– Minors hoping to get their tan on will have to choose the kind that comes in a bottle or get their rays from the sun, according to proposed rules from the FDA. Outlined Friday, the rules would bar those under 18 from using a sunlamp or indoor tanning device, reports NBC News, which calls the rules "unprecedented." Adult users would need to sign what USA Today calls a "strongly worded" document acknowledging the risks of tanning, including skin cancer, before using indoor tanning devices, which the FDA wants modified to include a "panic" off switch and larger warning labels. Doctors and cancer researchers are celebrating the move, per USA Today. The public has 90 days to comment. (Tanning beds send thousands to the ER each year.)

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 Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced important proposed steps to protect public health by preventing the use of sunlamp products (also commonly known as indoor tanning beds) by minors and reducing the risk of using these devices for adults. The FDA is committed to protecting public health by informing consumers of the risks of indoor tanning.

 “Today’s action is intended to help protect young people from a known and preventable cause of skin cancer and other harms,” said acting FDA Commissioner Stephen Ostroff, M.D. “Individuals under 18 years are at greatest risk of the adverse health consequences of indoor tanning.”

 Indoor tanning is a known contributor to skin cancer, including melanoma (its most deadly form), and other skin damage. Yet, 1.6 million minors indoor tan each year, increasing their risk of skin cancer and other damage (based on data in the 2013 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey).

 According to the American Academy of Dermatology, those who have been exposed to radiation from indoor tanning are 59 percent more likely to develop melanoma than those who have never tanned indoors.

 In addition, the effects of exposure to UV radiation add up over one’s lifetime. Therefore, UV radiation exposure in children and teenagers puts them at a greater risk for skin and eye damage later in life.

 The FDA is issuing two proposed rules today. The first proposed rule would restrict use of sunlamp products to individuals 18 and older. In addition, before their first tanning session and every six months thereafter, adult users over age 18 would have to sign a risk acknowledgement certification that states that they have been informed of the risks to health that may result from use of sunlamp products. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an average of more than 3,000 emergency department room visits occur for injuries related to indoor tanning each year in the U.S. (based on 2003-2012 data).

 The FDA also issued a second proposed rule today that would require that sunlamp manufacturers and tanning facilities take additional measures to improve the overall safety of these devices. Specifically, some of the key proposed changes would include:

 making warnings easier to read and more prominent on the device;

 requiring an emergency shut off switch, or “panic button”;

 improving eye safety by adding requirements that would limit the amount of light allowed through protective eyewear;

 improving labeling on replacement bulbs so tanning facility operators can make sure they are using the proper replacement bulbs, reducing the risk of accidental burns; and

 prohibiting dangerous device modifications, like installing stronger bulbs, without re-certifying and re-identifying the device with the FDA.

 “The FDA understands that some adults may decide to continue to use sunlamp products,” continued acting FDA Commissioner Stephen Ostroff, M.D. “These proposed rules are meant to help adults make their decisions based on truthful information and to ensure manufacturers and tanning facilities take additional steps to improve the safety of these devices.”

 The proposed device restriction would apply to manufacturers and tanning facility operators. There are approximately 18,000 to 19,000 indoor tanning salons and 15,000 to 20,000 other facilities, such as health clubs, spas, and other commercial establishments, that offer tanning services in the U.S. The FDA has information for consumers and businesses via the Division of Industry and Consumer Education (DICE). Also, additional guidance and information for industry is included in the proposed rules.

 The proposed restriction and updated performance standards are two of the latest steps the Department of Health and Human Services is taking to reduce the risks associated with skin cancer. In July 2014, the Office of the Surgeon General issued a Call to Action to Prevent Skin Cancer, which included strategies for reducing indoor tanning among minors.

 The proposed rules are available online at www.regulations.gov for public comment for 90 days.

 How to Comment on the Proposed Rules To comment on the Restricted Sale, Distribution, and Use of Sunlamp Products: Read the proposed rule. Starting Tuesday, December 22, submit comments on the proposed rule on Regulations.gov. Comment Now To comment on the Amendment to the Performance Standard for Sunlamp Products: Read the proposed rule. Starting Tuesday, December 22, submit comments on the proposed rule on Regulations.gov. Comment Now The comment period closes March 21, 2016.

 The FDA, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, protects the public health by assuring the safety, effectiveness, and security of human and veterinary drugs, vaccines and other biological products for human use, and medical devices. The agency also is responsible for the safety and security of our nation’s food supply, cosmetics, dietary supplements, products that give off electronic radiation, and for regulating tobacco products.

 ### ||||| The FDA is proposing an indoor tanning ban for teens under age 18, citing cancer risks. (Photo: for USA TODAY)

 Tanning beds will be off limits for teenagers and children if the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has its way.

 Proposed regulations made public Friday by the FDA would ban children under 18 from patronizing indoor tanning facilities and would require adult customers to sign strongly-worded new consent forms every six months.The FDA says tanning beds and sun lamps can cause skin cancer, burns and eye damage.

