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Think back, everyone -- can you remember when you first fell in love with actress Melissa McCarthy? I never saw her TV show, Mike & Molly. So for me it was her role in Bridesmaids. I thought the whole ensemble was hilarious, but Melissa's uttlerly balls-to-the-wall weird and highly original character had me in helpless fits, tears streaming down my face. She stole the show, as far as I'm concerned.

 I haven't seen her new movie, Identity Thief, yet. I'll probably read a few reviews first. But one reviewer whose opinion I'm totally disregarding is Rex Reed's. In his New York Observer review, he attacked Melissa for her weight. He actually did that, like that is something a professional film reviewer just does. Wait until you read what he said. It's infuriating.

 Advertisement ||||| How many ways can a grown person waste valuable time and lose vital I.Q. points at the same time? If you’re a movie critic, the possibilities are unlimited. And they all come together in a new chunk of junk called Identity Thief.

 IDENTITY THIEF ★

 (1/4 stars) Written by: Craig Mazin

 Directed by: Seth Gordon

 Starring: Jason Bateman, Melissa McCarthy and John Cho

 Running time: 111 min.

 In the trashy, stupefying screenplay by Craig Mazin, Jason Bateman is a Denver accountant named Sandy Patterson—another in a long line of victims of the increasingly dangerous world of cyber-crime—whose credit card has been hacked and copied by a felonious thief in Miami (cacophonous, tractor-sized Melissa McCarthy). Now there are two Sandy Pattersons—an innocent fraud victim on one side of the country facing bankruptcy and a screeching, humongous creep on a marathon shopping spree on the other side of the country who is running up thousands of dollars in charges and wrecking her victim’s credit rating in the process. The police do nothing, the male Sandy loses his job and faces jail time, and the only solution is to devise a plan to apprehend the fake, female Sandy and drag her from Florida back to Colorado to turn herself in and clear his good name. In order to stretch a five-minute idea into 107 minutes of contrived drivel some people may mistake for plot, the plan backfires. She beats him up, steals his wallet, wrecks his rental car and leaves him stranded on the highway in a pair of pants stolen from a dead hobo. With no identification or money, he gets arrested for assaulting an officer, drug dealing and illegal gun possession. And still, against all odds, they hit the road to Colorado pursued by killers, bounty hunters and “skip tracers,” who track down crooks who owe money to gangsters, jump parole and get involved in other intrigues invented by hack Hollywood screenwriters. The snafus in the worst road movie since The Guilt Trip plunge Mr. Bateman and his female hippo into a motel with only a double bed, a grotesque sex scene with a pickled reprobate she picks up in a bar who demands a threesome, a violent bar fight that bloodies his nose, a kidnapping, a multi-car collision going the wrong way on the freeway … but why go on? They seem to be making it up as they go along, in a movie that threatens never to end.

 By the time they got lost in the woods and fall into a den of hissing snakes, Elvis has long since left the building. Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids) is a gimmick comedian who has devoted her short career to being obese and obnoxious with equal success. Poor Jason Bateman. How did an actor so charming, talented, attractive and versatile get stuck in so much dreck? Identity theft is a real plague that is happening so often that people tremble every time they approach an ATM. It’s a deserving subject that should be explored in a more viable film, but Identity Thief is so bad it’s hard to believe it wasn’t directed by Judd Apatow or the Farrelly Brothers. ||||| 'Identity Thief' review: A case of fraud MOVIE REVIEW

 Photo: Bob Mahoney, Universal Pictures Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Image 1 of 1 Jason Bateman plays a sweet guy whose credit cards and identity are stolen by a manic con woman played by Melissa McCarthy. Jason Bateman plays a sweet guy whose credit cards and identity are stolen by a manic con woman played by Melissa McCarthy. Photo: Bob Mahoney, Universal Pictures 'Identity Thief' review: A case of fraud 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

 Identity Thief

 Comedy. Starring Melissa McCarthy and Jason Bateman. Directed by Seth Gordon. (R. 111 minutes.)

 Think of this as a movie review or as just a friendly warning from a like-minded individual: "Identity Thief" looked really good from a distance. In fact, it looked like it couldn't miss. Melissa McCarthy has emerged in the last two years as one of the funniest and most promising comic actresses around, and the idea of matching her exuberant relentlessness with Jason Bateman's long-suffering sardonicism (yes, that's really a word) seemed inspired.

 Indeed, it was inspired. It inspired financial backing, an advertising campaign, two estimable talents and all the moviegoers who are planning to see it this weekend. The only people it most certainly didn't inspire were Craig Mazin and Jerry Eeten, who wrote the screenplay. "Identity Thief" is not only not funny. It's negative funny. It's short on laughs, but it will disturb and annoy.

 What seemed like a good idea - a comedy based on the phenomenon of identity theft - turned out to be comic quicksand. McCarthy plays Diana, a Florida woman who has made a life of stealing people's identities, getting fake credit cards under the stolen name and running up enormous bills. Her latest victim is a nice guy named Sandy on the other side of the country, who gets an inkling something is wrong when his credit card is rejected at a gas station. His second clue comes when the cops arrest him for having been drunk and disorderly in Florida. He's in Denver.

 If you've followed along this far, you might already be able to diagnose the movie's fatal flaw: The concept of one person stealing another's identity might be amusing in the abstract, but the minute you start filling in the details, it becomes the stuff of drama, not comedy. This is especially the case in "Identity Thief," in which Sandy (Bateman) is a sweet guy, a hardworking family man with a third child on the way, who has finally lucked into a high-paying job. But now he faces dismissal, the complete destruction of his life, because of an imbecile in Florida.

 "Identity Thief" is constructed, believe it or not, as a road movie, a buddy comedy, in which two seeming opposites find common ground. Sandy goes down to Florida to bring Diana back to Denver so she can explain the whole situation to his boss. That a borderline sociopath would do a favor for a complete stranger - one who clearly means her ill - is far-fetched even in the loose terms of zany comedy. Even if she wanted to leave town, there is no reason she wouldn't ditch him at some point along the way.

 Actually, "Identity Thief" seems to be an attempt to wed a hot topic to the structure of "Midnight Run," the 1988 classic starring Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin. Call it a coincidence, but both films feature two antagonists on a cross-country trip. In both, they're chased by mobsters (played here by T.I. and Genesis Rodriguez) and by a bounty hunter (played here by Robert Patrick). In "Midnight Run," the men become better people for knowing each other, whereas "Identity Thief" is so clumsily written that we're told that that happens, even though it doesn't. "You taught me about getting what you want," Sandy tells his nemesis, "and about confidence."

 There are holes in the story you could float a blimp through and loose ends everywhere, but none of that would matter if "Identity Thief" had a spark of joy, some honest life to it. There is none. It's just an irritant, and the worst kind to boot, one that resorts to fake sentiment in the end, like a scoundrel begging for a reprieve. Yes, two or three times McCarthy, through an unexpected reading of a weak line, can coax a laugh - she's that talented - and Bateman is true to his role, which is to be a dramatic character facing personal tragedy who just happens to be stuck in a supposed comedy.

 But that's the best that can be said for "Identity Thief," and even that's not much. ||||| All that good will Melissa McCarthy had after “Bridesmaids”? Completely undone by “Identity Thief,” an obnoxious comedy made worse by obnoxious sentimentality. Unfunny, predictable, and vulgar, it’s the generic equivalent of a Judd Apatow movie. As always, you get what you pay for.

 Unless, of course, fat ladies rubbing their crotches and braying like mules is your idea of comedy gold, in which case, here’s your swill of the week. Jason Bateman, trying manfully to hold on to his dignity, plays Sandy Patterson, a Denver corporate drone with a pregnant wife (Amanda Peet) and two little girls (sisters Mary-Charles and Maggie Elizabeth Jones). Mr. Average, in other words. McCarthy is Diana, a cheerful sociopath who smooth-talks Sandy out of his credit information over the phone and goes on a Florida shopping spree that ends up with the cops at her victim’s door.

 The few laughs come early, via Diana’s infectious shopaholic glee; few people in the movies enjoy themselves as enjoyably as McCarthy. Then the script by Craig Mazin and Jerry Eeten tortures itself in an effort to get Sandy and Diana together and on a road trip back to Denver, where he can turn her over to the law and convince his boss (John Cho) of his innocence. No, it doesn’t make sense. Nothing in this movie makes sense. Next to “Identity Thief,” “Inception” is a marvel of sober concision.

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 On the couple’s trail are a psychotic debt collector (Robert Patrick, looking like a methed-out Kris Kristofferson) and two sharply dressed members of a drug cartel (Genesis Rodriguez and rapper T.I.) who want Diana dead for reasons even the screenwriters can’t figure out. Director Seth Gordon — who had a promising little career making documentaries like “The King of Kong” before going Hollywood with dreck like “Horrible Bosses” — puts more energy into the car chases than anything that passes for recognizable human behavior.

 At 108 minutes, “Identity Thief” goes on forever, and you start ticking off the comedy clichés and story beats to keep tedium at bay: Scene where McCarthy sings badly to ’70s oldies on the car radio, check. Scene where Bateman loses his pants, check. Scene where McCarthy sees a picture of Bateman’s kids and goes all gooey, sigh.

 And obligatory fat-guy butt cheeks, obviously. In what you’d think would be the low point of “Identity Thief,” Diana invites a portly gent named Big Chuck (Eric Stonestreet) back to a motel room for a furniture-wrecking bout of kinky sex while Sandy cowers in the bathroom. If the filmmakers really wanted to push the envelope, they’d throw Sandy and Diana into bed together, but that might scare the paying customers. The movie’s general attitude toward large people is that they’re just regular folks once you’re done making fun of them.

