suspended in May to face trial, was much more than a judgment of guilt on any charge. It was a verdict on her leadership and the slipping fortunes of Latin America’s largest country.

 The impeachment puts a definitive end to 13 years of governing by the leftist Workers’ Party, an era during which Brazil’s economy boomed, lifting millions into the middle class and raising the country’s profile on the global stage. ||||| Brazil's Senate Votes To Impeach Dilma Rousseff

 Enlarge this image toggle caption Ricardo Botelho/Brazil Photo Press/CON/LatinContent/Getty Images Ricardo Botelho/Brazil Photo Press/CON/LatinContent/Getty Images

 On Wednesday morning, Brazil's Senate voted to impeach suspended President Dilma Rousseff. Interim President Michel Temer was then sworn in as president.

 Sixty-one senators voted in favor of removing Rousseff from the presidency; 20 voted against her impeachment.

 Rousseff is accused of mishandling Brazil's budget and misrepresenting the state of the economy. Some of her accusers, as Rousseff noted in her testimony, are themselves accused or convicted of serious corruption charges.

 She testified for 14 hours straight on Monday, NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro reports.

 Rousseff defended her innocence and characterized the impeachment as a coup.

 Some 66 senators took the floor during the proceedings to question her or deliver speeches, in a marathon session that lasted through the night.

 Emotions ran high, Lulu reports: "There was this surreal moment, where one of the prosecutors, Jenaina Paschoal, who was advocating Rousseff's impeachment — she burst into tears in her closing argument. She asked for Rousseff's forgiveness because she did not mean to cause Rousseff pain," Lulu says.

 "She was not alone in her tears," Lulu says. "The defense lawyer Jose Eduardo Cardozo also wept openly after giving his defense."

 Rousseff's impeachment was expected to bar her from office of any kind for the next eight years. But the Brazilian senate actually held a second vote on that issue, and — 42 in favor, 36 against — failed to reach the necessary votes to pass the ban. That means Rousseff has the right to run for office again.

 Rousseff could, and likely will, appeal to Brazil's highest court, The Associated Press reports. "But previous appeals during the process have failed," the wire service says.

 The suspended president has previously said that, if and when she's removed from office, she'll retire to her home in the city of Porto Alegre in southern Brazil, Lulu reports. |||||
What is a one-paragraph summary of the above article?

– Dilma Rousseff, Brazil's first female president, was removed from office Wednesday, the New York Times reports. The Brazilian senate voted 61-20 to impeach Rousseff, reports the BBC, covering the two-thirds majority needed. Rousseff, who was suspended in May, was accused of illegally moving government funds between different budgets to hide Brazil's growing economic woes and bolster popular social programs. Rousseff denies any wrongdoing and defended herself in front of the senate Monday, calling her ouster a coup. "From the day after I was elected, several measures were taken to destabilize my government," she said. "And you have been systematically making accusations against me." Acting president Michel Temer is scheduled to be sworn in Wednesday to finish Rousseff's term, which lasts through 2018. His center-right PMDB party ends 13 years in power by the left-wing Workers' Party. However, Temer's approval rating is as bad as Rousseff's, and the PMDB party is already beset by scandals. In fact, Temer's anticorruption minister recently resigned. Rousseff is likely to appeal the impeachment vote in court, though NPR reports she's unlikely to be successful. The senate voted 42-36 to allow her to run for office again, but Rousseff has previously said she'll retire to her hometown if successfully impeached.


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EDMONTON — She's being called one smart cookie.

 As people lined up to buy cannabis at one of six Edmonton cannabis stores that opened Wednesday a small entrepreneur stood ready to capitalize on what could be expected to be customers' future need for a sweet snack.

 Nine-year-old Elina Childs had a wagon full of Girl Guide cookies for sale.

 "My dad asked me if I wanted to sell cookies and I said yes," she said in an interview after school Thursday. "So we started selling cookies there and they sold out very quickly."

 Canadian Press Nine-year-old Elina Childs poses as she sells Girl Guide Cookies outside a cannabis store in Edmonton on Wednesday.

 Her father, Seann Childs, said they sold cookies going door to door in their neighbourhood last year, but people often weren't home or there would be big dogs in the yards.

 "We thought, 'Where can we go to sell them?'" he said. "It just so happens that legalization was coming up in a couple of days."

 When Elina got home from school Wednesday, she grabbed some change from her piggy bank. She and her dad loaded up a wagon with three cases of Girl Guide cookies and they walked a few blocks to the nearby cannabis store.

 She started walking up and down the lineup.

 "It was well received," said Seann Childs.

 Elina said people told her "it was a smart idea and that they'd like to buy some cookies."

 God bless this girl selling girl guide cookies outside of nova cannabis. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼#yegpic.twitter.com/dnI9HdBXPc — Emily Fitzpatrick (@_emilyfitzCBC) October 17, 2018

 Her dad said some cars even stopped on the street to buy a box.

 "It was really something else," he said. "I'd never seen anything quite like that."

 Childs said he expected it to go well, but he never thought she would sell out of all the cookies they had left in the three cases — about 30 boxes — in 45 minutes.

 "We were sold out in no time," he said.

 WATCH: What's allowed in each province and territory. Story continues after video.

 An official with the Girl Guides praised Elina's strategy.

 "Good on her and her family for thinking of it," said Edmonton commissioner Heather Monahan. "It's fun and it's different and what better way to get rid of cookies."

 A teaching moment

 A social media post on Elina outside the pot store went viral and Monahan said they started getting questions from other parents about whether it was allowed.

 "Why wouldn't it be?" she said. "It wasn't like she was in the store — that would be a whole different ball game.

 "I think it's wonderful."

 To make it even better, Elina's parents were able to use the experience as a teaching moment for their daughter.

 "She actually has cystic fibrosis, so we encourage her to get out there and do things and be active," Childs said. "Girl Guides is one part of that."

 He noted that smoking is usually harmful to her.

 "This was one day she could benefit from smoking," said Childs. "We saw that as an opportunity to get out there and teach her a little about what cannabis is.

 "Obviously she's not going to be using it before she's 18, I hope, but we like to have frank discussions with her, so she understands what it is and take away that mystery behind it — just to show her people of all ages and all walks of life are doing this and it's legal in Canada now, just demystify it for her so it's not a big deal for her." |||||

 CTVNews.ca Staff

 A nine-year-old Alberta girl managed to rapidly sell out of Girl Guide cookies by targeting cannabis consumers on the first day of legal sales.

 Elina Childs tells CTV News Channel that it was her father’s idea to load up her wagon and line up outside of an Edmonton pot shop on Wednesday.

 Elina, part of the Girl Guides Canada Brownies program, unloaded all 30 boxes of cookies at $5 each in about 45 minutes, according to her father, Seann Childs.

 Childs says he came up with the idea a day or so before legalization.

 “We were going to sell them in the neighbourhood and it’s always been a little slow,” he said. “Elina was actually bit by a dog once.”

 “She did a fantastic job and was very polite and everyone was very polite with her,” he added.

 Childs added that he used the experience to teach his daughter about legalization.

 “We talked about ... what it was and what it means for people who want to use it and people who don’t want to use it,” he explained.

 Childs said Elina has cystic fibrosis and the Brownies program has been important to keep her active.

 He also said that smoking is normally harmful for her, so this was “the one day she could benefit from smoking.”

 "We like to have frank discussions with her, so she understands what it is and take away that mystery behind it,” he said in a separate interview with The Canadian Press. “Just to show her people of all ages and all walks of life are doing this and it's legal in Canada now, just demystify it for her so it's not a big deal for her."

 Elina didn’t elaborate much on her experience in her national TV interview beyond saying it was “fun.” She did, however, share a great joke.

 “Why did the cookie go to the doctor?” she said. “Cause it was feeling crummy.” |||||

– Canada is still getting the hang of this legal marijuana thing, and one 9-year-old girl seems to be ahead of the curve. Elina Childs, who belongs to the Canadian version of the Girl Scouts, called Girl Guides, set up her wagon outside an Edmonton pot store and unloaded all 30 boxes of her cookies in just 45 minutes, reports CTV News. "They sold out very quickly," she says, giving her dad credit for the idea of pitching to customers who might soon have the munchies. Elina has cystic fibrosis and cannot be around smoke, but "this was one day she could benefit from smoking," dad Seann Childs tells the Canadian Press. (After just one hour of legalization came a milestone ticket to a driver.)


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 / Updated By Gabe Joselow

 LONDON — Some weapons bought by the U.S. military in 2015 ended up in the hands of Islamic State fighters within two months, according to a report released Thursday.

 The findings, by Conflict Armament Research (CAR), an independent arms-tracking organization, are based on three years of meticulous documentation of weapons recovered from ISIS on the battlefields of Iraq and Syria.

 CAR used serial numbers or key markings on the weapons to trace them back to their origin and try to piece together how they were obtained by the militants.

 Some of the weapons found on the front lines after ISIS was driven out also include Chinese-manufactured machine guns laced with amphetamines, drones modified in sophisticated terrorist factories and even a rifle made in Nazi Germany.

 CAR found that one anti-tank missile sold to the U.S. Army made its way to ISIS in just 59 days.

 “This is extremely short,” said Damien Spleeters, the group's researcher for Iraq and Syria, told NBC News during a recent field visit to Tal Afar, Iraq. “It means that there are not many intermediaries in this chain of custody.”