 The public has 90 days to comment on the new rules. After that, the FDA could make them official.

 "Today's action is intended to help protect young people from a known and preventable cause of skin cancer and other harms," acting FDA Commissioner Stephen Ostroff said in a statement. "Individuals under 18 years are at greatest risk of the adverse health consequences of indoor tanning."

 The proposed regulations also require new safety features, including easier-to-read warnings and emergency shut-off "panic buttons."

 Medical groups immediately applauded the aggressive moves, which come about 18 months after the FDA put new warning labels on the devices used by millions of people each year at tens of thousands of tanning salons, health clubs and other facilities. About 1.6 million of those users are minors, FDA said.

 Indoor tanners are 59% more likely than non-users to develop melanoma, the most dangerous form of skin cancer, according to the American Academy of Dermatology.

 The proposed rules are "a monumental step to protect the public's health," said academy president Mark Lebwohl. The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network said the changes would reduce skin cancer cases and save lives. The American Academy of Pediatrics said the proposal "sends a loud and clear message: tanning beds are dangerous and should not be used by anyone under age 18."

 "Fifteen or 20 years ago, it was very unusual to see someone their 30s with a melanoma, and now we constantly see women in their late teens and 20s with melanoma and almost all of them have an extensive tanning bed history," said Darrell Rigel, a clinical professor of dermatology at New York University. The tanning ban on minors could prevent many such cases in the future, he said.

 "This is a free country, so as an adult, you can make these decisions, just as you can choose to smoke," Rigel said. "But minors need to be protected."

 Eleven states and Washington, D.C., already ban indoor tanning by minors, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

 The Indoor Tanning Association, representing many tanning bed manufacturers and salon owners, said in a statement that the proposed rules are unneeded: "The indoor tanning industry is heavily regulated at both the federal and state levels and our customers are well aware of the potential risks of over exposure." The group said that "the decision regarding whether or not a teen suntans, whether indoors or outside, is a decision for his/her parents, not the government."

 Another industry group, The American Suntanning Association, said requiring adults to sign a form acknowledging the risks of tanning every six months “smacks of both government overreach and harassment.” It also said many of the proposed safety standards for tanning equipment already are in place or endorsed by the industry.

 Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1lWw2g4 ||||| The Food and Drug Administration proposed unprecedented new rules Friday that would bar anyone under 18 from using a sunlamp or indoor tanning device.

 The proposed new rules also would require anyone over 18 who uses a tanning salon or other product to sign a certification saying they understand the risks — which include skin cancer and severe burns.

 And the FDA, which regulates the tanning beds and sunlamps as medical devices, said it would force manufacturers to make already required warning labels more prominent, add a "panic" button to turn the lamp off, and make other safety modifications.

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 Too many people still believe that indoor tanning is somehow safer than being out in the sun. It isn't, said Dr. Vasum Peiris, chief medical officer in the FDA's division that regulates medical devices for children.

 "Indoor tanning is designed to deliver large amounts of UV (ultraviolet) radiation in a short time," Peiris told reporters.

 Some of the lamps can deliver 10 to 15 times the intensity of the midday sun, he said.

 "The FDA's long-awaited tanning device proposals are an important step that will help to reduce skin cancer diagnoses and deaths," the American Cancer Society's Cancer Action Network, which advocates in Washington on health issues, said in a statement.

 "Once it spreads, almost nothing works...I know I'm looking at a virtual death sentence."

 "We commend the FDA for educating the public about the dangers of exposure to harmful ultraviolet radiation and restricting use for our nation's youth. Indoor tanning devices are not safe."

 The FDA has been gradually ratcheting up the warnings on tanning beds and lamps. They must already carry a "black-box" warning saying they should not be used by people under 18.

 The Indoor Tanning Association, which does not conduct its own research into the health effects of tanning, told the Associated Press that decisions about tanning should be left to parents, not the government.

 "We are concerned that the proposed requirements will burden our members with additional unnecessary governmental costs in an already difficult economic climate," the group representing makers of tanning beds told the AP.

 Peiris said the FDA has not made final decisions on how it would enforce the rules. The agency can seize products that don't meet standards, and can also work with the Justice Department, state and local government and other agencies to bring civil and criminal charges against repeat offenders.

 "The FDA understands that some adults may decide to continue to use sunlamp products," continued acting FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen Ostroff.

 "These proposed rules are meant to help adults make their decisions based on truthful information and to ensure manufacturers and tanning facilities take additional steps to improve the safety of these devices."

 Tanning beds send hundreds of Americans to emergency rooms each year with burns, including to their eyes.

 And melanoma rates are up by 200 percent since 1973. Melanoma kills 10,000 Americans a year.

 "The risk of developing melanoma increases by 59 percent for individuals who have been exposed to UV (ultraviolet) radiation from indoor tanning, and the risk increases with each use," the American Academy of Dermatology said in welcoming the proposed rules.