 Actually, the rock-bottom nadir of “Identity Thief” would have to be the scenes that try to gin up sympathy for Diana: a weepy monologue about her foster-home upbringing and a late-inning makeover that gives the character a “sensible” hairdo and a tasteful black dress. It’s like putting a circus clown in a chador — what’s the point? As a comedy star, McCarthy lives by aggression and the belief that she’s the hottest thing on the planet. Her obliviousness empowers her; that’s the joke, and she’s in on it. In “Identity Thief,” the joke’s on her, and everyone comes out a loser. |||||

– No matter how much you like Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy, critics are urging you to decline Identity Thief, their new—sadly conventional and unfunny—buddy comedy. Here's what critics are saying, including one who got himself in hot water: As a fan of Bateman and McCarthy, Mick LaSalle at the San Francisco Chronicle wanted to like it. But "what seemed like a good idea—a comedy based on the phenomenon of identity theft—turned out to be comic quicksand," because having your life ruined at random isn't really funny. Bateman comes off as "a dramatic character facing personal tragedy who just happens to be stuck in a supposed comedy." The screenplay "tortures itself" to get its leads on a buddy-movie-esque road trip together, complains Ty Burr at the Boston Globe. "No, it doesn't make sense. Nothing in this movie makes sense. Next to Identity Thief, Inception is a marvel of sober concision." It's littered with "comedy clichés," and worse, an "obnoxious sentimentality," like the "generic equivalent of a Judd Apatow movie." Rex Reed at the New York Observer has drawn criticism of his own for calling McCarthy a "tractor-sized" "female hippo" who "has devoted her short career to being obese and obnoxious with equal success." Many have decried the review as sexist. "Have you ever read a review where a male actor was described this way?" asks Adriana Velez at The Stir, pointing out the host of plus-sized male comedians who haven't faced that kind of ridicule. Meanwhile Manohla Dargis at the New York Times thinks McCarthy is the best part of the movie, "the supernova who burns up this show." But ultimately this is "a lazy comedy" that isn't subversive enough to really cut her loose. "Order must be restored, the family reunited, the wild woman tamed." Everyone must learn a lesson, "and then everything will fit tidily, phonily together."


– A Louisiana father who was trying to fix his handgun accidentally killed his kids' 13-year-old babysitter, the Advocate reports. Adonis Forbes, 25, and his wife were out for their anniversary on Saturday when they came home for a quick check on their kids. That's when Forbes, of Baton Rouge, noticed his gun wasn't working right, police say. He tried to correct the problem, and the gun went off, hitting Murrain Hawkins in the abdomen, the Advocate notes. Forbes was trying to save Murrain when police showed up; the boy was pronounced dead at a hospital. Forbes, who is out of jail on a $10,000 bond, faces a negligent homicide charge, WAFB reports. (Meanwhile, Florida won't be charging a gun-twirling man who killed a pregnant woman.)

Expand this summary.

Baton Rouge man returning home to check on kids, accidentally shoots, kills 13-year-old baby-sitter

 Baton Rouge man returning home to check on kids, accidentally shoots, kills 13-year-old baby-sitter

 A Baton Rouge man was working on his handgun Saturday night when it accidentally discharged, killing a 13-year-old boy who was baby-sitting his kids.

 The incident began when 25-year-old Adonis Forbes was out celebrating an anniversary with his wife. The couple decided to check on their kids at about 9 p.m. before heading out again, said Cpl. L’Jean McKneely, a Baton Rouge police spokesman.

 While they were at their house at 2014 Tennessee St., Forbes decided to check on his gun and found it was malfunctioning — and while trying to fix it, the gun fired, McKneely said.

 The bullet struck the baby-sitter, Murrain Hawkins, of 3405 Myrtlelawn St., in the abdomen.

 When police arrived, they found Hawkins lying on the ground with a bullet wound and Forbes trying to administer aid, McKneely said. The teen was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.

 Forbes was questioned and ultimately booked into Parish Prison on a count of negligent homicide. His bail was set at $10,000.

 It was unclear whether Hawkins and Forbes are related, McKneely said. ||||| Baton Rouge Police say a young male was killed in a shooting Saturday night. The shooting took place on Tennessee Street around 9:00 pm.

 Baton Rouge Police say a young male was killed in a shooting Saturday night. The shooting took place on Tennessee Street around 9:00 pm.

 A man arrested in connection with the accidental shooting death of a teen has bonded out of jail, according to authorities.

 The East Baton Rouge Parish Prison reported Adonis Forbes, 25, of Baton Rouge, was released after posting $10,000 bond. He is charged with negligent homicide in the shooting death of Murrain Hawkins, 13, also of Baton Rouge.

 According to the Baton Rouge Police Department, Forbes was working on his handgun when it accidentally went off and Hawkins was hit in the stomach. Investigators said Hawkins was babysitting for Forbes at the time.

 EMS rushed Hawkins to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.

 Copyright 2015 WAFB. All rights reserved. |||||


– Monday was Bitcoin Pizza Day, the anniversary of the day in 2010 when developer Laszlo Hanyecz paid 10,000 bitcoins for two pizzas in the online currency's first recognized transaction. The same amount of bitcoins would be worth around $22.5 million now. The currency, which sank to $443 a year ago, is up more than 65% so far this month and has been soaring to record highs, passing $2,000 for the first time over the weekend and breaking through the $2,100 and $2,200 marks on Monday, reports CNBC, which notes that a $100 investment in bitcoins exactly seven years ago would be worth more than $75 million at the $2,251 price it reached Monday. Analysts say several factors are behind the steep rise in the price of the currency, including political uncertainty worldwide and the ironing out of technical issues. Japan has also given bitcoins a big boost with new legislation allowing retailers to accept the currency. "The Japanese have caught the bitcoin bug and inefficiencies across markets are being exposed," CryptoCompare founder Charles Hayter tells Business Insider. But other "crypto-currencies," including Ethereum and Ripple, have been rising even faster than bitcoin, leading analysts to warn that a bubble appears to be developing, the BBC reports.

Expand this summary.

On May 22, 2010, Hanyecz asked a fellow enthusiast on a bitcoin forum to accept 10,000 bitcoin for two Papa John's Pizzas. At the time, Hanyecz believed that the coins he had "mined" on his computer were worth around 0.003 cents each.

 Bitcoin mining involves solving a complex mathematical solution with the miner being rewarded in bitcoin. This is how Hanyecz got his initial coins.

 The cryptocurrency has many doubters as it continues to be associated with criminal activity, but it has still seen a stunning rally. Here are two facts, on Bitcoin Pizza Day, however, that highlight this:

 While being worth $30 at the time, Hanyecz pizzas would now cost $22.5 million at current bitcoin prices.

 If you bought $100 of bitcoin at the 0.003 cent price on May 22, 2010, you'd now be sitting on around $75 million.

 A number of factors have been driving the rally:

 Recently passed legislation in Japan that allows retailers to start accepting bitcoin as a legal currency has boosted trading in yen, which now accounts for over 40 percent of all bitcoin trade

 Political uncertainty globally has driven demand for bitcoin as a safe haven asset

 A debate within the bitcoin community about the future of the underlying technology behind bitcoin known as the blockchain has been taking place. There was fear at one point this could lead to the creation of two separate cryptocurrencies but those worries have largely subsided with an alternative, more palatable option now being put forward.

 For an in-depth look at the factors driving bitcoin, click here. ||||| Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Bitcoin's value has fluctuated sharply over the last four years

 The value of Bitcoin has hit a new high with each individual coin now worth more than $2,100 (£1,615).

 The valuation caps a strong month for the virtual currency, with its value growing by more than 65% in a month.

 The steady rise in value is believed to be linked to policy changes in Japan and China that have made it easier for speculators to trade in bitcoins.

 Many other virtual currencies have also enjoyed a sustained rise in value over the last few weeks.

 Bitcoin first broke the $1,000 (£768) barrier in November 2013 but its value has fluctuated wildly since then. For instance, in early 2014 one bitcoin was worth only $280 (£215).

 And at the end of 2016, each one was changing hands for about $900 (£690).

 Unsustainable bubble

 Bitcoin emerged in 2008 and is a digital currency based around cryptography. Individual coins can be split into smaller denominations and many people involved with the currency use computers to verify the globally-held log, known as the blockchain, of who spent what where.

 Verifying transactions involves solving a complicated mathematical problem and the first person to do so gets rewarded with bitcoins.

 Rising interest in bitcoin has sparked the creation of many other crypto-currencies. These have proved popular as the technology underlying bitcoin has struggled to cope with its popularity and growth. One estimate suggests bitcoins now make up only 47% of all traded crypto-currencies.

 Rivals such as Ethereum and Ripple have been gaining value far faster than bitcoin over the last few months.

 The surging valuations has led some commentators to suggest that an unsustainable crypto-currency bubble is developing.

 "The question is not if but when the market will turn," said an editorial in The Economist. ||||| laszlo

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 Full MemberActivity: 199Merit: 319 Pizza for bitcoins? May 18, 2010, 12:35:20 AM Merited by Seccour (50), Vod (20), alani123 (12), OgNasty (10), the_poet (10), Totscha (10), arthurbonora (10), leps (10), mnightwaffle (10), cheefbuza (7), d5000 (5), Betwrong (5), mia_houston (5), krogothmanhattan (5), klondike_bar (3), nutildah (3), vapourminer (2), gbianchi (2), bones261 (2), LoyceV (2), malevolent (1), EFS (1), iluvbitcoins (1), ETFbitcoin (1), S3cco (1), HI-TEC99 (1), jacktheking (1), bitart (1), batang_bitcoin (1), Astargath (1), coolcoinz (1), apoorvlathey (1), TheQuin (1), Financisto (1), Toxic2040 (1), amishmanish (1), chimk (1), Toughit (1), nullius (1), lonchafina (1), grinbuck (1), alia (1), inkling (1), Kda2018 (1) #1 I'll pay 10,000 bitcoins for a couple of pizzas.. like maybe 2 large ones so I have some left over for the next day. I like having left over pizza to nibble on later. You can make the pizza yourself and bring it to my house or order it for me from a delivery place, but what I'm aiming for is getting food delivered in exchange for bitcoins where I don't have to order or prepare it myself, kind of like ordering a 'breakfast platter' at a hotel or something, they just bring you something to eat and you're happy!

 I like things like onions, peppers, sausage, mushrooms, tomatoes, pepperoni, etc.. just standard stuff no weird fish topping or anything like that. I also like regular cheese pizzas which may be cheaper to prepare or otherwise acquire.

 If you're interested please let me know and we can work out a deal.