 This anti-tank weapon was purchased from a Bulgarian manufacturer by the U.S. Army — but only weeks later it was property of ISIS. Conflict Armament Research

 Under at least two different programs, the U.S. government has supplied weapons to Syrian armed groups, first to fight the Assad regime and then to assist the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the fight against the Islamic State. Some of ISIS’ weapons are also thought to have been pilfered from military stockpiles while others were purchased illicitly.

 According to CAR's report, Iraqi police recovered a Bulgarian-made missile tube — part of a system for firing a wire-guided anti-tank missile — during the battle of Ramadi on Feb. 9, 2016.

 CAR documented the item and traced its origin to a Bulgarian manufacturer. The company confirmed to researchers that the weapon had been exported to the U.S. Army through an arms broker on Dec. 12, 2015.

 It is not entirely clear how the weapon got from the Bulgarian plant to ISIS fighters in Iraq.

 However, a Syrian opposition group called Jaysh al-Nasr posted a series of photographs on Dec. 21, 2016, showing fighters posing in a snowy landscape. A closer inspection shows that one of their anti-tank weapons bears an identical lot number and a similar serial number to the item seized in Iraq.

 That suggests, the report says, that they "were part of the same supply chain."

 CAR says the United States has not yet replied to a trace request for the weapon.

 Kiesler Police Supply Co., which CAR says brokered the anti-tank missile's sale to the U.S. military, declined to comment.

 Based on the anti-tank missile tube found in Ramadi and other examples of weapons purchased by U.S. suppliers from European manufacturers, CAR says there is evidence that many weapons obtained by various Syrian rebel groups supported by the U.S. were diverted to ISIS.

 When asked to comment on U.S.-purchased arms potentially ending up in the hands of ISIS, Eric Pahon, a spokesman for the Department of Defense, said, “Any alleged misuse or diversion of U.S. support will be taken seriously and lead to the possible curtailment of support, if verified.”

 Pahon added that he had not seen the CAR report.

 The CIA ran a covert program for arming some rebel groups fighting Syrian regime forces until the Trump administration reportedly axed it in July. U.S. government and military officials have declined to ever confirm the existence of the CIA program on the record, though President Donald Trump tweeted about it this year.

 Charles Lister, who specializes in Syrian rebel groups as a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, a Washington think tank, said Jaysh al Nasr was "one of the most significant groups" receiving support under the program.

 This Mauser rifle manufactured in Germany in 1941 was recovered in Baghdad, Iraq. Conflict Armament Research

 He added that CAR's proposed timeline for the diversion of the weapon makes sense, noting that the group had been battling ISIS during that time period.

 Separately, the Trump administration this year began arming the SDF — a coalition of Arab and Kurdish fighters — although Turkey’s foreign minister claimed last month that the administration had ended the program, now that ISIS had been routed from most of the territory it controlled.

 "Wherever possible, our advisors will monitor the use of the weapons and supplies we give the SDF ensuring use only against ISIS,” Pahon said.

 Pieter Wezeman, a senior researcher at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, said CAR’s work "shows the enormous risks" that come with handing weapons "to unprepared, not very well-trained armed groups, or even so-called organized militaries."

 The weapons recovered from ISIS and documented in the report come from a wide range of manufacturers and sources.

 Many were looted from Iraqi and Syrian government stockpiles as ISIS rampaged across both countries. By early 2015, the group controlled around 35,000 square miles of territory — an area about the size of Indiana.

 But CAR says the introduction of new weapons into the Syrian conflict significantly improved the “quantity and quality of weapons available” to ISIS.

 In propaganda videos, ISIS frequently showcases the U.S.-made weapons in its arsenal, much of it presumed to have been seized from Iraqi military stockpiles.

 In 2015, CAR found one American-made M-16 in Kobani, Syria, with an Islamic State commander’s name inscribed on the magazine — a clear status symbol.

 But in reality, American weapons make up only a minor portion of the small arms documented by CAR. Chinese and Russian arms account for more than 50 percent, with the ubiquitous AK-47 in heavy use.

 CAR found most of ISIS' weapons were made before 1990, the year Iraq came under an arms embargo.

 The report highlights the enormous breadth and depth of ISIS' arsenal.

 Its researchers found rockets made in the former Yugoslavia as well as guns and ammunition exported from Belgium more than 30 years ago.

 James Bevan, CAR's director, found a Mauser rifle manufactured in Nazi Germany in 1941 in an ISIS cache in Baghdad alongside 150 other weapons and improvised explosive devices.

 Spleeters said the fact that ISIS used older weapons “shows the extent of how long such a weapon can live and go through different owners and keep shooting and keep killing."

 CAR says it has documented more than 40,000 individual items during visits to Iraq and Syria, recording everything from tanks and rocket launchers, to bullets and bits of detonation cord.

 But it uncovered some surprises as well.

 In September, the group's researchers made the unusual discovery of 122 Chinese-made light machine guns at a former ISIS site south of Mosul. The serial numbers were mostly in sequence, indicating they were diverted from a single intended recipient. At least one pouch of amphetamines was attached to each.

 CAR concluded that ISIS "had stockpiled the weapons together with individual rations of performance-enhancing drugs for issue to its fighters." ||||| A significant proportion of the guns and ammunition in "Islamic State's" (IS) cache were manufactured in the European Union, according to the study published Thursday by Conflict Armament Research (CAR).

 In its 200-page investigation, the weapons tracking organization claimed that more than 30 percent of the arms used by IS extremists on battlefields in Syria and Iraq originally came from factories in Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Germany.

 Russia and China produced more than half of the weapons held by the terror group, the report added.

 The study, Weapons of the Islamic State, is the result of three years of fieldwork carried out by CAR teams in Iraq and Syria. Between 2014 and 2017, researchers analyzed more than 40,000 items recovered from IS frontline positions, including guns, ammunition, and components used to make explosive devices.

 Read more: Germany demands explanation after Kurdish arms sales reports

 Watch video 04:53 Share Bulgarian Arms in the Middle East Send Facebook Google+ Whatsapp Tumblr linkedin stumble Digg reddit Newsvine Permalink http://p.dw.com/p/2l7Mw Bulgarian arms in the Middle East

 How do weapons reach IS?

 The report pointed out that most IS weapons were looted from the Iraqi and Syrian armies. But in many cases arms purchased from eastern European states by Saudi Arabia and the United States — and then supplied to Syrian opposition forces — also ended up in the jihadi group's hands.

 "These findings are a stark reminder of the contradictions inherent in supplying weapons into armed conflicts in which multiple competing and overlapping non-state armed groups operate," the report said.

 Read more: Germany resumes weapons shipments to Iraqi Kurds

 It detailed how Saudi Arabia and the United States had bought billions of dollars worth of weapons from eastern European nations before passing them on to Syrian militias, often breaching contractual clauses.

 "Many of these transfers have violated the terms of sale and export agreed between weapon exporters — primarily EU Member States — and recipients in Saudi Arabia and the United States," the researchers said.

 Read more: 'Islamic State' capable of making chemical weapons

 The Soviet Union is dead, but its weapons live on Seven decades of Kalashnikov The 30-round AK 47 is arguably the most recognizable firearm in the world. The Soviet engineer Mikhail Kalashnikov (pictured above in 2002) created the automatic rifle after World War II. It quickly earned a reputation for being cheap and reliable, with various armies, guerilla groups and street gangs all using the weapon to this day.

 The Soviet Union is dead, but its weapons live on Makarov goes to space The 9mm Makarov pistol entered service in 1951 as a staple sidearm for the Soviet army, police and Spetsnaz special forces. Soviet cosmonauts even took the weapon to space as a part of a special survival kit, which was provided to them in case they become stranded upon landing back on Earth.

 The Soviet Union is dead, but its weapons live on MiG-29 still flying high The Mikoyan MiG-29 first entered production in the early 1980s, and was praised as a highly maneuverable and agile dogfighter. The original model has since been upstaged by both NATO fighters and its more expensive brother Sukhoi, but its variants are still deployed in combat. The Russian air force uses MiG-29s to target the so-called "Islamic State" forces in Syria.

 The Soviet Union is dead, but its weapons live on Blast from the past The Red Army used Katyushas to devastating effect against German soldiers in World War II. The multiple rocket launchers were attached to army trucks, making them cheap and highly mobile. Its distinctive whine and appearance reminded the German soldiers of a church organ, prompting a nickname "Stalinorgel" or "Stalin's organ."

 The Soviet Union is dead, but its weapons live on S-300 and its descendants In 2016, Russia sold its advanced aerial defense system to Iran, but kept quiet on the details. The Cold War-era version of the S-300 had a range of 150 kilometers (93 miles), and could hit targets at altitudes above 27 kilometers, with the more modern Antey 2500 system reportedly expanding the range to 400 kilometers. India and China are seeking to buy the even-more-advanced S-400 missiles.

 The Soviet Union is dead, but its weapons live on Dragunov sniper rifle The Dragunov sniper rifle was first introduced to the Soviet army in 1963 and has since found its way to war theaters across the world. It was reportedly used against US soldiers in Vietnam. In 2015, the SITE Intelligence Group published photos of the "Islamic State" soldiers with Dragunov rifles.