 "Once it spreads, almost nothing works," Dr. Darrell Rigel of the New York University Medical Center and a member of the Academy, told NBC News.

 "A melanoma the size of a dime on your skin has a 50 percent chance of having already spread. We have these women who come in who've got a melanoma that big and feel perfectly fine, but I know I'm looking at a virtual death sentence."

 And it's affecting young women the most.

 "Nearly 70 percent of tanning salon patrons are Caucasian girls and young women, and melanoma is increasing faster in young women 15-29 years old than in young men of the same age," the Academy said.

 "Indoor tanning is a known contributor to skin cancer, including melanoma."

 About 4 percent of adults use tanning beds, but they're popular among college students.

 "Indoor tanning is a known contributor to skin cancer, including melanoma (its most deadly form), and other skin damage. Yet, 1.6 million minors indoor tan each year, increasing their risk of skin cancer and other damage," the FDA said.

 Skin cancer takes time to develop, and the younger a person is when exposed to damaging UV light, the more time there is for tumors to grow.

 The public has 90 days to comment on the proposals, which FDA says apply to manufacturers of sunlamps and tanning beds and to tanning facility operators.

 "There are approximately 18,000 to 19,000 indoor tanning salons and 15,000 to 20,000 other facilities, such as health clubs, spas, and other commercial establishments, that offer tanning services in the U.S.," the FDA said.

 Thirteen states and Washington, D.C. already ban minors from using tanning salons and booths. |||||


Here is a news article: In this Friday, Nov. 18, 2016 photo, U.S. Rep. Danny Davis, D-Ill., center, and his son, Stacey Wilson, give a news conference at the 5th District police department in the Englewood neighborhood of Chicago.... (Associated Press)

 In this Friday, Nov. 18, 2016 photo, U.S. Rep. Danny Davis, D-Ill., center, and his son, Stacey Wilson, give a news conference at the 5th District police department in the Englewood neighborhood of Chicago. Fifteen-year-old Javon Wilson, the grandson of Danny Davis and son of Stacey Wilson, was shot... (Associated Press)

 CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago police said charges could be announced soon in the fatal shooting of an Illinois congressman's grandson following an argument over a pair of basketball shoes.

 Officer Michelle Tannehill said two juveniles are in custody and are considered suspects in the killing of 15-year-old Javon Wilson, who was shot in the head at his home in Chicago on Friday. Wilson is the grandson of longtime U.S. Rep. Danny Davis.

 "The detectives are continuing their interrogations and charges are expected," Tannehill said on Saturday night. The juveniles in custody have not been identified.

 Police earlier said the shooting stemmed from a dispute over basketball shoes. Wilson knew his attackers and they may have been friends at some point.

 Davis said he was told that a 15-year-old boy had traded slacks for shoes with Wilson's 14-year-old brother, but thought better of the trade and went to Wilson's house with a 17-year-old girl. He said the pair forced their way in the house and argued with Wilson before the boy pulled a gun and fired.

 Davis, a Democratic member of the House for 20 years, told The Associated Press on Saturday that his grandson was a victim of a world where gun violence has become commonplace.

 "It's almost, just the way it is. People think nothing of it," Davis said.

 "Youngsters invariably say, 'I know a lot of guys who've got guns. I know a lot of girls who've got guns,'" Davis said. "It becomes a part of the culture of an environment that has got to change."

 Chicago has seen a dramatic rise in the number of shootings and homicides, with August being the deadliest month in the city in two decades. There have been 673 homicides so far this year, including the fatal shootings of the cousin of Chicago Bulls basketball star Dwyane Wade, a Chicago police officer's son and the son of a famed percussionist.

 Davis, who was re-elected this month to his 11th term in the 7th Congressional District and is a former Chicago alderman, was in Chicago on Friday and spoke with reporters after talking to police. He wondered how the shooter obtained the gun and said he'd continue to try to combat gun violence.

 Davis said his grandson was "a pretty regular kid" who loved playing basketball and knew all the pros and their stats, who also loved music and whose grades were improving after a rough patch.

 "The question becomes where does a 15-year-old obtain a gun? Who let the 15-year-old have a gun and under what circumstances?" Davis asked. "There's no answer for that except that the availability of guns is so prevalent in America to the point where you almost can't tell who has a gun" anymore. ||||| Two juvenile murder suspects have been taken into custody in the slaying of U.S. Rep. Danny Davis’ grandson, police said Saturday night.

 “First-degree murder charges are expected,’’ said Anthony Guglielmi, a spokesman for the Chicago Police Department.

 The two are in custody for questioning and have been classified as suspects in the murder, said Officer Michelle Tannehill, a police spokeswoman.

 "The detectives are with them and charges are expected, but we don’t have their ages or genders until the charges are approved," Tannehill said.

 Police called the shooting of the 15-year-old a targeted attack stemming from an argument over gym shoes.

 Jovan Wilson, whose paternal grandfather is Davis, was killed about 7 p.m. Friday while his mother was out picking up dinner for the family, Guglielmi said.