 Thanks,

 Laszlo

 BC: 157fRrqAKrDyGHr1Bx3yDxeMv8Rh45aUet

 Xunie

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 Full MemberActivity: 132Merit: 100 Re: Pizza for bitcoins? May 18, 2010, 07:14:39 PM #5 I'd buy you a Domino's for you, if I knew how to pay from Europe!

 (Like, how is Domino's pizza in the United States gonna receive my payment?, Credit card?) Caffeinism -- a toxic condition caused by excessive ingestion of coffee and other caffeine-containing beverage.

 Hey Ned. (Dec 18, 2018)

 laszlo

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 Full MemberActivity: 199Merit: 319 Re: Pizza for bitcoins? May 18, 2010, 07:18:00 PM #6 A lot of pizza places have online ordering, my wife and I use that sometimes with Papa John's. Almost all of them will accept credit cards by phone as well BC: 157fRrqAKrDyGHr1Bx3yDxeMv8Rh45aUet

 laszlo

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 Full MemberActivity: 199Merit: 319 Re: Pizza for bitcoins? May 21, 2010, 09:33:45 PM #10

 I just think it would be interesting if I could say that I paid for a pizza in bitcoins BC: 157fRrqAKrDyGHr1Bx3yDxeMv8Rh45aUet

 laszlo

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 Full MemberActivity: 199Merit: 319 Re: Pizza for bitcoins? June 12, 2010, 08:14:44 PM #14 This is an open offer by the way.. I will trade 10,000 BTC for 2 of these pizzas any time as long as I have the funds (I usually have plenty). If anyone is interested please let me know. The exchange is favorable for anyone who does it because the 2 pizzas are only about 25 dollars total, maybe 30 if you give the guy a nice tip. If you get me the upgraded extra large ones or something, I can throw in some more bitcoins, just let me know and we'll work something out.

 My 1 year old daughter really enjoys pizza too! She just smears it all over her face if you give her a whole slice, but she does eventually manage to get most of it in her mouth (minus a few loose toppings of course). BC: 157fRrqAKrDyGHr1Bx3yDxeMv8Rh45aUet

 MoonShadow

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 LegendaryActivity: 1708Merit: 1000 Re: Pizza for bitcoins? August 04, 2010, 06:56:55 AM #15 Quote from: laszlo on June 12, 2010, 08:14:44 PM This is an open offer by the way.. I will trade 10,000 BTC for 2 of these pizzas any time as long as I have the funds (I usually have plenty). If anyone is interested please let me know. The exchange is favorable for anyone who does it because the 2 pizzas are only about 25 dollars total, maybe 30 if you give the guy a nice tip. If you get me the upgraded extra large ones or something, I can throw in some more bitcoins, just let me know and we'll work something out.

 An open offer, you say? It's been a while since you had some pizza. Feeling a craving, Laszlo?

 An open offer, you say? It's been a while since you had some pizza. Feeling a craving, Laszlo? "The powers of financial capitalism had another far-reaching aim, nothing less than to create a world system of financial control in private hands able to dominate the political system of each country and the economy of the world as a whole. This system was to be controlled in a feudalist fashion by the central banks of the world acting in concert, by secret agreements arrived at in frequent meetings and conferences. The apex of the systems was to be the Bank for International Settlements in Basel, Switzerland, a private bank owned and controlled by the world's central banks which were themselves private corporations. Each central bank...sought to dominate its government by its ability to control Treasury loans, to manipulate foreign exchanges, to influence the level of economic activity in the country, and to influence cooperative politicians by subsequent economic rewards in the business world."

 - Carroll Quigley, CFR member, mentor to Bill Clinton, from 'Tragedy And Hope'

 laszlo

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 Full MemberActivity: 199Merit: 319 Re: Pizza for bitcoins? August 04, 2010, 05:51:05 PM #17 Thanks to everyone who bought me pizza already but I'm kind of holding off on doing any more of these for now. Well I didn't expect this to be so popular but I can't really afford to keep doing it since I can't generate thousands of coins a day anymoreThanks to everyone who bought me pizza already but I'm kind of holding off on doing any more of these for now. BC: 157fRrqAKrDyGHr1Bx3yDxeMv8Rh45aUet

 bitcoinex

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 probiwon.com

 Sr. MemberActivity: 350Merit: 250probiwon.com Re: Pizza for bitcoins? November 29, 2010, 10:58:22 AM #18

 What's is it eat pizza for $2600? Greetings from November 2010!What's is it eat pizza for $2600? probiwon.com

 - Moжeт, ты eщё и в Heвидимyю Pyкy Pынкa вepyeшь? - Зaчeм жe вepoвaть в тo, чтo мoжнo нaблюдaть нeпocpeдcтвeннo? New bitcoin lottery:- Moжeт, ты eщё и в Heвидимyю Pyкy Pынкa вepyeшь? - Зaчeм жe вepoвaть в тo, чтo мoжнo нaблюдaть нeпocpeдcтвeннo? |||||


Eastbourne (United Kingdom) (AFP) - A 103-year-old man and a 91-year-old woman held their wedding in Britain on Saturday, becoming the oldest couple to get married in the world.

 George Kirby and Doreen Luckie -- together for 27 years -- looked delighted as they tied the knot at a hotel in the seaside town of Eastbourne, southern England, before close friends and family.

 The bride wore a white dress with blue flowers while the groom, a former boxer, was dressed smartly in a suit and tie, and was in a wheelchair following a recent fall.

 With a combined age of 194 years, the pair beat the previous record held by a French couple, Francois Fernandez and Madeleine Francineau, who had a combined age of 191 years.

 Speaking ahead of the ceremony, Luckie said the couple had "no regrets" about not doing it earlier. "We didn't want to bother about marriage before but eventually we did it," she said.

 The couple reportedly have seven children, 15 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren between them.

 They got engaged on Valentine's Day this year, according to the Daily Mail.

 "I didn't get down on one knee, because I don't think I would have been able to get back up," the newspaper quoted Kirby as saying. ||||| A British couple has broken world records by becoming the oldest newlyweds ever at the combined age of 194.

 Mr George Kirkby and Ms Doreen Luckie, 91, were married on Saturday - the day of Mr Kirkby’s 103rd birthday.

 The pair exchanged vows to become the oldest newlyweds with a combined age of 194 and 281 days, in front of 50 guests and a representative from the Guinness Book of World Records.

 The couple have been living together since 1988, but finally gave in to pressure from their elderly children to make their union official.

 George met Doreen at the age of 76, when he had just divorced, whereas Doreen had become a widow three years prior after 36 years of marriage.

 In pictures: Marriage equality rally in Sydney

 15 show all In pictures: Marriage equality rally in Sydney

 1/15 Sydney equal marriage rally Demonstrators make a love heart sign with their hands in a signal for marriage equality Getty Images

 2/15 Sydney equal marriage rally Police direct demonstrators to stop making chalk inscriptions on the road during the rally Getty Images

 3/15 Sydney equal marriage rally Crowds gather at Taylor Square during the demonstration Getty Images

 4/15 Sydney equal marriage rally Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young addresses the crowds at Taylor Square Getty Images

 5/15 Sydney equal marriage rally Christine Forster (R) and her partner Virginia Edwards address the demonstrators in Taylor Square Getty Images

 6/15 Sydney equal marriage rally Police attempt to stop demonstrators making chalk inscriptions on Oxford Street during the rally Getty Images

 7/15 Sydney equal marriage rally Christine Forster and her partner Virginia Edwards join the demonstrators in Sydney Getty Images

 8/15 Sydney equal marriage rally The crowds gathered in Taylor Square in support of a free vote on marriage equality Getty Images

 9/15 Sydney equal marriage rally Joyce Maynge poses in the crowd during the demonstration Getty Images

 10/15 Sydney equal marriage rally A demonstrator holds up a placard urging the government to call for a free vote on marriage equality Getty Images

 11/15 Sydney equal marriage rally A demonstrator advances through Sydney beneath a rainbow flag EPA

 12/15 Sydney equal marriage rally A demonstrator carries a flag urging the Australian government to follow the lead of Ireland EPA

 13/15 Sydney equal marriage rally Demonstrators join the crowds in Sydney rallying in favour of equal marriage EPA

 14/15 Sydney equal marriage rally Demonstrators in Sydney kiss during the rally in support of equal marriage Getty Images

 15/15 Sydney equal marriage rally Demonstrators carry a flag urging the Australian government to follow Ireland's lead with a vote on equal marriage Getty Images

 George said: "It's about time, really. Doreen keeps me young and I can definitely say we're going to spend the rest of our lives together."

 Doreen added: "I wasn't a blushing bride, but I was a bit giddy. It was such a lovely day - and great to see everybody."

 The ceremony took place at at the Langham Hotel in Eastbourne, East Sussex, where the couple live. The hotel is run by George's son Neil Kirby, 63.

 Neil said: "It was a great day - everybody was so happy for them. They are such a beautiful couple. Dad missed his stag do lunch because he wasn't feeling up for it, but Doreen had a hen party luncheon which was a complete laugh with all her golden girls."

 "Long ago we adopted Doreen as our mum, and we're all delighted that she's now a Kirby.

 "I'm not sure if she's going to change her name though. I wouldn't blame her for not, it is about time my dad finally made an honest woman out of her."

 George was born in London in June 1912 and was a talented boxer in his youth, winning all of his 60 fights.

 He joined the Royal Air Force in 1933, where he worked for 25 years as a physical education instructor.

 After a string of jobs following his work at the RAF, he finally gave up work, and lifting dumbbells, at the age of 94, instead tending Doreen's garden in Kent.

 Doreen was born in Brixton in September 1923 and spent much of her career as a shorthand typist for the Director of Public Prosecutions. |||||

Write a summary.