 The Soviet Union is dead, but its weapons live on T-34, a symbol of an era The Red Army owes much of its victory over Germany to the iconic T-34, which first appeared on the battlefield in 1941. The battle-tested T-34 eventually became the most widely produced tank of the war and influenced armored vehicles for decades. The Russian military still honors it by having it lead the Victory Day parade. Author: Darko Janjevic

 From Europe to IS in two months

 In one case, CAR said it traced an advanced anti-tank guided weapon that was manufactured in the EU, sold to the United States, and then supplied to a party in the Syrian conflict before ending up in the hands of IS forces in Iraq — all within two months of the weapon leaving the factory.

 "International weapon supplies to factions in the Syrian conflict have significantly augmented the quantity and quality of weapons available to IS forces — in numbers far beyond those that would have been available to the group through battlefield capture alone," the report said.

 Read more: 'Reckless' weapons transfers to Iraq fueled 'IS' atrocities: Amnesty International

 According to CAR, the parties involved in these arms transfers often deliberately attempted to conceal the weapon's source by changing the packaging, and removing or painting over factory markings. The researchers added that some of their data had led to criminal proceedings, including investigations by Belgian police into supplies of parts of improvised explosive devices (IED).

 Read more: German weapons firms find lucrative market in United States

 IS captured a large chunk of Iraq and Syria during a lightning offensive in 2014. They've since lost most of that territory, but CAR warned the militants still pose a threat because they've acquired the ability to manufacture their own highly sophisticated weapons.

 "Combined with global reach, demonstrated logistical and organizational capacity, and willing recruits around the world, these factors translate into an exportable capacity to conduct insurgency and terrorism well beyond the region," the report concluded. ||||| We use cookies to offer you a better browsing experience, analyse site traffic, and personalize content. Read about how we use cookies by clicking "Find out more." If you continue to use this site, you consent to our use of cookies. Find out more. |||||Summary:

– Weapons supplied by the US and Saudi governments to Syrian rebel groups landed in the hands of ISIS fighters, in some cases in a matter of just weeks, according to a Conflict Armament Research study. The organization's study of more than 40,000 items retrieved from ISIS positions in Iraq and Syria, including guns and ammunition, found that many weapons the US government bought from European suppliers were diverted to ISIS, including an anti-tank missile component that was found with ISIS fighters in Iraq just 59 days after it left a Bulgarian factory and was sold to the US, NBC News reports. CAR says around a third of ISIS' weapons were made in the EU. More than half came from China and Russia. "International weapon supplies to factions in the Syrian conflict have significantly augmented the quantity and quality of weapons available to IS forces—in numbers far beyond those that would have been available to the group through battlefield capture alone," CAR said in its report. The report also detailed unusual finds, including a German rifle from 1941 found with fighters in Baghdad, and a cache of 122 Chinese-made machine guns found near Mosul, each with a pouch of amphetamines attached. CAR warns that even though ISIS has now lost most of its territory, it now has the ability to manufacture its own weapons and remains a worldwide threat, Deutsche Welle reports.


Here is a news article: Theropod dinosaurs, thought to be the direct ancestors of birds, sported birdlike feathers. But were they the only feathery dino group? Godefroit et al. describe an early neornithischian dinosaur with both early feathers and scales. This seemingly feathery nontheropod dinosaur shows that feathers were not unique to the ancestors of birds and may even have been quite widespread.

 Abstract

 Middle Jurassic to Early Cretaceous deposits from northeastern China have yielded varied theropod dinosaurs bearing feathers. Filamentous integumentary structures have also been described in ornithischian dinosaurs, but whether these filaments can be regarded as part of the evolutionary lineage toward feathers remains controversial. Here we describe a new basal neornithischian dinosaur from the Jurassic of Siberia with small scales around the distal hindlimb, larger imbricated scales around the tail, monofilaments around the head and the thorax, and more complex featherlike structures around the humerus, the femur, and the tibia. The discovery of these branched integumentary structures outside theropods suggests that featherlike structures coexisted with scales and were potentially widespread among the entire dinosaur clade; feathers may thus have been present in the earliest dinosaurs. ||||| Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Kulindadromeus zabaikalicus' discovery in Siberia challenges our understanding of how dinosaurs evolved, as Pallab Ghosh reports (UK users only)

 All dinosaurs were covered with feathers or had the potential to grow feathers, a study suggests.

 The discovery of 150-million-year-old fossils in Siberia indicates that feathers were much more widespread among dinosaurs than previously thought.

 The find "has completely changed our vision of dinosaurs", the lead researcher told BBC News.

 The details have been published in the journal Science.

 It is a big discovery. It has completely changed our vision of dinosaurs Dr Pascal Godefroit, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences

 The creature, called Kulindadromeus zabaikalicus, was about 1m long, with a short snout, long hind legs, short arms, and five strong fingers.

 Its teeth show clear adaptations for chewing plants.

 Until now, fossilised evidence of feathery dinosaurs has come from China and from a meat eating group called theropods.

 The latest discovery, in Russia, is from a completely separate group of plant-eating dinosaurs called ornithischians - which account for half of all dinosaurs.

 Fluffy covering

 The find takes the origin of feathers millions of years further back in time than had previously been thought, said Dr Pascal Godefroit of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences in Brussels, Belgium, who led the research.

 Image copyright Th.Hubin Image caption Belgian and Russian researchers discovered an area filled with ancient dinosaur bones in Kulinda, south eastern Siberia

 "It was a big surprise," he said.

 Instead of thinking of dinosaurs as dry, scary scaly creatures a lot of them actually had a fluffy, downy covering like feathers on a chick Dr Maria McNamara, Cork University

 "The fact that feathers have now been discovered in two distinct groups, theropods in China and ornithischians in Russia means that the common ancestor of these species which might have existed 220 million years ago also probably had feathers."

 The discovery has "completely changed our vision of dinosaurs", he added.

 "Instead of thinking of dinosaurs as dry, scary scaly creatures a lot of them actually had a fluffy, downy covering like feathers on a chick," said co-researcher Dr Maria McNamara of Cork University in Ireland.

 Alternative view

 So do all the pictures of dinosaurs in children's books need to be redrawn to make creatures like Triceratops, Stegosaurus, Tyrannosaurus rex and the vicious Velociraptor, fluffier and cuter?

 Image copyright Pascale Golinvaux/RBINS/Science Image caption The researchers believe the dark areas on this dinosaur fossil are remains of the earliest feathers

 Perhaps a little bit, according to Professor Mike Benton, of Bristol University, who was also involved in the work.

 "Our research doesn't mean that all dinosaurs had feathers, especially as adults," he told BBC News.

 "Some will have had feathers as young animals and kept them throughout their lives. Others may have lost feathers as they grew up, and became large enough not to need them, or replaced feathers with scales or relied on bony plates in the skin for protection."

 The key point is that dinosaurs were all initially feathered and warm blooded, confirmation of an idea that has prevailed for years, he said.

 "Feathers were used first for insulation and signalling; they only later became adapted for flight."

 But Dr Paul Barrett of the Natural History Museum in London, has doubts.

 "Most feathers have a branching structure," he told BBC News.

 "Instead these look like little streamers coming from a central plate. No bird has that structure in any part of its plumage and none of the developmental models that biologists use to understand the evolution of feathers includes a stage that has anything like that kind of anatomy."

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A summary of this is?

– Dinosaurs were scaly old things, right? Not so much, apparently. A Science study of 150-million-year-old fossils uncovered in Siberia is playing a big role in flipping that perception on its head, suggesting that nearly all dinosaurs actually sprouted feathers. At least five species of feathered dinosaurs have turned up in China over the last 20 years, all belonging to the theropod group of raptors. The latest fossils, however, come from a two-legged dinosaur in the ornithischian group, which National Geographic says accounts for about half of all dinosaurs. "Probably that means the common ancestor of all dinosaurs had feathers," the study author says. The fossils have "completely changed our vision of dinosaurs," he adds, per the BBC. A paleontologist not involved with the study calls it "fantastic" and says it revealed three types of feather imprints different from those of other feathered dinosaurs as well as those of modern birds: "I don't know" why they had feathers, he says. "These animals couldn't fly, that's all we can tell you." (Read about a dinosaur that did fly—with four wings.)


Article:

This photo released by the Northwest Regional Corrections Center shows Monalisa Perez. Perez, of Halstad, was charged Wednesday, June 28, 2017, with second-degree manslaughter in the death of Pedro Ruiz... (Associated Press)

 This photo released by the Northwest Regional Corrections Center shows Monalisa Perez. Perez, of Halstad, was charged Wednesday, June 28, 2017, with second-degree manslaughter in the death of Pedro Ruiz... (Associated Press)

 HALSTAD, Minn. (AP) — A Minnesota woman charged with fatally shooting her boyfriend in a failed YouTube video stunt foreshadowed the event when she tweeted that it would be "one of the most dangerous videos ever."

 Monalisa Perez, of Halstad, was charged Wednesday with second-degree manslaughter in the death of Pedro Ruiz III. Perez, who is pregnant, was released on $7,000 bail. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

 According to the criminal complaint filed by the Norman County Sheriff Jeremy Thornton, the 19-year-old Perez told investigators that Ruiz wanted to make a video of her shooting a bullet into a book he was holding against his chest. She says she fired from about a foot (0.3 meters) away.

 Hours before the Tuesday night shooting, Perez tweeted: "Me and Pedro are probably going to shoot one of the most dangerous videos ever. HIS idea not MINE."