 The incident originally was believed to be a home invasion, he said, but police later learned that wasn’t the case.

 “There was a history between the young people involved. and it was a dispute over gym shoes,” Guglielmi said. “This was not random but was egregious and senseless to use a gun over a fight for clothes.”

 Javon Wilson, 15-year-old grandson of U.S. Rep. Danny Davis and son of Stacey Wilson, was shot and killed Nov. 18, 2016, in his home in Englewood. (Alyssa Pointer / Chicago Tribune) Javon Wilson, 15-year-old grandson of U.S. Rep. Danny Davis and son of Stacey Wilson, was shot and killed Nov. 18, 2016, in his home in Englewood. (Alyssa Pointer / Chicago Tribune) SEE MORE VIDEOS

 Jovan, of the 5600 block of South Princeton Avenue in the city’s Englewood neighborhood, was a Perspectives Charter High School sophomore. Calls to the school weren’t immediately returned.

 Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, an adviser to President-elect Donald Trump, took to Twitter on Saturday morning, saying: “The murder of Congressman Danny Davis’ 15 year old grandson in a Chicago home invasion is reminder we need a federal strategy to save lives.”

 Guglielmi corrected Gingrich, tweeting: “@newtgingrich not a home invasion but a dispute among teens over gym shoes that ended in senseless shooting. We hv person of interest ID’d.”

 Family friend Charles Raymond, 74, didn’t say whether he thinks a federal strategy is the answer, but he believes there are a few other things Chicago needs.

 “One would be prayer,” Raymond said Saturday. “And we need more community involvement and then we need a more personal relationship with police … then perhaps we can eliminate some of these senseless killings.”

 Alyssa Pointer / Chicago Tribune Charles Raymond, 74, of the Hyde Park neighborhood, walks away from the scene in the 5600 block of South Princeton Avenue where the 15-year-old grandson of U.S. Rep. Danny Davis was killed Nov. 18, 2016, in the Englewood neighborhood. Raymond, a family friend, drove the teen's grandmother to the scene. Charles Raymond, 74, of the Hyde Park neighborhood, walks away from the scene in the 5600 block of South Princeton Avenue where the 15-year-old grandson of U.S. Rep. Danny Davis was killed Nov. 18, 2016, in the Englewood neighborhood. Raymond, a family friend, drove the teen's grandmother to the scene. (Alyssa Pointer / Chicago Tribune) (Alyssa Pointer / Chicago Tribune)

 Jovan, who loved sports and rap music, was at his home in Englewood with an uncle, his 16-year-old sister, 14-year-old brother and 8-year-old brother when two teenage assailants entered the home and began arguing with Jovan, police and Davis said. The teen’s mother had left the home to pick up food.

 During the argument, one of the assailants, a 15-year-old boy, pulled out a gun and shot Jovan in the head. A 17-year-old girl was the other assailant, Davis said.

 “He was a typical 15-year-old,” the Democratic congressman said of his grandson. “He liked basketball. If you listened to him he was a basketball star, but he liked basketball and music. All those kinds of things. He was an avid sports fan, he knew all about, you know, the stats of different players.”

 Davis had just returned to Chicago from Washington, D.C., and was in his office when his son Stacey Wilson, the boy’s father, called him with the news of the shooting.

 He said he might never know the answer to those questions or if there was anything, such as better education, that could have prevented his grandson’s homicide. “I do know that I grieve for my family,” Davis said at a news conference. “I grieve for the young man who pulled the trigger. I grieve for his family, his parents, his friends, some of whom will never see him again.”

 Davis said gun violence is a problem society deals with every day and reflected on how he’s attended multiple funerals for other slain teenagers.

 “I guess that I always knew that the possibility existed that it could happen close to me,” Davis said. “As a matter of fact, I thought it was so unfortunate because Jovan had just reached a point, 15, his grades had improved at school. His father had just told me about how proud of him that he was because he was catching on and realizing that all of his life was in front of him.”

 The family had talked to the teen about staying at home at night. Still, that didn’t spare him from violence, Davis said. “Unfortunately, here he was in the house at home, minding his own business, and some intruders would come and snuff his life away.”

 The boy’s father, teary-eyed, stood next to Davis during the news conference. He had just given his son money to get a haircut, and he thought the next time he would talk to him would be about an appropriate haircut to get.

 “It’s going to take me some time to grieve,” Wilson said.

 Violence has spiked this year in Chicago to levels not seen since the 1990s, and several people with prominent connections have been killed in addition to Davis’ grandson.

 rsobol@chicagotribune.com

 gwong@chicagotribune.com |||||
A summary of this is?