– A UK couple with nearly 200 years between them tied the knot on Saturday in Britain, in a move that was a long time coming. George Kirby, 103, and Doreen Luckie, 91, are the world’s oldest married couple, according to AFP. The newlyweds have been together (and living together) for 27 years, and have a slew of children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren between them. In regards to why they waited so long to marry, Luckie said they just "didn’t want to bother." That changed when Kirby popped the question on Valentine's Day—albeit in a nontraditional way. "I didn't get down on one knee, because I don't think I would have been able to get back up," he explained. The pair married at a hotel in Eastbourne, on the southern English coast, and a Guinness Book of World Records guest was in attendance, reports the Independent. The happy couple were a combined 194 years and 281 days old on their wedding day—three years older than the previous "world’s oldest couple," Francois Fernandez and Madeleine Francineau of France. The Brits met in 1988 through a group that organizes senior friendships, and hit it off right away. Kirby was a recently divorced 76-year-old, and Luckie had been widowed three years prior. As for whether any wild pre-wedding partying occurred, Kirby's 63-year-old son had this to say: "Dad missed his stag do lunch because he wasn't feeling up for it, but Doreen had a hen party luncheon which was a complete laugh with all her golden girls." (Want to stay married til you're 103? Avoid these 5 odd things that up your chances of divorce.)


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COUGAR, Wash. (AP) — An Ohio man who was missing on Mount St. Helens was found Wednesday on a flank of the peak nearly a week after he set out on a day hike and survived by eating berries and bees, authorities and the man's relatives said.

 Matthew B. Matheny, 40, of Warren, Ohio, was in good condition, talking and did not appear to have suffered life-threatening injuries but was flown to a hospital to spend the night as a precaution, the Cowlitz County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.

 His parents told reporters outside the Vancouver, Washington, hospital that he was being treated for dehydration and would stay overnight, adding that he ate berries and killed bees that he also ate.

 Matheny, 40, was not familiar with the terrain, got lost and had not seen anyone since Aug. 9, they said.

 Friends last saw Matthew Matheny when he borrowed a car and headed to Blue Lake Trail on the southwest side of St. Helens. They reported him missing after he failed to return, prompting a search. A sheriff's deputy found the borrowed Subaru Outback at the trailhead on Saturday.

 About 30 search-and-rescue personnel, assisted by helicopters, tracking dogs and a drone operated by the sheriff's office searched for him daily.

 Searchers on Tuesday decided to focus on a 1-square-mile (2.6-square-kilometer) area based on cellphone signals and a computer model that sought to predict Matheny's movements.

 Blue Lake Trail is a short walk through meadows and tall fir trees to Blue Lake, according to the Washington Trails Association, Beyond the lake, hikers can access other trails and ridges, leading to views of Mount St. Helens and Mount Adams.

 Matheny was found below a different trail, authorities said.

 "He was in the free forest at this point. He lost the trail, he fell down the steep back," said Paul Pepper, another member of the rescue team. ||||| An Ohio man found alive Wednesday on Mount St. Helens after six days lost in the wilderness sustained himself on berries and bees as he tried to find his way, his parents said.

 Matthew Matheny, 40, of Warren, Ohio, set off for a hike on the famous southwest Washington mountain last Thursday. Authorities had launched a search and rescue operation that ended successfully when Matheny was airlifted to a Vancouver hospital Wednesday.

 He was being treated mostly for dehydration and likely would stay overnight, parents Linda and Carney Matheny said during a press conference outside PeaceHeath Southwest Medical Center. A hospital spokesman said earlier that Matheny was in satisfactory condition, which means his vital signs were good and that he was awake and alert.

 Matheny was scraped up, his parents said, including his feet, which were unprotected after the sandals he was wearing broke during the ordeal. His mother said she was going to "wring his neck" for his choice of hiking footwear.

 Matheny was in Washington state visiting friends and decided to spend Thursday afternoon hiking while his friends were at work, the Mathenys said. He drove a friend's Subaru Outback to the mountain and later couldn't find his way back to the car. His friends reported him missing when he did not return, the Cowlitz County Sheriff's Office said.

 Search for missing Ohio man at Mount St. Helens 7 Gallery: Search for missing Ohio man at Mount St. Helens

 On Saturday, a Skamania County sheriff's deputy found the Subaru unoccupied at the start of the Blue Lake trail, which is in Cowlitz County. The trail is located off Forest Road 81 and near Mount St. Helens.

 Matheny was found about three miles away from the Subaru by a Skamania County-based rescue crew on the flanks of the mountain Wednesday morning. He hadn't seen another person since Thursday and was without water for days, his mother said, but the fluids from the berries may have been enough to keep him going.

 Bees chased after Matheny as he moved about on the mountain, his father said, so Matheny killed and ate some.

 "He knew it was a tough situation," said Linda Matheny, who arrived in Washington with her husband on Sunday. "But everyone who has encountered him have told us it's remarkable the condition he's in."

 About 30 search-and-rescue personnel, assisted by helicopters, tracking dogs and a drone operated by the sheriff's office had been searching for Matheny daily, The Daily News of Longview reported. Matheny's friends and family also have been at the search scene.

 Searchers on Tuesday decided to focus on a 1-square-mile area based on cellphone signals and a computer model that sought to predict Matheny's movements.

 Charlie Rosenzweig, chief criminal deputy for Cowlitz County Sheriff's Office, called it "extremely unusual" that someone would survive such an ordeal, the newspaper reported.

 According to the Washington Trails Association, Blue Lake Trail is a short walk through meadows and tall fir trees to Blue Lake. Beyond the lake hikers can access other trails and ridges, leading to views of Mount St. Helens and Mount Adams.

 The parents described their son as a former Boy Scout who is interested in fitness and nutrition with a sense of humor and a knack for getting himself into humorous situations. They would recall some of the things he'd said or done to keep their moods light while the search was ongoing, but at times the laughter would turn to tears due to the uncertainty of the search's outcome, Linda Matheny said.

 She said when they were called at their northeast Ohio home by authorities on Saturday and told the vehicle their son drove had been found, they waited by the phone for hours hoping the next update would be that he was found. It didn't come.

 "By Sunday morning, we thought, 'We're getting on a plane,'" the mother said.

 They flew to Portland that night, drove north to Washington, stayed in the area and went to the mountain on Monday.

 The parents said they're ecstatic their son has been found and also in a bit of shock. They thanked all the emergency responders, volunteers and his friends who aided in helping find their son.

 "We could not believe when we walked in here, he's sitting up in bed, getting fluids, talking to us," Linda Matheny said outside the hospital Wednesday. "We got Matt back."

 — Everton Bailey Jr. and Jim Ryan

 The Associated Press and Rebecca Woolington of The Oregonian/OregonLive staff contributed to this report ||||| A hiker missing for six days on Washington state's Mount St. Helens survived on huckleberries and bees that he killed and ate, according to the man's parents.

 Matthew Matheny, 40, who was visiting the area from Warren, Ohio, was found alive Wednesday on the side of the mountain leading up to the legendary volcano, the Cowlitz County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.

 Matheny was conscious and talking when rescue teams found him, authorities said. He was transported to a local hospital by helicopter, but it does not appear that he suffered any life-threatening injuries, according to the sheriff's office.

 After visiting him in the hospital, Matheny's parents told ABC Portland affiliate KATU that their son was in good physical condition and had survived by eating huckleberries as well as bees he had killed.

 "I don't know where he learned that," his mother, Linday Matheny, said, adding that he was a former boy scout.

 Courtesy Cowlitz County Sheriffs Office

 On Tuesday, authorities used cell phone records to determine that Matheny was in the general area of the Blue Lake Trail, near Mount St. Helens. Witnesses also told authorities that they saw a man in gray clothing in the area, according to the sheriff's office, which stated that he may have been wearing a gray Cleveland Browns sweatshirt, shorts and sandals that day.

 Matheny had borrowed a friend's Subaru Outback last Thursday to drive to the mountain and go hiking. But after losing contact with him, the friend, Michael Bush, filed a missing persons report, and search and rescue teams began combing the area for him on Saturday morning.

 Courtesy Cowlitz County Sheriffs Office

 The gray Subaru was found unoccupied Saturday at the entrance to the Blue Lake Trail, authorities said.

 Matheny was found days later in the general area of Blue Lake Trail, and members of his family were waiting at the base camp when he was located, according to the sheriff's office.

 Matheny started out his hike with two liters of water and some snacks he had brought with him, but he was all out after Thursday and couldn't find any water sources, his parents told KATU.

 STOCK/Getty Images

 At least 40 people participated in the search for Matheny, Cowlitz County Sheriff's Deputy Charlie Rosenzweig told ABC News. A helicopter and drone searched for him from above, KATU reported.

 ABC News' Cassidy Gard and Jennifer Watts contributed to this report. |||||

– Matthew Matheny went for what was supposed to be a brief hike on Mount St. Helens on Thursday last week—and was airlifted to a Vancouver, Wash., hospital Wednesday when search and rescue teams finally found him. The 40-year-old Warren, Ohio, resident, who was in the state visiting friends, had borrowed a buddy's Subaru Outback to go to the trail, but he became lost in the wilderness and could't find his way back to the vehicle, the Oregonian reports. The search began after Matheny was reported missing and authorities discovered the unoccupied Subaru at the entrance to the Blue Lake Trail on the side of the mountain. He was treated overnight for dehydration, but authorities say he doesn't have life-threatening injuries—and he's lucky to be alive at all. Around 30 searchers took part in the rescue operation, which located Matheny in the general area of the trail, ABC News reports. Authorities zeroed in on a small area Tuesday using cellphone signals and a computer model that tried to predict his movements, the AP reports. His parents, who flew to the state days ago and are ecstatic that he has been found, say he apparently survived by eating berries—and by killing and eating some bees that had been chasing him. "He knew it was a tough situation," mother Linda Matheny tells the Oregonian. "But everyone who has encountered him [has] told us it's remarkable the condition he's in." She adds that she wants to "wring his neck" for his choice of hiking footwear: sandals.


News article:

The Washington State man accused of killing three people at a party on Friday night with an AR-15 read the rifle's instruction manual just moments before opening fire, court records show.

 Allen Ivanov, 19, told detectives he bought the semi-automatic rifle a week ago for target practice and had even scheduled a safety class for August, according to a probable cause form released Monday.

 But Ivanov instead brought the gun with him to a party that his ex-girlfriend was attending in Mukilteo, a Seattle suburb, investigators say.

 Mukilteo shooting suspect Allen Ivanov made a brief first court appearance August 1, in Snohomish County. A judge ordered Ivanov be held without bail and that he have no contact with the victims' families. KING 5

 In an interview with detectives, the document reads, Ivanov said he hoped to get back together with the girl, identified as A.B.

 But after seeing her with another man at the party, he returned to his car, fetched the rifle, read the instructions and loaded its magazine. He then brought it with him to the party, the document says.