 The complaint says Ruiz set up one camera on the back of a vehicle and another camera on a ladder nearby.

 Ruiz's aunt, Lisa Primeau, told the Star-Tribune that her nephew was always chasing a thrill and "putting a dangerous twist on everything he did." Primeau said that included jumping into a swimming pool from the top of a house.

 Many of the videos on Perez's YouTube channel are of her and Ruiz playing pranks and performing stunts. The most recent was posted the morning before the shooting. It's titled "Doing Scary Stunts at the Fair, Part I" and shows the couple attending a fair last week.

 "Imagine when we have 300,000 subscribers," Perez says during the video.

 Primeau said Ruiz liked guns and had "plenty" of them. Authorities say Perez used a .50-caliber Desert Eagle pistol in the stunt, which is described by retailer Cabela's in an online ad as "one of the world's most powerful semiautomatic handguns."

 Perez died from a single gunshot wound to the chest. ||||| In an interview with The Star Tribune of Minneapolis, Lisa Primeau, an aunt of Mr. Ruiz’s, said, “We called him our little daredevil.” Her nephew put “a dangerous twist on everything he did,” she added, once even “jumping into the swimming pool from the top of the house.”

 Ms. Perez told investigators that she had shot Mr. Ruiz from about a foot away while he held a 1.5-inch thick book to his chest, the authorities said. She described using a firearm that matched the pistol that was found at the scene.

 Mr. Ruiz had been “trying to get her” to fire the gun “for a while,” Ms. Perez told investigators, according to court documents. They state that he had set up one camera on the back of a vehicle and another on a ladder to capture the stunt.

 To help persuade her to pull the trigger, Mr. Ruiz had even shown Ms. Perez a book that he had previously shot himself, she told investigators. In that case, she said, the bullet had not gone all the way through the text.

 The gun, a gold Desert Eagle .50-caliber pistol, was a “very strong weapon,” the sheriff said, adding that “as far as I know,” it was legal for Mr. Ruiz to own it.

 Claudia Ruiz, another aunt of Mr. Ruiz, told WDAY-TV in Fargo that before the fatal shooting, her nephew rationalized the stunt as a way to get more viewers and “get famous.”

 Ms. Perez appears to have posted 18 videos on her YouTube channel since May 9. ||||| Little Girl Finds A Secret Room In Her House That Leads Into An Even Wilder Surprise

 - Duration: 5:10.

 Did You Know ?

 10,990,015 views |||||
What is a summary?

– A Minnesota woman charged with fatally shooting her boyfriend in a failed YouTube video stunt foreshadowed the event when she tweeted that it would be "one of the most dangerous videos ever." Monalisa Perez, of Halstad, was charged Wednesday with second-degree manslaughter in the death of Pedro Ruiz III. Perez, who is pregnant and faces up to 10 years in prison, was released on $7,000 bail. According to the criminal complaint, the 19-year-old Perez told investigators that Ruiz wanted to make a video of her shooting a bullet into a book he was holding against his chest. Hours before the Tuesday night shooting, Perez tweeted: "Me and Pedro are probably going to shoot one of the most dangerous videos ever. HIS idea not MINE." The complaint says Ruiz set up one camera on the back of a vehicle and another camera on a ladder nearby. Perez says she fired from about a foot away with what authorities say was a .50-caliber Desert Eagle pistol, which the AP reports is described by retailer Cabela's in an online ad as "one of the world's most powerful semiautomatic handguns." Perez died from a single gunshot wound to the chest. Many of the videos on Perez's YouTube channel are of her and Ruiz playing pranks and performing stunts, with the New York Times noting that most were pretty mild; it cites one video were Ruiz eats a doughnut Perez covered not in powdered sugar, but baby powder. The most recent video was posted the morning before the shooting. "Imagine when we have 300,000 subscribers," Perez says during the video.


Article:
Bristol Palin Sued By Bar Heckler

 Breaking News

 He toldher mother was "evil" and a "whore" ... but now the man who verbally accosted's daughter in a Hollywood bar last year is suing Bristol for defamation.It's all over that infamous encounter at Saddle Ranch on the Sunset Strip back in September ... whenshouted at Bristol, " Your mother's a whore " (clip below -- skip to 1:40).Hanks is pissed because he claims the incident was captured by a reality TV crew that was with Bristol. Hanks says he never signed a waiver ... and was furious when his image started appearing in ads for Bristol's new Lifetime show, "Bristol Palin: Life's a Tripp."In his lawsuit, filed in L.A. County Superior Court, Hanks claims Bristol later gave an interview to a gossip mag and blamed him for causing her to leave Los Angeles and move back to Alaska.Hanks claims he can PROVE Bristol was lying ... because she had already purchased a new home in Alaska two months before their encounter.Hanks says Bristol's statements to the gossip mag hurt his reputation and damaged his career.In the suit, Hanks also gripes that Bristol accused him of being gay during their encounter -- saying she could "tell" by the way he looked.Hanks is suing Bristol and A&E -- the company behind Lifetime. He's asking for unspecified damages.Calls to Bristol have not been returned. ||||| Former Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin (2nd L) talks with her daughter Bristol Palin (2nd R) as she arrives at the embassy of Italy for an MSNBC after-party following the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner in Washington May 1, 2011.

 LOS ANGELES A man who heckled Bristol Palin in a Los Angeles bar and insulted her conservative politician mother, Sarah Palin, filed a lawsuit on Wednesday accusing the single mom of defamation.

 Talent manager Stephen Hanks also sued cable channel Lifetime, which includes film of the 2011 incident in Bristol Palin's upcoming reality TV show, claiming he had not given the program's makers his permission to be filmed.

 The lawsuit, filed in U.S. federal court in Los Angeles, stems from a widely publicized September 2011 incident at a bar and restaurant on the famous Sunset Strip.

 The amount of damages is not specified but Hank's lawyer, Los Angeles-based Michael Gulden, told Reuters the suit had been filed in federal court because the plaintiff was seeking more than $75,000.

 Representatives for Palin and Lifetime did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

 Palin, who rose to fame because of a teen pregnancy when her mother was running for U.S. vice president in 2008 as a Republican, had just ridden a mechanical bull at the bar when Hanks, who was a customer there, shouted out that her mother was "a whore" and said she was "evil".

 Video of the exchange that was widely posted on the Internet shows Palin, 21, confronting Hanks, asking him if he was gay, and getting into a heated exchange with the man who heckled her.

 Palin later told celebrity magazine In Touch that the incident was one of the reasons she had decided to leave Los Angeles and return to her home in Wasilla, Alaska.

 Hanks claims in his lawsuit, however, that Palin had bought a new house in Alaska in July 2011, and that she had defamed him by publicly blaming their encounter for her decision to leave Los Angeles.

 Hanks also says he suffered emotional distress and invasion of privacy over Palin's questions about his sexuality, and the use of the incident in publicity for the TV reality show.

 "Bristol Palin's conduct was outrageous", states the lawsuit, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters.

 "Bristol Palin first accused Plaintiff off 'being a homosexual' in a degrading manner in front of others ... she then in a magazine article blamed Plaintiff for her decision to leave Los Angeles for Alaska even though she had purchased her home in Alaska ... more than two months before the encounter," the lawsuit adds.

 Palin's reality show "Life's a Tripp", which chronicles her stay in Los Angeles with her now 3-year-old son Tripp and her return to Alaska, is scheduled to premiere on the Lifetime cable channel on June 19.

 Gulden said Hanks had tried without success to solve the matter outside the courts with Lifetime and its parent company A&E; Television Networks, which is owned by NBCUniversal, Disney-ABC Television, and the Hearst Corporation.

 "He has communicated with A&E; regarding use of the footage, and they were non-responsive. He felt (filing the lawsuit) was all he could do to protects his rights," Gulden told Reuters.

 NBCUniversal is controlled by Comcast Corp. and Disney-ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Co..

 (Reporting By Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte and M.D. Golan) |||||Summary:

– Stephen Hanks, who famously heckled Bristol Palin in a Los Angeles bar while she was filming her reality show, may have apologized … but now he's suing over her "outrageous" conduct. Hanks, a talent manager, says he never gave permission to be filmed, and is suing Palin and Lifetime—which is including video of the incident in Life's a Tripp, premiering Tuesday—for defamation, claiming he suffered emotional distress and invasion of privacy when Palin asked him if he was gay. Palin said the incident was partly to blame for why she left LA and returned to Alaska, but Hanks claims she had already bought her new Alaska home at the time—and thus further defamed him by blaming their exchange for her departure. His lawyer tells Reuters that Hanks attempted to communicate with Lifetime's parent company A&E about using the footage, but got no response. Hanks wants unspecified damages; his lawyer says the amount is more than $75,000. Click to relive the bar encounter.


Article:

Reaction to an NBC10 exclusive report, releasing the final words of the inspector who killed himself following a deadly building collapse. NBC10's Nefertiti Jaquez has the details. (Published Saturday, June 15, 2013)

 In a final message before taking his life, the lead building inspector responsible for a Center City building that collapsed last week said he was to blame for the deadly disaster.

 "It was my fault. I should have looked at those guys working, and I didn't," Ronald Wagenhoffer said in a video recorded on his cell phone.