– Chicago police said charges could be announced soon in the fatal shooting of an Illinois congressman's grandson following an argument over a pair of basketball shoes, reports the AP. "First-degree murder charges are expected," a police rep tells the Chicago Tribune. Officer Michelle Tannehill said two juveniles are in custody and are considered suspects in the killing of 15-year-old Javon Wilson, who was shot in the head at his home in Chicago on Friday. Javon is the grandson of longtime US Rep. Danny Davis. Police earlier said the shooting stemmed from a dispute over basketball shoes. Javon knew his attackers and they may have been friends at some point. Davis said he was told that a 15-year-old boy had traded slacks for shoes with Javon's 14-year-old brother, but thought better of the trade and went to Javon's house with a 17-year-old girl. He said the pair forced their way in the house and argued with Javon before the boy pulled a gun and fired. "It's almost, just the way it is. People think nothing of it," Davis said. "Youngsters invariably say, 'I know a lot of guys who've got guns. I know a lot of girls who've got guns.' It becomes a part of the culture of an environment that has got to change." Davis, who was re-elected this month to his 11th term in the 7th Congressional District, wondered how the shooter obtained the gun and said he'd continue to try to combat gun violence. Davis said his grandson was "a pretty regular kid" who loved playing basketball and knew all the pros and their stats, who also loved music and whose grades were improving after a rough patch. "The question becomes where does a 15-year-old obtain a gun? Who let the 15-year-old have a gun and under what circumstances?" Davis asked. "There's no answer for that except that the availability of guns is so prevalent in America to the point where you almost can't tell who has a gun" anymore.


A former prime minister of Norway tells ABC7 he was questioned and prevented from leaving Dulles Airport for about an hour Tuesday, apparently because he had visited Iran in 2014.

 Kjell Magne Bondevik served as prime minister of Norway two separate times, from 1997-2000 and 2001-2005.

 He flew into Dulles Airport from Europe Tuesday afternoon and says he was not immediately allowed to leave after customs agents saw in his passport that he had been to Iran.

 He showed ABC7 that his passport also indicates he is the former prime minister of Norway, a U.S. ally.

 "Of course I fully understand the fear of letting terrorists come into this country," Bondevik told ABC7 outside the Washington Hilton Wednesday night.

 But, he said, it should have been obvious he's not a terrorist.

 "It should be enough when they found that I have a diplomatic passport, [that I'm a] former prime minister," Bondevik said. "That should be enough for them to understand that I don't represent any problem or threat to this country and [to] let me go immediately, but they didn't."

 Instead, Bondevik says he was placed in a room with travelers from the Middle East and Africa who were also facing extra scrutiny. He says he had to sit and wait for about 40 minutes, and then he was questioned for about 20 minutes regarding a trip to Iran in 2014.

 Bondevik is president of a human rights organization called The Oslo Center, and in 2014 he went to Iran to speak at a human rights conference there.

 Although President Trump's controversial temporary travel ban has led to extra scrutiny of many travelers in the past week, Bondevik says he was told the scrutiny he received had nothing to do with it. Instead, it was related to a 2015 law signed by President Obama.

 The law was signed in the wake of terrorist attacks in California and Paris and was aimed at protecting the U.S. from terrorists.

 It places extra restrictions on some citizens from 38 countries -- including Norway -- that are part of the U.S.'s Visa Waiver Program.

 Citizens of those countries normally do not need a visa to visit the U.S. for up to 90 days, but because of the law they now do need a visa if they have been to Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Syria, Libya, Somalia or Yemen since March 2011. Those are the same seven countries Trump included in his temporary travel ban.

 The Department of Homeland Security's website says there are exceptions to the 2015 law that are granted on a case-by-case basis. Those exceptions include people who have traveled to Iran or the other six countries on behalf of international or regional organizations.

 Bondevik says his office contacted the U.S. Embassy in Oslo prior to his trip this week and was told his passport and a separate electronic travel authorization (called ESTA) would be sufficient to enter the United States.

 "I was surprised, and I was provoked," he said about being set aside for questioning. "What will the reputation of the U.S. be if this happens not only to me, but also to other international leaders?"

 A spokesperson with U.S. Customs and Border Protection says "CBP is prohibited by privacy laws from discussing specifics of any individual’s admissibility review."

 Bondevik says he contacted the Norwegian Embassy in D.C. after what happened. A spokesperson said the embassy was "happy that things were sorted out."

 ABC7 was told by a source that a wait of an hour is not considered unusual for people entering the country who receive "secondary examinations."

 Bondevik came to the United States to attend Thursday morning's National Prayer Breakfast at the Washington Hilton. ||||| Kjell Magne Bondevik describes shock after being held and questioned at Dulles hub under new US entry controls

 A former prime minister of Norway has spoken of his shock after he was held and questioned at Washington Dulles airport because of a visit to Iran three years ago.

 Kjell Magne Bondevik, who served as prime minister of Norway from 1997-2000 and 2001-05, flew into the US from Europe on Tuesday afternoon to attend this week’s National Prayer Breakfast.

 He was held for an hour after customs agents saw in his diplomatic passport that he had been to Iran in 2014. Bondevik said his passport also clearly indicated that he was the former PM of Norway.