 As Ivanov crept around the outside of the house, a male party goer discovered him, it states.

 "The male said, 'No, no, no,'" the document says. "Ivanov stated that he was 'scared,' he flipped the [gun's] selector switch to fire and shot the male."

 The document adds: "He stated that at that point it was too late to turn back, and once had pulled the trigger his adrenaline kicked in."

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 He found A.B. and shot her twice, killing her, then gunned down another man running toward the party, the document says. From the master bedroom balcony, he fired at two more people in the driveway, then climbed to the roof and discovered that he'd emptied his rifle.

 "Ivanov stated that once the magazine was empty, he returned to his car and drove away," the document says.

 Ivanov, who is being held without bail at the Snohomish County Jail, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of first-degree aggravated murder. It wasn't immediately clear if he had a lawyer. ||||| Allen Christopher Ivanov told detectives he viewed the AR-15 “as a symbol of power,” according to an affidavit of probable cause.

 EVERETT — After spotting his ex-girlfriend with another guy through the window of a Mukilteo house where a party was under way, Allen Christopher Ivanov returned to his car Friday night to study the owner’s manual for his new AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, police wrote in court documents.

 Two hours apparently passed before Ivanov walked back to the home around 12:07 a.m., Saturday, opened fire and killed three young people, including his ex, and wounded a fourth, according to the affidavit of probable cause outlining the police case against the 19-year-old.

 Like Ivanov, all of the victims were recent graduates of Kamiak High School.

 On Monday, Snohomish County District Court Judge Anthony Howard affirmed a finding of probable cause to hold Ivanov on investigation of one count of aggravated first-degree-murder domestic violence, two counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted first-degree murder. On Sunday, a court commissioner had also found probable cause to hold Ivanov on the same allegations.

 Howard ordered Ivanov — who appeared via video feed from the Snohomish County Jail — to be held without bail.

 Prosecutors are expected to formally charge Ivanov on Tuesday or Wednesday, Deputy Prosecutor Adam Cornell said.

 Killed were Ivanov’s ex-girlfriend, Anna Bui, Jake Long and Jordan Ebner, all 19. Will Kramer, 18, was wounded and was in serious condition Monday in the intensive-care unit at Harborview Medical Center, a hospital spokesman said.

 Also Monday, a vigil was held for Bui at the University of Washington’s Bothell campus, where she and Ivanov were students. Recently returned from a monthlong trip to Europe, Bui was remembered as a “bright light” who was considering a career in medicine.

 The mass shooting has rocked a tight-knit group of friends who attended Mukilteo’s Kamiak High School.

 Sultan Akbar, 18, had classes with Ivanov and the victims. He wasn’t at the party where the shootings happened, but showed up at court with three friends Monday to express support for the victims’ families.

 “I just feel shook up,” Akbar said. “I’m shocked … those guys aren’t here anymore.”

 He was friends with Ivanov, who he said seemed to have an explosive temper, once threatening to get Akbar kicked out of school after Akbar reported to a teacher that Ivanov had copied his work.

 “He was always wanting to be in control of the situation” and at times displayed “illogical anger,” Akbar said.

 Seattle defense attorneys Tim Leary and Zach Wagnild were retained by Ivanov’s parents over the weekend and said the couple are devastated for the victims’ families as well as their own. Ivanov’s mother told them Bui “was essentially like a daughter to them,” Wagnild said.

 Leary said he was troubled that Ivanov was able to buy an assault-style rifle but was too young to buy a six-pack of beer. He underscored the police contention that Ivanov read the weapon’s instruction manual just before the shooting.

 “I think it speaks volumes to his youth and inexperience and highlights the lethality of the weapon involved,” Leary said.

 Mukilteo police say Ivanov told detectives he broke up with Bui two months ago but then decided he wanted her back, according to the affidavit. He told police he began spending time with Bui last week.

 After his arrest, “Ivanov stated that everything that went on tonight was about a girl,” police wrote in the affidavit.

 Ivanov became jealous after he said he saw photos of Bui on Snapchat with other young men — evidence “she was getting on with her life without him,” the document says. He told police he realized she was his “dream girl,” “and wanted to get back together,” the affidavit says.

 Ivanov said he became angry when he heard from others that Bui “was seeing other guys while the two of them were talking and that made him angry,” police wrote.

 The affidavit says Ivanov claimed he purchased the Ruger AR-15 rifle about a week ago, intent on using it for target practice. He signed up for a firearms-safety class, which was to begin early this month.

 He told police he viewed “the rifle as a symbol of power,” the affidavit said.

 On Friday night, Ivanov left work early because he “wasn’t feeling well,” then went to the Cabela’s store in Marysville to buy a second magazine for the rifle because he had been told he would need it for the firearms class, the affidavit says.

 Ivanov told police he arrived at the party in the 10000 block of 64th Place West at 10 p.m. Friday but parked across the street and watched the house, the affidavit says. He crept up toward the house, looked inside and saw Bui “with another male and got angry,” it says.

 Ivanov then returned to his car, where he read the owner’s manual for the rifle, loaded the magazine and inserted it into the AR-15, the affidavit says.

 Around midnight, he crept to the back of the house, hiding “along the west wall near the living room windows,” it says. He was discovered by a male partygoer, who said, “No, no, no,” before Ivanov opened fire, shooting the male, according to the affidavit.

 Ivanov told police “it was too late to turn back, and once he had pulled the trigger, his adrenaline kicked in.” He entered the house through a side door, found Bui and shot her twice, it says. He continued through the house, then shot another male “running toward the house,” police wrote.

 Ivanov went upstairs and onto the balcony off the master bedroom and fired at two more males in the driveway, police wrote. “He then went up on the roof and realized his magazine was empty,” so returned to his car and drove away. He was arrested about 90 minutes later on Interstate 5 near Chehalis.

 As part of the investigation into the killings, a detective spoke by phone with a person described as a “witness from Kentucky,” who said that two or three days earlier, Ivanov had sent him text messages “regarding committing a mass shooting,” the affidavit says.

 Detectives say Ivanov’s recent social-media posts suggest he “was considering the murders … he later committed.”

 Vicki Bratvold, whose teenage son hosted the house party where the shootings occurred, texted a Seattle Times reporter Monday, writing “there are no words to express our sorrow.”

 “We have always tried to make our house a loving, safe, happy place that the kids could always come. Our hearts are broken for the parents of Jake, Anna, and Jordan. We are praying for Will’s recovery,” she wrote. ||||| EVERETT, Wash. -- Allen Ivanov, the 19-year-old accused in the mass shooting in Mukilteo, said that it was about his "dream girl," court documents say.

 The documents, written by Mukilteo police Detective John Ernst, say Ivanov crept outside the home in the Chennault Beach neighborhood with an AR-15 rifle he had bought a week earlier. The rifle was so new that he had to read its instruction manual to operate it as he sat in his car outside the home where a party was going on.

 As he was hiding outside the home, a male who was at the party discovered him, Ivanov told police. "No, no," the party goer said.

 He told police he was scared and opened fire. "He stated at that point that it was too late to turn back, and once he had pulled the trigger his adrenaline kicked in," Ernst wrote.

 Ivanov went into the house and found his former girlfriend, Anna Bui, and shot her twice, court documents say.

 He saw a male running toward the house and shot him. He went to a balcony off the master bedroom and shot two more males, court documents say. Ivanov went to the roof, but realized that he was out of ammunition.

 Ivanov returned to his car.

 He had another magazine in his car. He had bought it hours earlier after he left his job at the Apple Store at Alderwood Mall. He said he was sick.

 Ivanov said he was loading the magazine in the call and intended to go back into the party and use the AR-15 rifle more. Instead, he drove away.

 In addition to Bui, Jordan Ebner, and Jake Long were also killed. All were 19. A fourth shooting victim, identified by friends as Will Kramer, is at Harborview Medical Center.

 His lawyers expected charges to be Tuesday and say it could be a capital case in which the death penalty could be a punishment option. At a brief court hearing Monday afternoon, he was ordered to be held without bail and to have no contact with the families of the victims.

 The documents portray a distraught Ivanov who was jealous that Bui had moved on with her life and had begun dating other men.

 Ivanov, questioned by police after he had been arrested in Chehalis on Saturday morning, told investigators that he had broken up with Bui two months earlier, but realized it had been a mistake. He wanted to resume his relationship with her.

 She was the first girl he had kissed, he told police.

 He told police that he bought the rifle the week before for target practice and intended to take gun-safety classes. He told police that he saw the gun "as a symbol of power."

 "He was a nice guy when I knew him. Nice guy, funny guy. Hyper guy. He got excited, like happy," said Sultan Akbar, a high school friend who last spoke to Ivanov on graduation day in 2015. "On some situations, he did get extremely, profusely angry."

 "It’s just shocking, shocking that he did it and they’re not here anymore," Akbar added.

 Police report that someone from Kentucky told officers that Ivanov had sent him text messages about committing a mass shooting.

 Ivanov's attorneys told KOMO News' Jennifer Sullivan on Monday that Ivanov's family is grief-stricken. He is their only child, and they considered Bui a daughter.

 Ivanov is "very quiet .. he's having some trouble right now," said one of the lawyers, Zachary Wagnild.

 “They obviously didn’t see this coming and are grieving along with many others in this community over what happened,” said Tim Leary, who is also representing Ivanov.

 Ivanov, who is being held for investigation of three counts of first degree murder, including one count of aggravated first degree murder, and a fourth count of attempted murder made his first court appearance by video link Monday from the Snohomish County Jail. Prosecutors asked Ivanov be held without bail, and the judge agreed. Ivanov is also barred from having contact with any victims or their families.

 On Monday KOMO News obtained a note that Ivanov's former attorney says was written by the suspect and given to him by Ivanov's mother. It contains messages to family and friends, including several that mention "the next life."

 Prosecutors have until Wednesday to file formal charges and Ivanov's formal arraignment has not yet been scheduled. |||||
What is a shorter version of the above article?