 NBC10 Philadelphia has learned the 52-year-old veteran Philadelphia Licenses & Inspections staffer recorded the one-minute long message for his family.

 Wagenhoffer was found dead around 9:30 Wednesday night of an apparent suicide, city officials confirmed at a press conference Thursday.

 Reaction to Final Words of Inspector Before Suicide

 We have reaction to an NBC10 exclusive report, detailing the final words of an L & I inspector who killed himself following last week's deadly building collapse. Only NBC10 has confirmed that the inspector admitted he never set foot on the construction site before signing off on the project. NBC10's Harry Hairston reports. (Published Friday, June 14, 2013)

 Law enforcement sources say Wagenhoffer shot himself once in the chest inside his pickup truck along a wooded section of the 100 block of Shawmont Avenue in the Roxborough neighborhood of Philadelphia. That's less than a mile from his home.

 In the video, Wagenhoffer says he couldn't sleep and blamed himself for the building collapse at 2136 Market Streets that killed six and injured 13 when the building collapsed onto a store on June 5.

 He admitted he never truly inspected an adjacent work site after a citizen complained about safety concerns, although he reported there were no violations found.

 "When I saw it was too late. I should have parked my truck and went over there but I didn't. I'm sorry," Wagenhoffer said in the message.

 City officials said Wagenhoffer was sent to the demolition site of 2134 Market Street on May 14 -- that's adjacent to the building that collapsed at 2136 Market Street.

 The inspection was set to take place after Center City resident Stephen Field complained to the city's 311 call center about a lack of safety equipment on workers and adequate protection of the sidewalk. The city has been saying for a week that no issues were found.

 Building Inspector Admits Fault

 The man responsible for inspecting the building that collapsed last week in Center City, admits he was at fault in a cellphone video he left for his family. Ronald Wagenhoffer apparently committed suicide last night. NBC10's Nefertiti Jaquez uncovers new information in the case. (Published Thursday, June 13, 2013)

 Last Wednesday, the four-story outer wall of 2136 Market Street crumbled onto the Salvation Army Thrift Store next door. Six people were killed in the collapse -- three employees and three patrons. The wall also buried 13 others who were in different areas throughout the store, including the basement. They were eventually rescued by citizens and first responders.

 Excavator operator Kane R. Robert, also known as Sean Benschop, stands charged in the collapse. Investigators with the District Attorney's homicide unit say he tested positive for the pain killer Percocet and marijuana on the day of the collapse. They allege he was in no condition to operate heavy machinery. A grand jury has been convened to investigate the circumstances surrounding the collapse.

 L&I records also show Wagenhoffer completed and passed an initial inspection at 2136 Market Street on Feb. 25.

 City officials said that fellow employees and L&I Commissioner Carlton Williams reached out to Wagenhoffer in the days after the collapse.

 "This man did nothing wrong," Deputy Mayor Everett Gillison said at a press conference Thursday. "The department did what it was supposed to do under the code that existed at the time."

 In a tweet posted Friday afternoon, Mayor Nutter's Press Secretary Mark McDonald refuted NBC10's reporting of the video message.

 "NBC10 falsely stated that L&I inspector said of collapse -- "It was my fault." That is a total lie," he wrote.

 NBC10 Vice President of News Anzio Williams said, "We have seen the video. We are standing behind our journalism." In a phone conversation with Williams, McDonald maintained his belief that the report was inaccurate.

 A source close to the investigation who did not want to be named because they aren't authorized to speak publicly about the case, said Wagenhoffer had been grieving for days. They said Wagenhoffer did not take any time off after the collapse because he thought sticking to his work routine might help him deal with the tragedy.

 On Thursday, Nutter, who is in Chicago, was asked if Wagenhoffer should have been placed on leave after the building collapse.

 "Each of us deals with our grief and sorrow and any sense of responsibility in a different way. I'm not going to second guess his judgment to keep working," Nutter responded. He said Wagenhoffer had been in constant contact with his supervisor and was offered time off, but declined.

 Mayor Nutter Responds to Inspector's Suicide

 The lead inspector of a Center City building that collapsed last week commits suicide. Ronald Wagenhofferr was the last inspector to examine the building that collapsed, but city officials say he did nothing wrong. NBC10's Daralene Jones caught up with the mayor and asked why the inspector was still working after such a tragedy. (Published Thursday, June 13, 2013)

 "I think what you have here is a 16-year-employee who cared very deeply about his job," said Nutter. "We don't know all the things that may have been going through his mind."

 Commissioner Williams called Wagenhoffer an outstanding employee.

 “He was a dedicated civil servant who did his job," he said. "He started in the Department of Public Property and moved his way up through the ranks as one of our top code officials in the Department of Licenses & Inspections."

 Nutter said the city is also encouraging other employees to get emotional support if they need it.

 "Obviously I don't know why this happened, but we've tried to send a message out certainly to all of our public employees who are deeply affected by this, especially those who worked with Ron," Nutter said.

 Wagenhoffer leaves behind a wife, Michele and a son.

 Mayor Nutter Astounded Over Inspector's Suicide

 Mayor Michael Nutter said Ron Wagenhoffer was a man who cared deeply about his job and had a great love for the city of Philadelphia. Wagenhoffer shot himself to death last night. He was the lead inspector on the building that was under demolition when it collapsed last week onto a Salvation Army thrift store, killing six people and injuring 13 others. (Published Thursday, June 13, 2013)

 Deputy Mayor Gillison added there are five investigations underway regarding the collapse and that the city is "proud" of L&I's work.

 Griffin Campbell was the contractor overseeing the demolition. In a statement released by his attorney Kenneth Edelin, he said "heartfelt condolences go to the family of the inspector."

 "We also continue to pray for the families of those that were lost, and for the health and speedy recovery of those that were injured," the statement continued. ||||| A worker at a Salvation Army store adjacent to a building in the process of being torn down was sorting clothes when she heard rumbling and was suddenly buried, a lawyer for her said Friday as a shopper joined the woman in her lawsuit against the demolition contractor.

 A reporter makes a photograph of a makeshift memorial for Kimberly J. Finnegan near the scene of a building collapse, Thursday, June 6, 2013, in Philadelphia. Wednesday a building under demolition collapsed... (Associated Press)

 AP10ThingsToSee - A dust cloud rises as people run from the scene of a building collapse on the edge of downtown Philadelphia on Wednesday, June 5, 2013. At least six people were killed and 14 inured... (Associated Press)

 In this photo provided by Jordan McLaughlin, a dust cloud rises as people run from the scene of a building collapse on the edge of downtown Philadelphia on Wednesday, June 5, 2013. Buoyed by the discovery... (Associated Press)

 Firefighters view the aftermath of a building collapse, Thursday, June 6, 2013, in Philadelphia. Wednesday a building under demolition collapsed onto a neighboring thrift store, killing six people and... (Associated Press)

 Mayor Michael Nutter speaks during a news conference in the aftermath of a building collapse, Thursday, June 6, 2013, in Philadelphia. On Wednesday, the building under demolition collapsed onto a neighboring... (Associated Press)

 Firefighters view the scene of a building collapse, Thursday, June 6, 2013, in Philadelphia. On Wednesday, the building under demolition collapsed onto a neighboring thrift store, killing six people and... (Associated Press)

 Workmen work by hand at the scene of a building collapse, Thursday, June 6, 2013, in Philadelphia. Wednesday a building under demolition collapsed onto a neighboring thrift store, killing six people and... (Associated Press)

 Nadine White, a 54-year-old mother of three, had worked at the thrift store for about eight months. She was in the back of the store when she "heard a rumble and a wall collapsed on her," attorney Larry Bendesky said.

 A second plaintiff, Linda Bell, joined the lawsuit. Bell, a 50-year-old mother of three, was shopping when the collapse happened. She fell into the basement and was covered by rubble for more than an hour.

 "She's pretty shook up, in a lot of pain," her attorney Joseph Marrone said.

 Their lawsuit against demolition contractor Griffin Campbell gained speed as the rescue operation from Wednesday's collapse wound down.

 Robert Mongeluzzi, another of White's attorneys, said Campbell violated several federal safety regulations, while building owner Richard Basciano should have picked a more qualified and competent contractor to do the work.

 "This is the most egregious construction accident I think I've ever been involved in," said Mongeluzzi, who has represented hundreds of plaintiffs in construction accidents and is considered a top lawyer in the field.

 The lawyers received permission Friday from a judge to bring in experts to videotape and photograph the continuing demolition work by the city from a safe distance. Common Pleas Court Judge Ellen Ceisler ruled that once the site is deemed safe, experts for all parties can inspect the remaining debris.

 "From what we can understand, given (Campbell's) checkered past, and what appears to be a total lack of experience and know-how, we believe that was a grossly negligent selection," Mongeluzzi said Thursday.

 A man who answered the phone Friday at Campbell's home said he was not home, and Campbell's cellphone voicemail box was full. Peter Greiner, attorney for Basciano, was in a meeting Friday and did not immediately return a call.

 Campbell has previously been arrested on charges involving drugs, assault and insurance fraud and has had two bankruptcy filings. His daughter, Dominique Lee, who answered the door at his home, said Thursday that he wasn't there but was "mourning the loss of those people just like everyone else."

 The four-story building toppled onto the thrift store on Philadelphia's busy Market Street, six people, including a woman working her first day at the store. Thirteen people were injured.