 “Of course I fully understand the fear of letting terrorists come into this country,” he told ABC7. “It should be enough when they found that I have a diplomatic passport, [that I’m a] former prime minister.

 ‘Turning people away was heart-wrenching’: Dubai airport worker on Trump's travel ban Read more

 “That should be enough for them to understand that I don’t represent any problem or threat to this country and [to] let me go immediately, but they didn’t.”

 Bondevik, who is the president of the Oslo Centre, a human rights organisation, said he was placed in a room with travellers from the Middle East and Africa who were also facing extra scrutiny.

 He said he was ordered to wait for 40 minutes, before being questioned for another 20 minutes about his trip to Iran, which he had taken to speak at a human rights conference.

 “I was surprised, and I was provoked,” he said. “What will the reputation of the US be if this happens not only to me, but also to other international leaders?”

 An executive order signed by Donald Trump last week temporarily bans all travellers from seven Muslim-majority countries – Iran, Iraq, Libya, Yemen, Syria, Sudan and Somalia – from entering the US. It also suspends the US refugee resettlement programme for 120 days and puts an indefinite stop to the acceptance of Syrian refugees.

 The order caused chaos at airports across the US and sparked protests and worldwide condemnation. Many people who were en route to the US when the order was hastily signed, including those with green cards, were detained on arrival at US airports, denied boarding on to US-bound flights, or taken off planes by security officials before takeoff.

 Bondevik said Dulles officials told him he had been detained because of a 2015 law signed by Barack Obama that placed restrictions on travellers from those seven countries, or travellers from elsewhere who had recently visited those countries.

 But he said he had never had a problem visiting the US before, and that his office was told by the US embassy in Oslo before his trip that his passport and a separate electronic travel authorisation were all he needed.

 Speaking to the TV2 channel, Bondevik expressed further concern about the Trump administration’s tactics. “I understand the fear of terror, but one should not treat entire ethnic groups in such a way,” he said.

 “I must admit that I fear the future. There has been a lot of progress over the last 10 years, but this gives great cause for concern, in line with the authoritarian leaders we see controlling other major countries.”

 A spokesperson for US Customs and Border Protection said it was prohibited by law from discussing specifics of any individual’s admissibility review.

 On Friday, Iran took retaliatory action by banning US wrestlers from participating in the Freestyle World Cup, one of the most prestigious competitions in international wrestling.

 The IRNA news agency quoted Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman, Bahram Ghasemi, as saying a special committee reviewed the case and “eventually the visit by the US freestyle wrestling team was opposed”.

 Ghasemi said the policy of the new US administration left Iran no other choice but to ban the wrestlers. |||||
What is a one-paragraph summary of the above article?

– A former prime minister of Norway was caught up in the chaos at US airports this week, though it's not clear which president's actions caused the issue. Kjell Magne Bondevik, the country's PM from 1997 to 2000 and 2001 to 2005, flew from Europe to DC's Dulles airport Tuesday to attend the National Prayer Breakfast—and was detained for an hour, the Guardian reports. The problem? Customs agents looked at his passport and saw he traveled to Iran in 2014. He says officials told him he was being held because of a law then-President Obama signed in 2015 that requires citizens of certain countries (including Norway) to have a visa to enter the US if they've visited specific countries (like Iran) since 2011. But there are exceptions (ABC 7 explains in greater depth), and Bondevik says he's never before experienced any trouble coming into the US with that passport stamp. Further, his office checked with the US embassy in Oslo before this trip to ensure he would have no issues. Bondevik tells ABC 7 he possesses a diplomatic passport, which clearly states that he is the former PM of Norway. "Of course I fully understand the fear of letting terrorists come into this country," he says, but "it should be enough when they found ... [I'm a] former prime minister." He says he was made to wait for 40 minutes, then questioned for 20 minutes about the Iran trip, which he took so he could speak at a human rights conference. Though Bondevik wasn't quoted mentioning President Trump by name, he had this to say: "I fear the future," he tells the Local. "This gives great cause for concern, in line with the authoritarian leaders we see controlling other major countries."


Write an article based on this summary:

– Flags were at half-staff across Maryland Sunday night after what authorities say was the totally unprovoked killing of a police officer outside a police station in Prince George's County. Undercover narcotics officer Jacai Colson, who would have turned 29 in a few days, was killed in a firefight after a suspect arrived outside the District III station in Landover and opened fire, the AP reports. The alleged shooter was wounded by police fire and taken into custody. A second man, who police say is the shooter's brother, was also arrested. A nurse who lives in a nearby building tells the Washington Post that she saw a man in black firing a handgun at the station. "He fired one shot, and then he started pacing back and forth, then fired another shot," she says. "Just looking outside, I'm like, 'Oh my God, look at all these police officers running out, putting their lives really in danger.'" Prince George's County Police Chief Hank Stawinski says officers are devastated by the death of Colson, a four-year veteran of the force. The incident "wasn't about anything," the chief says. The gunman "opened fire on the first police officer he saw." Charges against the two suspects are pending, the New York Times reports.