– The teenager accused of killing three people at a house party near Seattle bought his AR-15-style rifle so recently he had to study the instruction manual before the rampage, police say. According to court documents, 19-year-old Allen Ivanov has told police that he bought the Ruger firearm just a week ago and carried out the shooting because he was angry that the "dream girl" he split up with two months ago didn't want to get back together with him, NBC News reports. Investigators say Ivanov has told them that on Friday night, he bought another magazine for the gun after leaving his job at an Apple Store early. He drove to the party in the suburb of Mukilteo around 10pm and looked through a window. After spotting his ex with another man, he returned to the car to study the rifle's instructions. Around midnight, he allegedly returned to the party and opened fire. Cops say Ivanov killed his ex-girlfriend, Anna Bui, as well as partygoers Jake Long and Jordan Ebner, all 19 years old. An 18-year-old victim was seriously injured. Ivanov, who fled after the shooting and was arrested more than 100 miles away, is being held without bail on charges including first-degree murder, KOMO reports. Investigators say the teen's recent posts on social media suggest the murders were planned. Tim Leary, a lawyer hired by his parents, tells the Seattle Times it worries him that Ivanov could buy the AR-15 when he is too young to buy beer. The fact that he had to read the manual "speaks volumes to his youth and inexperience and highlights the lethality of the weapon involved," he says. (The family of the AR-15's inventor says he'd be "sickened" by his gun's use.)


Article:
When Med Express sued Amy Nicholls for giving negative feedback on eBay, she didn't back down and remove the feedback. Instead, she lawyered up, acquiring pro bono counsel with help from Paul Levy at Public Citizen, who's been called "the Web Bully's worst enemy."

 Med Express founder Richard Radey quickly backed down and apologized, but it didn't sit well. "Problem is, I don't believe a word of what he says," Levy told Ars in 2013. Radey had a history of such lawsuits. Levy sought sanctions and attorneys' fees.

 That battle has, at long last, been won. A Medina County, Ohio, judge ruled (PDF) this week that Med Express and Radey must pay $19,250 to Tom Haren and Jeffrey Nye, the two Ohio lawyers who represented Nicholls and one other defendant. Levy worked on the case pro bono and sought no fees.

 "This is an important win for consumers," Levy said in a statement about the ruling. "It shows that consumers have recourse when companies such as Med Express try to bully and silence consumers from telling other potential customers about their bad experiences."

 Tale of two trials

 The road to the sanctions was a long and winding one. The original sanctions motion was tried in January 2014. According to Public Citizen, that resulted in a deal, expressed orally in court, in which Med Express would agree to pay $5,500 in attorneys' fees. However, Med Express wouldn't sign the agreement or make payments. With the two sides disagreeing, Judge James Leaver scheduled a second sanctions trial.

 During the second trial, Radey's testimony "varied from the first hearing," the judge noted in his order. "The testimony wasn't credible."

 Further Reading eBay seller who sued over bad feedback apologizes—but he’s done it before Originally, Radey said he watched feedback from the two users come "all 1's" in the detailed seller ratings. He also said that eBay had given him the idea to file suit against the buyers.

 In fact, Nicholls had given various ratings to Med Express, including a "5" for item description, a "3" for shipping and handling charges, and a "1" for seller communication.

 In any case, an eBay representative later testified that Radey wouldn't have even been able to see the detailed seller ratings, which are anonymous.

 The judge also found that the speech by Nicholls was partly opinion, which is protected speech, but that some of their narrative feedback could be seen as statements of fact. However, those factual statements were "undeniably true and Mr. Radey had no objective reason whatsoever to question their veracity," the judge wrote.

 In Nicholls' case, the poor feedback she gave stemmed from having to pay an extra $1.44 in postage due after paying $175 for a microscope light and a $12 shipping fee.

 Following the second trial, Radey's original lawyer James Amodio agreed to pay part of the attorneys' fees, and Public Citizen dropped him from their motion for sanctions.

 Radey had two different lawyers during the sanctions proceedings, and the second lawyer stopped representing him in July 2015. The sanctions order notes that Radey is currently not represented by counsel, and he did not submit a post-trial brief. ||||| An eBay seller who sued two customers over their negative feedback online has been ordered to pay $19,250 to cover their legal fees.

 This week, a judge ordered Med Express Inc., a refurbished medical equipment seller who sued back in 2013, to pay for the two Ohio lawyers who defended the case pro bono.

 Med Express filed a lawsuit for libel in Medina County's Court of Common Pleas in Ohio in 2013, claiming that their feedback on eBay hurt the company's reputation and a lower overall rating increased seller costs to eBay.

 One of those customers was Amy Nicholls, an office administrator for a manufacturer in Greenville, South Carolina. She bought a microscope light for her employer in February 2013 from Med Express. After paying $175 plus $12 in shipping for the item, Med Express said in the court filing that it "took the equipment to the Valley City post office, where it was weighed and shipped to Nicholls."

 Though Med Express claimed that it paid the full shipping cost, "for some reason unknown to Med Express, the equipment was received by Nicholls with $1.44 postage due," according to the court record. Med Express apologized immediately and offered to reimburse Nicholls for the postage due, but she went ahead and posted a "negative" comment about the charge on eBay's website: "Order arrived with postage due with no communication from seller beforehand," she wrote.

 Med Express filed a nearly identical suit on the same day against another customer, Dennis Rogan. He left a "neutral" review.

 After receiving negative publicity over their suit, Med Express apologized and said it was withdrawing the lawsuit.

 "Please understand that our customer was never the target of this lawsuit. We had instructed our attorneys to ask for $1 in damages. Her feedback was also never an issue. We fully support her right and all of our customers' right to leave any feedback they desire -- true or otherwise!" Med Express President Richard Radey wrote in a statement back in 2013. "The issue involved Detailed Seller Ratings or DSRs. The low ratings caused us to lose our Top Rated Seller Plus standing."

 But in April 2013, Nicholls, with the help of Jeffrey Nye and Thomas Haren, two lawyers in Ohio who offered to take the case for free, filed a counterclaim against Med Express and its attorney, claiming frivolous conduct and "malice or aggravated or egregious fraud." They cited seven different times Med Express sued out-of-state eBay customers who would have difficulty defending themselves in court. Nicholls' attorneys said they had seen Radey's comments and were aware he had dropped the lawsuit against Nicholls, but they continued with their countersuit all the same.

 Med Express did not respond to a request for comment from ABC News about this week's ruling by the court, which heard the cases for Rogan and Nicholls together and issued the sanctions in favor of them jointly.

 After the ruling, Nye and Haren said in a joint statement, "We were obviously happy to see that the Magistrate recognized the frivolous nature of the claims."

 "Should the Magistrate’s Decision be adopted by the Court, and we certainly expect that it will, this long and frustrating battle will finally be concluded. Thankfully Amy and Dennis stood up for what they believed in, and in doing so they struck a blow in favor of the First Amendment rights of all online commenters," the attorneys said in the statement.

 They said the case highlights the need for Ohio to join more than twenty other states in enacting an anti-SLAPP statute, which stands for strategic lawsuit against public participation, "so that Ohio citizens will be protected from bully tactics." |||||Summary:

– An eBay merchant who sued two customers over negative reviews in 2013 was ordered this week to pay more than $19,000 in legal fees by an Ohio judge, ABC News reports. Two years ago, Amy Nicholls bought a microscope from eBay seller Med Express. When the microscope arrived, she had to pay an extra $1.44 in postage despite already paying a $12 shipping fee. Med Express apologized for the mistake and offered to reimburse her, but she left a negative review on eBay anyway. Med Express claimed Nicholls' bad review hurt its reputation and sued her for libel. ABC reports the company filed a "nearly identical" suit that same day against a second customer, Dennis Rogan, for leaving a "neutral" review. The lawsuits, understandably, brought negative attention onto Med Express, and the company withdrew them, ABC reports. Regardless, Nicholls counter-sued Med Express with the help of two lawyers working for free. According to Ars Technica, Med Express agreed to pay $5,500 in legal fees during a trial in 2014 but never did, leading to a second trial. The judge found the company changed its testimony and wasn't credible, ordering it to now pay $19,250 to the two lawyers representing Nicholls. "We were obviously happy to see that the Magistrate recognized the frivolous nature of the claims," according to a statement from the lawyers, who credited Nicholls and Rogan for striking "a blow in favor of the First Amendment rights of all online commenters." (The first item ever sold on eBay was broken.)


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 It looks like it's going to be another great week, and don't forget that LOOK is also packed full of loads of uh-mazing high street fashion buys we think you'll love.

 So, what are you waiting for? Get your slippers on and run down to your local newsagents to pick up this week's LOOK now, or if you're feeling lazy download the digital edition from iTunes.

 Happy LOOK Tuesday!

 By Lauren O'Callaghan

 Remember, you can buy the digital edition of LOOK magazine for your tablet or iPhone. And don't forget to rate it in iTunes! ||||| Tom Cruise has reportedly written an "emotional letter" to Katie Holmes.

 The couple divorced in July last year after Holmes filed legal papers to end the marriage on June 29.

 After 12 months apart, friends say Cruise has taken the surprising step of writing to his ex in an attempt to rekindle their friendship, if not more.

 "[He wrote an] emotional letter. I think it's something Tom's been thinking about a lot recently, but especially as July was approaching," an insider told UK magazine Look.

 "It's like he's finally recognised that Katie will always be the love of his life. It was such a shock when she left him - although she would no doubt argue that he ignored the signs - but I think Tom finally understands why she had to end things."

 Sources say the Mission Impossible star decided to write as he knew Katie, 34, would be unreceptive over the phone.

 The pair allegedly attempted a truce in March, which proved to be too soon and they've barely spoken since.

 "It won't have been an over the top letter - it has been a year and I'm sure Tom will have been aware that Katie wouldn't be interested in running straight back into his arms," the insider continued, "but he'll have wanted to tell her how much he still cares for her and that he hopes she's doing well."

 Sources close to the former Dawson's Creek star say Cruise's letter has had the desired effect on her.

 Holmes has reportedly been "genuinely touched" by the 51-year-old's words.

 "I'm sure it would have been a very emotional read for her, but cathartic too - and so important," the source shared. "I think this letter would have been a hint at that old, romantic Tom - the one she fell for. Tom would no doubt take her back in a second, but I don't think that's what Katie wants."