 The collapse has brought swift and mounting fallout in a city where demolition contractors are lightly regulated. Officials have begun inspecting hundreds of demolition sites citywide, and a city councilman charged that dangerous, under-the-radar tear-downs are taking place throughout Philadelphia.

 The Department of Licenses and Inspections said it had 300 open demolition permits throughout the city; inspectors had visited about 30 of the sites by Thursday afternoon and planned to get to the rest by next week.

 The spot inspections included all four construction and demolition sites connected to Campbell. The city found violations at two of the Campbell sites and ordered a halt to the work.

 Councilman James Kenney, among others, called for a review of the demolition application and inspection process and demanded a stricter process for demolition companies.

 "This is happening all over the city," he said. "I need to know who the workers are who are there, what they know, what they don't know, how they've been trained."

 The city does check the condition of buildings to be torn down before demolition can begin _ and inspects them again after the tear-down is finished _ but does not require an inspection during demolition. A pre-demolition inspection at the site on May 14 turned up no issues, said Carlton Williams, head of the city's Department of Licenses and Inspections.

 Pennsylvania does not license demolition contractors, nor does the city. Williams said the city code does not require demolition contractors to show any proficiency in tearing down buildings.

 "Buildings get demolished all the time in the city of Philadelphia with active buildings right next to them. ... They're done safely in this city all the time," Mayor Michael Nutter said Thursday. "Something obviously went wrong here yesterday and possibly in the days leading up to it. That's what the investigation is for."

 Nutter said he was unaware of any complaints about the demolition work done by Campbell in the days before the tragedy. But the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration said it had gotten a complaint May 15 that workers at the site were at risk of falling. The complaint was still open at the time of the disaster, U.S. Labor Department spokeswoman Leni Uddyback-Fortson said.

 OSHA regulates the demolition industry and enforces standards meant to ensure worker safety. Among other things, its regulations forbid any wall section exceeding one story to stand alone without bracing, unless the wall was designed that way. Witnesses have said they saw a 30-foot section of unbraced wall before the collapse.

 A video of the demolition taken the Sunday before the collapse showed bricks raining down on the sidewalk as a worker used a backhoe and claw to remove a second-story front wall.

 The sidewalk and the staircase leading up from a subway stop appeared open to pedestrians despite the falling bricks. Cars and trucks could also be seen going past, just a few feet away.

 ___

 Rubinkam reported from northeastern Pennsylvania. Associated Press writers JoAnn Loviglio, Kevin Begos and Keith Collins contributed to this story, along with AP's News and Information Research Center. |||||
What is a summary?

– The man who inspected a Philadelphia building three weeks before it collapsed last week, killing six and injuring 13, has died in an apparent suicide. The 52-year-old, whose name has not been released, inspected the building several times and ruled it safe after a complaint was lodged last month, reports NBC. He apparently shot himself in the chest while parked in his pickup truck in an isolated area about a mile from his home, where his wife found him. His suicide note had been a text to her. Meanwhile, a crane operator awaits trial in the collapse, while victims are suing the demolition contractor.


Has Shia LaBeouf finally hit rock bottom? After a June 26 arrest following highly publicized drunken escapades in New York City, the actor checked into rehab in Los Angeles on Monday after being spotted carrying Alcoholics Anonymous literature. Only RadarOnline.com has all the details of his long and messy struggle to get — and stay — sober.

 PHOTOS: Take A Look, Lindsay! 12 Stars Who Sobered Up In Hollywood

 Just days after chasing a homeless person in Times Square and being arrested during a Broadway performance of Cabaret, LaBeouf emerged back in Los Angeles on Monday afternoon, according to x17Online — and onlookers couldn’t help but notice the giant blue Alcoholics Anonymous book clutched in his hand. Known by AA members as The Big Book, it is the central text of the program and considered essential reading for anyone trying to get and remain sober. Not long after, according to the report, he checked into rehab, looking “nervous” and “like he didn’t want to do it, but knew he had to,” an eyewitness said.

 Is he finally ready to give up drinking? This isn’t the first time that LaBeouf has dabbled in recovery.

 PHOTOS: Drunken Disasters The Stars Didn’t Want You To See

 The actor admitted long ago to attending AA meetings as a child, accompanying his father. He managed to stay on the straight and narrow as a teen, crafting a promising film career, but after a 2007 arrest at a Walgreen’s for what he admitted was “intoxicated” behavior, and a 2008 drunk driving arrest, it was clear he was developing issues of his own.

 In 2008, the National Enquirer reported that he had recently taken a chip celebrating 60 days of his own sobriety at an L.A. AA meeting.

 PHOTOS: More Celebs Looking Drunk As Skunks

 By 2011, he was ready to go public with his problems, telling Parade that he was an “alcoholic” after a messy bar brawl.

 He was also spotted frequenting AA meetings in both New York and L.A., insiders tell Radar.

 But by the next year, there were concerning signs he was off the wagon when he bragged about drinking moonshine and dropping LSD for movie roles.

 PHOTOS: Bodyguards Gone Wild! Drugs, Murder, Assault & Other Crimes Committed By Hollywood’s Hired Muscle

 And this week, he was arrested and charged with harassment, disorderly conduct and criminal trespass in NYC after downing margaritas while watching the World Cup at a midtown bar. ||||| Shia LaBeouf BANNED From Restaurant He's a Real Pisser!

 Shia LaBeouf BANNED From Restaurant ... He's a Real Pisser!

 EXCLUSIVE

 got crazy way before going to Studio 54 Thursday night. He was caught with his pants down last month outside a restaurant in L.A. -- which is why he's now banned for life.Shia hit up The Local Peasant in Sherman Oaks ... during his 4 hour visit, LaBeouf meandered to the back of the restaurant ... and the manager got suspicious.Eyewitnesses tell us the manager followed Shia to the parking lot, where he saw the actor peeing on the wall, so he called LaBeouf out. Shia profusely apologized in an odd rant.LaBeouf wasn't done ... he went back inside and tried ordering food, but the manager had enough and told Shia to get out. The 2 had words, Shia paid his tab and stormed out vowing never to return.The restaurant tells us the feeling is mutual. Shia is officially persona non grata. ||||| TMZ Sports

 Conor McGregor was released from custody and is most likely getting ready to fly back to Ireland after appearing in court where he was arraigned on charges stemming from the UFC bus… |||||
What is a one-paragraph summary of the above article?

– Did Shia LaBeouf's crazy night on Broadway last week finally convince him it's time to get help? Maybe: After he was kicked out of a theater and arrested Thursday night, LaBeouf checked into rehab in LA yesterday, x17 reports. LaBeouf was also seen toting Alcoholics Anonymous literature, Radar notes, adding that this isn't LaBeouf's first experience with AA: He reportedly celebrated 60 days of sobriety at an AA meeting in 2008, and in 2011 he admitted he was an alcoholic publicly and was seen attending meetings. As TMZ points out in numerous articles, the Broadway incident was just the latest bit of misbehavior from LaBeouf: Last month he was banned from an LA restaurant for peeing on its outside wall; earlier this month he was recorded trying to fight outside a New York strip club; and hours before his arrest Thursday, he chased a homeless man after a weird argument over a hat the guy was wearing. And then, of course, there was his 2011 bar brawl, his 2014 bar brawl, that whole debacle with Alec Baldwin, the paper bag incident, and his bizarre plagiarized apology tour.


News article:

Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings.

 / Updated By Halimah Abdullah

 President Barack Obama will not attend Justice Antonin Scalia’s funeral Saturday, the White House confirmed.

 Instead, the president will pay his respects on Friday, when Scalia’s body lies in repose in the Great Hall of the Supreme Court building. Vice President Joe Biden will attend Scalia’s funeral at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, the White House said Wednesday during a press briefing.

 Related: Obama Hails Justice Antonin Scalia, Says He Will Nominate Successor

 When pressed for clarification on Obama missing the funeral, White House press secretary Josh Earnest repeated that "the president will pay his respects at the Supreme Court on Friday and he'll be joined with the first lady when he does that."

 When asked whether Obama's Saturday plans include golfing, Earnest stressed instead that the president believes it is important to honor Scalia's life and service.

 PHOTOS - Antonin Scalia: The Supreme Court Justice’s Life in Pictures

 Four out of the past seven funerals for a Supreme Court justice have either had the president or vice president in attendance.

 Former President George W. Bush attended the funeral for Chief Justice William Rehnquist.

 Former President Bill Clinton attended the funerals for former Chief Justice Warren E. Burger and Justice William Brennan but did not attend the funerals for Justices Harry Blackmun or Lewis F. Powell Jr.

 Former Vice President Al Gore attended the funeral for Justice Thurgood Marshall.

 Scalia's chair on the Supreme Court bench and the bench itself were draped with black wool crepe in memoriam Tuesday — a Supreme Court tradition. In addition, a black drape was hung over the courtroom doors.

 Despite push back from Republicans who say Obama shouldn't nominate a replacement in an election year, the White House made it clear Wednesday that the Constitution gives the president the right to select a "well qualified candidate" to the Supreme Court.

 Obama called Scalia a “brilliant legal mind” in hailing the justice after his unexpected death Saturday at age 79.

 "He will no doubt be remembered as one of the most consequential judges and thinkers to serve on the Supreme Court,” Obama said in remarks Saturday night. ||||| The bench chair of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who died Saturday, is draped in black. | Getty Obama to skip Scalia's funeral The president's decision is being played up by some as a snub at a politically fraught time.