Police Chief Henry P. Stawinski III spoke at a press conference on March 13 after an "unprovoked attack" on Prince George's County District III station killed an officer. "One of your defenders, Jacai Colson...lost his life in defense of this county today," he said. (The Washington Post)

 Police Chief Henry P. Stawinski III spoke at a press conference on March 13 after an "unprovoked attack" on Prince George's County District III station killed an officer. "One of your defenders, Jacai Colson...lost his life in defense of this county today," he said. (The Washington Post)

 (Update: Police take third brother into custody in shooting of police officer)

 A Prince George’s County police officer was killed Sunday in a fierce shootout with a man outside a district station in Landover, in what the police chief said was an unprovoked attack.

 Police Chief Henry P. Stawinski III said a man walked up to the District III station and opened fire outside the front doors about 4:30 p.m. Officers rushed out to stop the attack. Officer Jacai Colson, 28, a four-year department veteran, was killed in the gunfight, the chief said. Police said the suspect was wounded and taken to a hospital, where he was listed in stable condition.

 Police said they didn’t know of a motive, but the suspect and a man police officials described as his brother were both in custody.

 “One of your defenders lost his life in defense of this community today. This was an unprovoked attack,” Stawinski said at a somber news conference Sunday night.

 A relative and law enforcement officials identified the two people in custody as Malik Ford and Michael Ford, both of Temple Hills.

 The slain officer’s father, James Colson III, was rushing from Philadelphia to the Washington region Sunday night. His son, he said, “was courageous and an excellent role model” for young men.

 Colson graduated from Chichester High School in Boothwyn, Pa., where he was born, and went on to play football at Randolph-Macon College, according to a team roster. Pedro Arruza, the football team’s coach, recalled Colson for his strength of character.

 “He was a great kid,” Arruza said of Colson, who played one season for the team at defensive back and wide receiver. “A really respectful kid and just a high-character young man. He treated everyone with respect. . . . To be honest, he wasn’t a great player, but he was a really great person.”

 His high school coach, Joe LaRose, said Jacai Colson’s grandfather was also a police officer.

 The shooting terrified many in the Palmer Park and Landover areas. Police urged residents to shelter in place to ensure their safety. The warning was lifted shortly after 7:30 p.m.

 One witness said she grabbed her sleeping 14-month-old son from his playpen when she heard what she thought was probably firecrackers. She looked out a window and saw a man dressed in black firing a handgun at the police station.

 Forensic investigators confer Sunday outside a restaurant near the area where a police officer was shot in Landover. (J. Lawler Duggan for The Washington Post)

 “He fired one shot, and then he started pacing back and forth, then fired another shot,” said Lascelles Grant, a nurse. “Who would shoot a police station on Sunday evening? This is insane.”

 Then, police began pouring out of the station.

 “Just looking outside, I’m like, ‘Oh my God, look at all these police officers running out, putting their lives really in danger,’ ” Grant said. As shooting continued, the Jamaican immigrant ran to her bathroom to take cover, and said she thought, “Lord, please don’t let no shot come inside here and hurt my baby and me.”

 Erica Thomas, 39, of Washington, said the two people in custody are her nephews. She said relatives had informed her that Michael was injured in the shooting and she tearfully waited at the hospital Sunday night.

 “I just want to know where they’re at,” she said.

 She said she did not know of a possible motive for an attack. “What we wanna know is why did all of this happen? What caused this? That’s what we wanna know.”

 Thomas received word from family members Sunday afternoon that her nephew may have been shot by officers after he opened fire. “I apologize if that’s the case, but all lives matter. Where is my nephew?”

 Their grandmother, Deidre Ramos, 60, of Hyattsville, said Malik and Michael Ford were arrested in connection with the shooting but she said police had the wrong suspects. “They weren’t involved,” she said. Asked if police arrested the wrong people, she said, “Yes.”

 Colson, who would have turned 29 this week, was described as a “cop’s cop” and as having an “infectious smile.”

 Stawinski said the incident “wasn’t about anything.”

 “He opened fire on the first police officer he saw,” Stawinski said.

 Colson was an undercover narcotics officer who worked in high-risk situations, Stawinski said. “When things began to turn, he immediately stepped into action,” Stawinski said of Colson’s response Sunday.

 “He was always there for his fellow brothers and sisters,” said Prince George’s Fraternal Order of Police President John Teletchea.

 Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Angela Alsobrooks called the incident “another horrific act of evil.” “We have another mother tonight without her son,” Alsobrooks said.

 Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) ordered flags to fly at half-staff. “The First Lady and I send our sincere prayers to the family and loved ones of Officer Colson, who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to his fellow citizens and community,” Hogan said in a statement. “It is my hope that his proud legacy of commitment and passion for law enforcement and serving others will provide some comfort in the difficult days that lie ahead.”