 Following their split Katie has settled in New York City with Suri, her daughter with Tom, and is slowly building a new life for herself. ||||| 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. |||||

– It's been a year since Katie Holmes filed for divorce from Tom Cruise, and apparently Cruise is feeling sentimental. A source tells UK magazine Look the actor sent Holmes an "emotional letter" looking to, at the very least, be friends again, Australia's News Network reports. "It's like he's finally recognized that Katie will always be the love of his life," the source says. Even so, "It won't have been an over the top letter—it has been a year and I'm sure Tom will have been aware that Katie wouldn't be interested in running straight back into his arms." Sources close to Holmes say she was "touched" by the letter, which doesn't sound promising for Cruise. "Tom would no doubt take her back in a second, but I don't think that's what Katie wants," says one. (Just to keep things in perspective, we'll point out that Look is the sort of magazine that also runs headlines like, "Royal Bodyguard Warns: 'Kate Middleton's Baby Is In Danger!'") In other news, Huffington Post notes that it's Cruise's 51st birthday.


Article:
Will Gibb says he didn't realize it was a cougar that had caught his beloved pet husky by the neck until after he pummelled the wild animal in the head.

 "I wasn't really analyzing it too much at the time," Gibb said. "All that was going through my mind is that I had to protect my dog.

 "It was just very instinctual. My dogs are like my children."

 The Red Deer man was meeting a friend for coffee at the Whitecourt Tim Hortons on Dec. 26, when he let his two dogs Sasha and Mongo out into the parking lot for a short run.

 Will Gibb and his dog Sasha are recovering at home and coping with a lot of media attention 4:01

 Within seconds, he said he heard Sasha, the female of the pair, start yelping.

 A cougar had emerged from the woods nearby and pounced, he said.

 "She (Sasha) was crying out in pain and distress so I went running," said Gibb, a 31-year-old technician. "And I saw something wrapped around her so I ran up and punched it in the side of the head.

 "At that point I realized it was a cougar."

 Gibb said he charged into the woods after the cougar but turned around to tend to his injured dog, which was whimpering and bleeding on the pavement.

 'It was pawing at me and I was throwing punches'

 "I was swinging but I looked back and I saw that Sasha was on the ground kind of twitching," Gibb recalled. "So I went back and tried to scoop her up with my left arm."

 But the dog, alarmed from the attack, latched onto Gibb's hand and started biting, just as the cougar re-emerged from the woods and charged a second time.

 In all the excitement, Sasha bit his left hand, something Gibb suggests was because the dog may have been "thinking I was the cougar."

 He added: "She was fighting for her life, and I was trying to keep the cougar at bay with my right, and it was pawing at me and I was throwing punches at it."

 Sasha sustained bite wounds to her neck and belly and under her legs. She was released from the veterinary clinic on Wednesday. (Travis McEwan/CBC )

 While the dog unlatched her teeth from his hand and ran off, the cougar was not deterred by Gibb's punches. As Sasha ran across the parking lot, the cougar fixed its eyes on Mongo, who was sniffing around at the edge of the nearby trees.

 "I could see the cougar going for him, so I got between him and the cougar and started swinging and screaming at it, and called for my brother and friend to come give a hand," Gibb said. "And then I reached down for the closest, biggest stick that I could find and I ran back into the trees to go fight the cougar."

 Within minutes, both dogs were back in the safety of Gibb's truck, and the cat disappeared into the bush.

 "I was surprised to hear that the owner took the quick action and it's probably what saved the dog's life in this case," said Sgt. Jack Poitras, who said the cougar was located in the woods nearby and killed.

 "I wouldn't recommend everybody wrassle with a cougar, but in this case it worked for the best."

 'She had bite wounds around her neck'

 The dog was taken immediately to the Hilltop Veterinary Clinic, which is about a block from the attack.

 Veterinary staff said Wednesday the dog has been released from care.

 "She had bite wounds around her neck and claw tears on her belly, under her armpits," said Jordan Bremmekamp, the veterinarian who treated the husky. "I had to sew up some of her wounds. They tore into her muscle. It's a pretty painful situation she's in, but she's doing fine."

 The man was left with deep claw marks on his arms.

 Police consulted Whitecourt fish and wildlife officials before killing the cougar.

 "The wildlife does come into town once in a while," Poitras said. "Dogs are easy prey."

 Poitras had this advice for mountain wilderness-area visitors, particularly when accompanied by pets: "If you're out in the wilderness near the mountains, be aware that cougars and other predators are out there. Just be mindful of that, when you're out and about with your pets." ||||| CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - A Canadian man punched a cougar in the face to stop it attacking his dog in a wooded area near a fast food store in Whitecourt, central Alberta, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said on Wednesday.

 William Gibb, 31, from Red Deer, Alberta, had stopped at a Tim Hortons outlet, a popular Canadian restaurant chain while driving 600-kilometre (372-miles) to Grand Prairie on Monday evening and let his dog out for a walk, Whitecourt RCMP Sergeant Tom Kalis said.

 Shortly after, Gibb heard his 80-pound (36-kg) female Husky called Sasha whimpering in pain and found a cougar pinning her to the ground.

 “I could see something wrapped around her and wasn’t sure what it was. I ran over and punched it in what I thought was the head, and it backed off and I realized it was a cougar,” Gibb, an electrician, told Reuters.

 “I stepped over Sasha and charged at it swinging and screaming and calling for my brother and buddy to give a hand,” he added.

 Gibb kept the cougar at bay, which he said swiped at him a few times, as he tended to his injured dog and called the police, before getting Sasha into his truck and driving her away for medical attention.

 He said the police arrived five or 10 minutes later and, after consulting with fish and wildlife officers, killed the cougar because of the risk it could attack another dog or even humans.

 Gibb himself was not seriously injured, although Sasha bit him on the hand as he was trying to rescue her.

 Kalis said cougar sightings were not uncommon around Whitecourt because the town is surrounded by forests, but it is unusual for them to attack dogs. |||||Summary:

– Sometimes dogs save humans, sometimes humans save dogs. The latter was the case in Canada last week when a man punched a cougar that had a death grip on his 80-pound husky's neck, reports Reuters. Will Gibb, a 31-year-old technician from Red Deer, had pulled up to a Tim Hortons for coffee and let his dogs Sasha and Mongo out of his truck for a quick run around the parking lot, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. When he heard Sasha yelping in pain seconds later, he "went running" to save her, he tells the CBC. But it wasn't until he "punched it in the side of the head" that he saw the animal was a cougar. (Sightings are common but attacks rare, says an RCMP deputy.) The cat ran into the woods, but the punch proved insufficient. As Gibb tried to pick up Sasha's twitching body, the apparently confused dog bit him and the cougar reemerged, so he had to throw punches with his right arm while trying to protect his dog and his hurt left arm. "She was fighting for her life," Gibb says of Sasha, who ran to safety. When the cougar went for Mongo, Gibb grabbed a big stick and got in its way before chasing it off into the woods again. With a vet clinic just a block away, Sasha was tended to quickly, while local police found and killed the cougar. The vet says Sasha had to be sewn up in her chest and had deep bites around her neck, but she survived thanks to her owner. (And you thought the guy who punched a kangaroo was brave.)


– A 15-year-old Chicago teen was shot to death last week, but the police and his family have very different accounts of what happened. Police say they spotted Steven Rosenthal with a gun Friday evening and gave chase on foot, reports the Chicago Tribune. During the chase, the teen used the gun to shoot himself in the head, police say. However, Rosenthal's family say he would never kill himself and accuse police of shooting him. "My nephew would never commit suicide, ever," says Terinica Thomas, his legal guardian, per the Chicago Sun-Times. The family is demanding that police turn over bodycam footage in the case, but a department spokesman says no decision has been made about that yet. "Steven was on the stairwell of his grandmother's house on the West Side of Chicago when police officers stormed up the stairwell chasing," family attorney Andrew Stroth said Sunday, prior to a march in the teen's name, per the Tribune. "Within moments, these officers, without cause or provocation, shot and killed 15-year old Steven," he said, citing eyewitness accounts. The Cook County medical examiner, however, has ruled the death a suicide, and police insist that no officers opened fire. Rosenthal played basketball at Crane Medical Prep High School. His coach there tells the Sun-Times the teen's mother died earlier this year and his father died when he was 6.

Expand this summary.

Family rejects suicide in Crane basketball player’s death; CPD says no cop fired

 Terinica Thomas, Steve Rosenthal's aunt, weeps as family and friends march in response to the death of Steve Rosenthal on August 19, 2018. | Colin Boyle/Sun-Times

 Chicago police say there is no evidence that any officer fired a weapon during the Friday night encounter that ended with the death of a 15-year-old Crane High School basketball player.

 But in the latest sign of distrust between the community and the Chicago Police Department, Steven Rosenthal’s family marched with activists through North Lawndale on Sunday, rejecting the conclusion that Rosenthal committed suicide.

 “My nephew would never commit suicide, ever,” Terinica Thomas, the boy’s aunt and legal guardian, declared Sunday.

 Thomas made her comment during a press conference outside Johnson School of Excellence, where her family’s lawyer, Andrew Stroth, called for an independent investigation into Rosenthal’s death. He insisted that eyewitnesses saw Rosenthal’s death play out differently, but he did not name them or say how many there are.

 “The family is demanding to see the evidence,” Stroth said.

 Stroth called on authorities to release footage of Rosenthal’s death. But CPD spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said no footage had been found Sunday that depicts the moment Rosenthal was shot. He said it’s unclear if state law would allow the public release of the existing footage, given how Rosenthal died.

 Rosenthal died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head — not in a use-of-force situation — according to official accounts. The Cook County medical examiner’s office ruled Rosenthal’s death a suicide following an autopsy Saturday.

 Chicago police said officers spotted Rosenthal with a gun and tried to stop him about 6:55 p.m. Friday near his home in the 1500 block of South Keeler. Rosenthal ran away, and then he “tragically used the weapon on himself,” Guglielmi tweeted.

 Rosenthal died a half-hour later at Mount Sinai Hospital, according to the medical examiner’s office.

 Alonzo Crowder, head coach of boys basketball at Crane Medical Prep High School, said Rosenthal’s mother died of an illness shortly after the season ended in March. Rosenthal’s father died when he was 6.