 President Barack Obama is preparing for a fierce battle with the Senate over the Supreme Court vacancy, but he’s not planning to attend Justice Antonin Scalia’s funeral — a decision that puzzled even some of his allies and incensed conservative media.

 "If we want to reduce partisanship, we can start by honoring great public servants who we disagree with," Obama's former "car czar" Steven Rattner tweeted with a link to a headline about Obama skipping the funeral.

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 Fox News host Sean Hannity blasted out his own site's article that dismissed the decision as disappointingly expected: “Obama To SKIP Scalia Funeral, Here's A List Of OTHER Funerals He Was Too Busy To Attend.”

 White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest revealed the president’s plans during the daily briefing, saying Obama and first lady Michelle Obama will go to the Supreme Court on Friday “to pay their respects to Justice Scalia” while the justice lies in repose in the Great Hall. Vice President Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden, who share Scalia’s Catholic faith, will be at the services instead.

 Earnest refused to be drawn out about why the president would not attend the funeral, saying he didn’t know what the president plans to do on Saturday, and Scalia’s son, Eugene, did not immediately respond to a question about whether the family requested that Obama not attend the funeral.

 “The president, obviously, believes it's important for the institution of the presidency to pay his respects to somebody who dedicated three decades of his life to the institution of the Supreme Court,” Earnest said, adding that Friday marked an “important opportunity” to pay those respects.

 In spite of the criticism, people close to the Scalia family said Obama was making the right choice. "I wouldn't have expected President Obama to attend the funeral Mass, and I see no reason to fault him for not attending," said Ed Whelan, a former Scalia clerk who now heads the Ethics and Public Policy Center. "The ceremony at the Supreme Court seems the most apt opportunity for the president to pay his respects, but he obviously might have severe competing demands on his time."

 There’s not substantial historic precedent for presidents attending the funerals of sitting justices. President George W. Bush not only attended, but also eulogized Supreme Court chief justice and fellow conservative William Rehnquist in 2005. But before him, the last justice to die in office was Robert H. Jackson in 1954.

 Still, the decision to forgo the funeral on Saturday was played up by some as a partisan snub.

 Tim Miller, the communications director for Jeb Bush, simply tweeted “Same.” in response to a message from MSNBC host Chris Hayes, who said, “Some amazing advice my mom gave me once: ‘If you're wondering whether you should go to the funeral, you should go to the funeral.”

 The optics of paying his respects to Scalia are tricky for Obama, who would have been the subject of constant cutaways to his reactions and interactions with members of Congress during the funeral, distracting from memorials for the giant of American legal thought.

 Obama so far has taken pains to show reverence for Scalia, even as he urged Republicans to keep an open mind about a replacement. In the immediate aftermath of Scalia’s death last weekend, Obama praised his wit and predicted that he would be remembered as one of the “most consequential judges and thinkers to serve.”

 Confronted with a series of questions during a press conference on Tuesday about Republican plans to block a nominee, Obama was careful to again express gratitude for Scalia’s service before launching into a Constitutional lecture directed at the opposing party.

 Scalia’s death ripped open a political seam that has suddenly consumed both the presidential race and the Senate, especially after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell immediately issued a statement calling for Scalia’s replacement to be delayed until the next president is in office. Obama almost as quickly announced he would not be deterred, and pronounced his intent to nominate a fair-minded legal heavyweight to replace Scalia.

 Former justice Sandra Day O'Connor on Wednesday appeared to back Obama’s decision to move forward with a nomination, telling a Fox affiliate, "We need somebody in there to do the job and just get on with it.”

 So far, however, the president has not tipped his hand as far as top candidates, or even whether he will considering picking a moderate who could be palatable to the Republican-controlled Senate.

 The White House said no nomination is expected this week while Congress is in recess, but there’s still been plenty of speculation and tea-leaf reading about both Obama’s and the Senate’s intentions.

 On Tuesday, some Republicans signaled they’re open to at least holding hearings, if not also allowing a confirmation vote. Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin in an interview with POLITICO bristled at the suggestion that his party would completely ignore a nomination, saying, “It’s amazing how many words are being put in everybody’s mouth.”

 Also on Tuesday, Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, whose panel would evaluate any potential Obama pick, said he wouldn't rule out holding hearings.

 On Wednesday, Nevada GOP Sen. Dean Heller broke with his party's strategy and called on Obama to put forward a consensus candidate. “The chances of approving a new nominee are slim, but Nevadans should have a voice in the process," said Heller, a purple state senator, in the most direct rebuttal to McConnell’s plans to complete block a Supreme Court nominee.

 But McConnell is still making hay of the Senate’s oppositional force, penning a letter on Wednesday afternoon for the Senate Republicans' campaign arm that told donors that their "support means everything at this pivotal moment in American history."

 "Senate Republicans have made a commitment to ensuring that the American people have a voice in the selection of the next Supreme Court Justice," McConnell wrote. "Stand with Senate Republicans as we hold our ground in waiting to confirm a new justice until after 2016, the time by which the American people will have chosen a new president and a new direction for our country."

 At the press briefing on Wednesday, Earnest also tried to clarify Obama’s view on his own decision as a senator to filibuster against President Bush's Supreme Court nominee, Samuel Alito, in 2006. Earnest said Obama “regrets” the decision. But, he said, the situation was different.

 “The president considered the qualifications and world view and credentials and record of the individual that President Bush put forward and then-Sen. Obama raised some objections," Earnest said. "And what the president regrets is that Senate Democrats didn’t focus more on making an effective public case about those substantive suggestions.”

 Burgess Everett and Nick Gass contributed to this report. |||||
What is a shorter version of the above article?

– In what some conservative commentators are calling a major snub, President Obama will not be attending Antonin Scalia's funeral on Saturday. Instead, Joe Biden will attend the service at Washington DC's Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, NBC reports. "The president will pay his respects at the Supreme Court on Friday and he'll be joined with the first lady when he does that," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters. Earnest didn't take the bait when he was asked whether Obama plans to go golfing on Saturday, but said the president "believes it's important for the institution of the presidency to pay his respects to somebody who dedicated three decades of his life to the institution of the Supreme Court." The decision surprised some Obama allies, who said skipping the funeral will do nothing to reduce partisanship, reports Politico, which notes that Obama has praised Scalia as one of the "most consequential judges and thinkers to serve." Some of those close to the Scalia family don't have a problem with Obama being a no-show. "I wouldn't have expected President Obama to attend the funeral Mass, and I see no reason to fault him for not attending," former Scalia clerk Ed Whelan says. "The ceremony at the Supreme Court seems the most apt opportunity for the president to pay his respects, but he obviously might have severe competing demands on his time." (Obama says he plans to nominate an "indisputably qualified" candidate to replace Scalia on the court.)


Juneau Mayor Death Investigation

 More from KTUU Juneau Mayor Death Investigation

 UPDATE:

 Juneau Police say the body of deceased Juneau Mayor Greg Fisk was found by his adult son who called 911 to report the death Monday night.

 The cause of death is unknown pending an autopsy by the State Medical Examiner, police said. Results of the autopsy are expected within several days.

 "JPD is aware of rumors that an assault occurred in connection with Fisk’s death. Those rumors are speculation," police said in a press release Monday night. "Detectives are actively investigating facts of the incident and all evidence is being preserved and documented."

 ORIGINAL STORY:

 Juneau mayor Stephen "Greg" Fisk was found deceased inside his residence on the 400 block of Kennedy Street, Juneau Police said Monday.

 Police received a 911 call at around 3:30pm Monday reporting a deceased person had been found inside the residence. JPD responded to the area with Capital City Fire/Rescue.

 Fisk was pronounced dead on scene, police said. Investigation is ongoing.

 “At this time it is an unattended death so it’s in the very early stages of an investigation," said JPD spokeswoman Erann Kalwara. "We haven’t determined if there’s anything suspicious or not.”

 The City and Borough of Juneau cancelled Assembly meetings scheduled for 6pm and 7pm Monday night, according to a statement posted on Facebook.

 Fisk was elected mayor in October, after securing nearly twice as many votes as incumbent Merrill Sanford.

 Juneau Deputy Mayor Mary Becker said Fisk was a long time family friend and was devastated to hear of his death.

 "He was a wonderful person and a friend and from the calls I’ve been receiving tonight, I’m not the only one who felt he was wonderful person and a good friend to Juneau," Becker told Channel 2. "It’s so devastating to have this happen, it’s basically unbelievable."

 As deputy mayor, Becker says she will assume the responsibilities as acting mayor in accordance with state law.

 "Our attorney is researching what kind of steps and procedures we will need to take so that we do everything legally. That’s all I know for right now," Becker said.

 For more coverage on this story, visit KTOO's website.

 This is a developing story. Check back for details. ||||| Starting in 1996, Alexa Internet has been donating their crawl data to the Internet Archive. Flowing in every day, these data are added to the Wayback Machine after an embargo period. |||||
What is a one-paragraph summary of the above article?