 Still, neighbors and friends say the authorities’ account of Rosenthal shooting himself while running from police was out of character.

 Guglielmi said there is no video or ballistic evidence that suggests an officer fired a gun during the encounter with Rosenthal. He also said no officer reported opening fire, as is required by law and department policy.

 Guglielmi called Rosenthal’s death “an absolute tragedy.” Asked about the disbelief in the community, he said “suicide is an immensely difficult and painful thing to deal with” and he said, “our deepest condolences go out to this family.”

 But Thomas, Stroth and others wanted answers Sunday instead, marching from the school at Douglas and Albany to Mount Sinai before walking to CPD’s 10th district headquarters on Ogden.

 Outside the police station, the group first formed a circle on Ogden but eventually converged as they directed their ire toward the few officers standing outside.

 They chanted “justice for Steve.” They promised to return every night for 30 days.

 And, they insisted, “We want the tape!”

 Contributing: Rachel Hinton, Michael O’Brien ||||| More than 120 people gathered to protest the death of 15-year-old Steven Rosenthal, who police say fatally shot himself on the back stairwell of his West Side home after he was briefly chased by officers who allegedly saw him holding a handgun.

 Shouting “No justice, no peace,�? or “Let us see Steve,�? the crowd gathered Sunday at Johnson School of Excellence at 1420 S. Albany Ave. and marched to Mount Sinai Hospital a few blocks away, shutting down both lanes of Ogden Avenue at times.

 A brief altercation ensued outside the hospital’s emergency room when a large group chanting “Let us see Steve�? tried to force their way into the building and scuffled briefly with security officers blocking the doorway. A few people in the crowd wondered why the protesters went to the hospital rather than the Cook County medical examiner’s office, where the teen’s body was taken for an autopsy.

 The protest later moved west down Ogden and continued along 16th Street as Chicago police officers in squad cars closed down streets to allow the marchers to pass unhindered by traffic.

 Rosenthal died Friday evening at his home in the 1500 block of South Keeler Avenue in the Lawndale neighborhood, and the medical examiner’s office ruled his death a suicide from a gunshot wound to the head.

 Police said the teen fled when officers tried to question him after spotting him with a weapon just before 7 p.m. Friday. A short time afterward, Rosenthal shot himself in the head, police said.

 READ MORE: Dozens gather at scene of 15-year-old's suicide following police chase: 'He had a promising future' »

 But Rosenthal’s family vehemently denies the teen would have ever shot himself and laid the blame on the officers, who they said they believe shot him based on what individuals who claim to have witnessed the incident have said.

 “Steven was on the stairwell of his grandmother’s house on the West Side of Chicago when police officers stormed up the stairwell chasing,�? the family’s attorney, Andrew Stroth, said at a news conference prior to the march Sunday. “Within moments, these officers, without cause or provocation, shot and killed 15-year old Steven. … Based on several eyewitness accounts, these officers ended the hopes and the dreams of a talented young man with a bright future.�?

 Rosenthal’s aunt, the teen’s legal guardian, sobbed as she made a public plea to Mayor Rahm Emanuel to order the release of any body camera recordings of the shooting.

 “My 15-year old nephew Steven was shot and killed by the Chicago Police Department,�? Terinica Thomas-Level, 28, said, weeping and shaking visibly as she stood before the news media. “I need the attention of Mayor Emanuel. I need to see evidence. Body cams. They need to release the video. My nephew would never commit suicide ever. … If he (Emanuel) even had the smallest compassion for our family, he’d get those videotapes released.�?

 On Sunday, police spokesman Michael Carroll said that the shooting remains under investigation and that the department “has not come to a point where the decision has been made to release the body cam video.�?

 Carroll said he was not aware of whether any formal complaint had been lodged by the family alleging police misconduct in the death of Rosenthal.

 Stroth said that he and the family are demanding a “full, independent and transparent�? investigation into Rosenthal’s death. So far, the family has not been able to view his remains, he said.

 “The medical examiner has not released Steven’s body,�? Stroth said at the news conference. “The family is demanding to see the body, the family is demanding to see the evidence, the family is demanding to see the supposed, alleged weapon that was on the scene. The family deserves justice, and that’s what the family is fighting for.�?

 mwalberg@chicagotribune.com

 Twitter @mattwalberg1 |||||


Archaeologists of the future may struggle to interpret the 21st century civilisation due to missing written records if our digital trace is erased, Internet godfather has warned.

 Speaking at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science taking place in San Jose, California, Vint Cerf, one of the men credited with the invention of Internet and a current Vice President of Google, warned relying solely on digital data storage to keep books, texts and photographs may be short-sighted.

 "If we're thinking 1,000 years, 3,000 years ahead in the future, we have to ask ourselves, how do we preserve all the bits that we need in order to correctly interpret the digital objects we create?,” Cerf said.

 "We are nonchalantly throwing all of our data into what could become an information black hole without realising it.

 Comparing the future knowledge about the 21st century to the post-Roman period in Western Europe of which relatively little is known due to the lack of written records, Cerf said the future generations may as well ‘wonder about us’ while having great difficulty to understand due to the uninterpretable bits of information we leave behind.

 "In our zeal to get excited about digitising we digitise photographs thinking it's going to make them last longer, and we might turn out to be wrong," he said. "I would say if there are photos you are really concerned about create a physical instance of them. Print them out."

 Referring to a book by American Pulitzer winning writer Doris Kearns Goodwin who reconstructed conversations between Abraham Lincoln and his friends through the analysis of his correspondence, Cerf said future historians may struggle to do the same for current luminaries due to the either missing or unreadable digital record.

 "Let us imagine that there's a 22nd-century Doris Kearns Goodwin and she decides to write about the beginning of the 21st century and seeks to reproduce the conversations of the time,” he said. “She discovers that there's an awful lot of digital content that either has evaporated because nobody saved it, or its around but it's not interpretable because it was created by software that's 100 years old."

 The problem may become even more serious when it comes to storing legal documents.

 "We're going to have to build into our thinking the concept of preservation writ large," Cerf added.

 One possible solution was what he called "digital vellum", a concept now being explored by computer scientists at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.

 This involved taking a digital "snapshot" at the time an item is stored of all the processes needed to reproduce it at a later date, including the software and operating system.

 The snapshot could then be used to reproduce the game, picture file or spread sheet, on a "modern" computer, perhaps centuries from now.

 "Some people make the argument that the important stuff will be copied and put into new media and so why should we worry," said Cerf. "But ... historians will tell you that sometimes documents and transactions images and so on may turn out to have an importance which is not understood for hundreds of years. So failure to preserve them will cause us to lose our perspective." ||||| America

 Internet Pioneer Warns Our Era Could Become The 'Digital Dark Ages'

 i itoggle caption Andre Penner/AP Andre Penner/AP

 What happens when today's high-tech data storage systems become tomorrow's floppy discs?

 Google Vice President Vint Cerf is concerned about the answer and its implications for preserving history. Speaking at an annual conference of top American scientists, Cerf described such a loss of important information as a possible "digital Dark Ages."

 Engineering and Technology Magazine reports that Cerf, speaking at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in San Jose, says that by using digital storage for all of our books, documents and photos, we could be setting up a big problem for future historians who want to study the 21st century.

 "If we're thinking 1,000 years, 3,000 years ahead in the future, we have to ask ourselves, how do we preserve all the bits that we need in order to correctly interpret the digital objects we create?," Cerf said.

 "We are nonchalantly throwing all of our data into what could become an information black hole without realizing it," he said.

 The conundrum isn't exactly new: in 2006, the U.S. Department of Energy threw $11 million at researchers from three universities and five national laboratories in hopes of finding a solution to "managing the torrent of data that will be produced by the coming generation of supercomputers." And, there are companies that offer services for converting data from outdated systems to something that's still usable today.

 E&T; writes:

 "Comparing the future knowledge about the 21st century to the post-Roman period in Western Europe of which relatively little is known due to the lack of written records, Cerf said the future generations may as well 'wonder about us' while having great difficulty to understand due to the interpretable bits of information we leave behind. "In our zeal to get excited about digitizing we digitize photographs thinking it's going to make them last longer, and we might turn out to be wrong," he said. "I would say if there are photos you are really concerned about create a physical instance of them. Print them out."

 As an example, Cerf points to a book by author and presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin. In Team of Rivals: The Political Genius Of Abraham Lincoln, Goodwin relied heavily on poring over the physical letters sent between Lincoln and his contemporaries.

 As The Telegraph, quoting Cerf, notes: "Such a book might not be possible to write about the people living today ... — the digital content such as emails that an author might need will have 'evaporated because nobody saved it, or it's around but it's not interpretable because it was created by software that's 100 years old'."

 Cerf calls the problem the "digital vellum" and says one solution might be to take a digital "snapshot" when an item is stored, recording all the elements needed to reproduce it at a later date. E&T; says: |||||
What is a one-paragraph summary of the above article?

– Think we've stored so much data that future historians will be swimming in the stuff? Not necessarily: A Google executive says the "digital Dark Ages" may be coming, when people will have little idea of how we think or live today, NPR reports. Google Vice President Vint Cerf expressed his concern last week at a conference of scientists in California: "If we're thinking 1,000 years, 3,000 years ahead in the future, we have to ask ourselves, how do we preserve all the bits that we need in order to correctly interpret the digital objects we create?" he says. "We are nonchalantly throwing all of our data into what could become an information black hole without realizing it." Cerf's worry is that future "modern computers" will have no way of reading content from today's software. Comparing future historians to Doris Kearns Goodwin—who relied quite a bit on letters of the period when writing Team of Rivals about Abraham Lincoln's cabinet—Cerf warns that today's email stash could vanish "because nobody saved it" or because it can't be read since it was created on century-old software, per the Independent. And he discards the notion that "important" stuff will be stored, saying that "sometimes documents and transactions images and so on may turn out to have an importance which is not understood for hundreds of years." His advice for us: Print those photos. For big data savers: Embrace the idea of "digital vellum," which involves snapping a pic of every way a file can be opened, and storing it with the original file, reports Engineering and Technology Magazine. "We're going to have to build into our thinking the concept of preservation writ large," says Cerf. (Unless of course the world ends up taken over by robots.)