– The mayor of Juneau has been found dead in his home less than two months after he was elected. The body of Greg Fisk, 70, was found by his adult son on Monday afternoon and police, who have not released a cause of death, have been searching the area and interviewing neighbors, the Alaska Dispatch reports. Juneau police are "aware of rumors that an assault occurred in connection with Fisk's death. Those rumors are speculation," police said in a statement Monday night. "Detectives are actively investigating facts of the incident and all evidence is being preserved and documented." Fisk, a former state fisheries specialist, easily beat incumbent Merrill Sanford last month to become mayor of Alaska's capital, the Dispatch reports. Deputy Mayor Mary Becker, who says Fisk was an old family friend, will now become acting mayor. He was a "wonderful person and a friend and from the calls I've been receiving tonight, I'm not the only one who felt he was a wonderful person and a good friend to Juneau," she tells KTUU. "It's so devastating to have this happen, it's basically unbelievable."


It was part mockery, part shock-to-the-system wake-up call.

 Donald Trump is a nasty, hateful charlatan selling a false message to African-Americans and the rest of the country that puts everything President Barack Obama has done in office and stood for at risk, Obama said Saturday night, in a rip-roaring speech to the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation dinner in Washington.

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 Declaring he would consider it “a personal insult, an insult to my legacy” if black turnout falters for Hillary Clinton, Obama did what he got reamed for doing almost exactly two years ago, in the heat of midterm elections in which disdain for him was the defining force: Yes, he said, he is pretty much on the ballot in November.

 “My name may not be on the ballot, but our progress is on the ballot,” Obama said, his voice rising to a shout as he went well beyond what sources familiar with the speech said was a tamer version of the riff in the prepared remarks. “Tolerance is on the ballot. Democracy is on the ballot. Justice is on the ballot. Good schools are on the ballot. Ending mass incarceration, that’s on the ballot right now.”

 Hope and change was his campaign slogan eight years ago. This year, Obama said, Trump presents a nightmarish vision of change that he urged the country to reject.

 “Hope is on the ballot,” he said, laying out the choice. “And fear is on the ballot too.”

 Following Clinton on stage, Obama kicked off his remarks by taking on Trump’s attempt to move away from his long history of raising doubts about the president’s origins.

 “If there’s an extra spring in my step tonight,” Obama said, smiling. “I am so relieved that the whole birther thing is over.”

 Obama stressed that the issue isn’t just birtherism’s racism, but the kind of low-substance personality Trump has cultivated and brought to his campaign.

 “ISIL, North Korea, poverty, climate change — none of those things weighed on my mind like the validity of my birth certificate,” Obama said, in a tone dripping with sarcasm.

 “To think, that with just 124 days to go, just under the wire, we got that resolved. That’s a boost for me in the home stretch,” he laughed. "In other breaking news, the world is round, not flat.”

 But mostly, Obama raged. Boiling hotter than at his fall campaign launch event for Clinton in Philadelphia last week, he let loose at a candidate he presented as an existential threat to black America.

 The president sneered at Trump’s supposed appeal to African-Americans, being delivered almost simultaneously at a campaign event in Colorado, as the Republican ticked through a list of endemic problems and finished, “Vote for Donald Trump, what do you have to lose? I will fix it.”

 “We do have challenges,” Obama said, rebutting him, “but we’re not stupid.”

 Trump, Obama said, tells people that African-Americans have never had it worse, holding a beat to let the meaning sink in that the Republican nominee is making that claim as the first black president finishes his second term.

 Trump “missed that whole civics lesson about slavery and Jim Crow,” Obama said, giving a plug to the new Smithsonian African-American Museum opening on the Mall this week. “We’ve got a museum for him to visit. So he can tune in.”

 Using the museum’s opening to launch into a consideration of the arc of African-American progress, he said people who say their vote doesn’t count are an insult to the people who were beaten and killed registering voters during the civil rights movement. People who don’t stand up for their community, he said, shame the memories of the slaves who suffered extra lashes for learning how to read.

 The job of everyone in the audience, Obama said, and everyone who cared, was to vote and to get more voters registered — not just to stop Trump, but to stop anyone who stands with him, and anyone who has backed voter ID laws targeted at suppressing black voters while pretending to chase a problem of mass voter fraud for which there is no evidence.

 The worst part of those laws, Obama said, is that they are often backed by the same people who stop any kind of gun control measures, which does hurt the black community.

 That, he said, shows that Republicans are “apparently more afraid of a ballot than a bullet.” ||||| Washington (CNN) President Barack Obama delivered an impassioned plea to the African-American community Saturday night to help stop Donald Trump, saying he would consider it a "personal insult" to his legacy if black voters didn't turn out for Hillary Clinton.

 Addressing the Congressional Black Caucus gala for the last time as president, Obama warned that while his name would not be on the ballot in November, all of the progress that the country has made over the last eight years was on the line.

 "If I hear anybody saying their vote does not matter, that it doesn't matter who we elect -- read up on your history. It matters. We've got to get people to vote," Obama said. "I will consider it a personal insult -- an insult to my legacy -- if this community lets down its guard and fails to activate itself in this election. You want to give me a good sendoff? Go vote."

 Obama's speech -- coming less than two months away from Election Day -- marked some of his harshest words yet about Trump, as well as his most forceful call on the black community to get behind Clinton.

 His remarks also had lighter moments -- particularly as he addressed the so-called "birther" controversy. The second-term president began his speech by remarking: "There's an extra spring in my step tonight. I don't know about you guys, but I am so relieved that the whole 'birther' thing is over."

 Chuckling, the President said, "I mean: ISIL, North Korea, poverty, climate change -- none of those things weighed on my mind like the validity of my birth certificate. And to think: that with just a 124 days to go, under the wire, we got that resolved."

 Obama was referring to Trump's admission this week that the president was born in the United States . Trump has long supported the birther theory, raising questions about Obama's birthplace and demanding that the president present his birth certificate as proof of his origin.

 Obama's tone, however, soon turned serious as he outlined what he said was at stake in the election.

 "You may have heard Hillary's opponent in this election say that there's never been a worse time to be a black person. I mean, he missed that whole civics lesson about slavery or Jim Crow," Obama said. "But we've got a museum for him to visit, so he can tune in. We will educate him."

 In harsh rebuke of Trump, Obama referred to the businessman as "somebody who has fought against civil rights and fought against equality and who has shown no regard for working people most of his life."

 On Trump's quest to win over African-American voters, Obama quipped: "Well, we do have challenges, but we're not stupid."

 JUST WATCHED First lady Michelle Obama addresses birther controversy Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH First lady Michelle Obama addresses birther controversy 00:51

 Clinton lauds Obama

 Speaking moments before the president, Clinton lauded Obama and also took on the birther controversy that has been swirling.

 "Even when hateful nonsense is thrown their way, Barack, Michelle, their two beautiful daughters have represented our country with class, grace and integrity," said Clinton, who served as Obama's secretary of state.

 She added, "Mr. President, not only do we know you are an American, you are a great American."

 Clinton, who accepted the group's "Trailblazer Award" on Saturday night for becoming the first female presidential candidate for a major political party, nodded to Trump when she said that the choice in November "is not about golf course promotions or birth certificates, it comes down to who will fight for the forgotten."

 "We can't let Barack Obama's legacy fall into the hands of someone who doesn't understand that, whose dangerous divisive vision for our country will drag us backwards," she said, though she never mentioned Trump's name.

 Obamas stumping for Clinton

 Clinton's campaign is relying on the Obamas to help persuade the coalition of minorities, young people and women who propelled them to the White House to cast ballots for this year's Democratic candidate. The President made his first solo appeal this week, appearing at a campaign rally in Philadelphia and phoning in to African-American radio to talk up Clinton.

 "I get frustrated hearing folks say, 'You know, we're so excited with Barack, we love Michelle, they take Hillary for granted,'" Obama told syndicated host Frankie Darcell. "This is not a reality show. This is not something where it's all flash and fizzle."

 On Friday, First Lady Michelle Obama made her first campaign appearance of 2016, trying to convince her and her husband's supporters at a Virginia rally that Clinton is also worthy of their votes.

 "When I hear folks saying they're not inspired this this election, I disagree. I am inspired," she said, urging the crowd to register to vote and actually cast ballots for Clinton. |||||

Write a summary.

– Members of the Congressional Black Caucus, some of whom may have been having a hard time getting excited about voting for Hillary Clinton, got an angry warning Saturday night about a Trump presidency from the man preparing to pack up and leave the Oval Office in January. "You may have heard Hillary's opponent in this election say that there's never been a worse time to be a black person," President Obama said in his final address to the group as president, per CNN. "I mean, he missed that whole civics lesson about slavery or Jim Crow," adding, "we will educate him." As for the black community's supposed indifference about this election, "read up on your history. It matters. I will consider it a personal insult—an insult to my legacy—if this community lets down its guard and fails to activate itself in this election. You want to give me a good sendoff? Go vote." More from the speech, which Politico calls "rip-roaring": On what's on the ballot: “My name may not be on the ballot, but our progress is on the ballot. Tolerance is on the ballot. Democracy is on the ballot. Justice is on the ballot. Good schools are on the ballot. Ending mass incarceration, that’s on the ballot right now.” Sources tell Politico Obama strayed significantly from a more staid version of the speech. On Donald Trump: He's "somebody who has fought against civil rights and fought against equality and who has shown no regard for working people most of his life." On the end of the birther controversy: "I mean: (ISIS), North Korea, poverty, climate change—none of those things weighed on my mind like the validity of my birth certificate. And to think: that with just a 124 days to go, under the wire, we got that resolved."