 Police cars and barricades continued to block the area around the police headquarters — also connected to the district station — late into the evening.

 Four miles away, in Cheverly, police cruisers lined the entrance to Prince George’s Hospital Center. Officers shared hugs and shed tears. They huddled in a circle, holding hands and reciting prayers for their fallen comrade.

 Sunday’s killing came 12 days after the funeral for Prince William County officer Ashley Guindon, who was shot and killed there on her first day on duty. Guindon was killed when she and two fellow officers were sent to a home in the Woodbridge area of the county to answer a call about a domestic dispute.

 Ronald Williams Hamilton, 32, an Army staff sergeant, allegedly opened fire on Guindon and the two other officers Feb. 27 as they approached the front door to his and wife’s home.

 During his two decades as a high school football coach, LaRose saw hundreds of kids come through, but he said few were like Jacai Colson.

 “He was that kid that every once in a while you hope you have,” LaRose said. “That kid who is a leader. There’s an old saying that when you’re a leader and you turn around, everyone is following you. He had that way of being a leader.”

 Growing up around police inculcated him, LaRose said, with a sense of discipline. Colson was so mature, LaRose said, that he decided to start him at quarterback when he was still a sophomore. Most students, he said, would have wilted under the pressure of playing with older students.

 But not Colson.

 “He walked into the huddle of older kids and led them to a successful season,” LaRose said. He said he wasn’t surprised when he learned he had become a police officer. He said he “felt safer” knowing Colson had decided to serve.

 “We lost a great one today,” he said.

 Arelis R. Hernández, Hamil R. Harris, Martin Weil, Julie Tate, Jennifer Jenkins, Ovetta Wiggins and Peter Hermann contributed to this report. ||||| Police stand outside a Popeyes restaurant during an investigation into the shooting of a Prince George's County police officer outside a police station, on Sunday, March 13, 2016, in Hyattsville, Md.... (Associated Press)

 CHEVERLY, Md. (AP) — Police were going about their business on a Sunday afternoon when a gunman fired at the first officer he saw outside a Maryland police station, prompting a gun battle that left an undercover narcotics officer dying and the suspect wounded, authorities say.

 Prince George's County Police Chief Hank Stawinski said Jacai Colson, a four-year veteran of the department only days shy of his 29th birthday, died after the "unprovoked attack" outside the station. The shooting erupted in Landover, a suburb about 10 miles northeast of downtown Washington, D.C.

 Speaking at a news conference, Stawinski said that once the first shot was fired, several officers fired back at the suspect. He couldn't say how many shots were exchanged in the confrontation that began about 4:30 p.m.

 "Those officers did not shrink. They bravely advanced and engaged this individual," the chief said.

 Prince George's County State's Attorney Angela Alsobrooks called the shooting an "act of cowardice" and a "horrific act of evil." She promised an aggressive investigation and prosecution of the alleged shooter, who was wounded in the return fire but is expected to survive, and another suspect arrested soon after the shooting. Their names were not immediately released.

 Stawinski said the second man was believed to have been present with the suspected shooter when the shots erupted, but fled and was later arrested. He gave no immediate indication what prompted the shooting.

 The Washington Post reported one woman near the shooting scene grabbed her sleeping 14-month old baby from his play pen when she heard what she thought might be either firecrackers or gunshots. The woman told the newspaper she looked outside and saw a man dressed in black firing a handgun.

 "He fired one shot, and then he started pacing back and forth, then fired another shot," said Lascelles Grant, a nurse. She added in the account that police began pouring out of the station. "Just looking outside, I'm like, 'Oh, my God, look at all these police officers running out, putting their lives really in danger.'"

 The woman couldn't immediately be reached by The Associated Press.

 Immediately after the shooting, police advised residents near the police station to stay inside, and others to avoid the area, because of an "active shooter" situation. They later lifted the "shelter in place" advice in a message on Twitter soon after the second suspect was apprehended.

 Parked police cars lined road to the hospital Sunday evening. Officers crowded into the hospital's lobby waiting for news. Colson was pronounced dead at the hospital.

 "The officers are devastated," Stawinksi said later.

 The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives have begun assisting local police in the investigation, spokesmen for the two federal agencies said. They said the Prince George's County Police remains the lead investigating agency.

 Dave Fitz, spokesman for the FBI in Maryland, told AP that the FBI "reached out and offered support" and sent some special agents to assist. An ATF official didn't elaborate on the details of its assistance.

 Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said in a statement he was stunned by the officer's death and had ordered flags to be flown at half-staff.

 "I am shocked and saddened by the news this evening of the death of Prince George's County police officer Jacai Colson in the line of duty," said Hogan's statement. He said he sent prayers to family and loved ones of the officer "who made the ultimate sacrifice in the service to his fellow citizens and community." |||||


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– A man who liked to surf kidnapping-fetish websites will face the death penalty in the disappearance of a Chinese graduate student. A federal grand jury on Tuesday slapped Brendt Christensen, 28, with one count of kidnapping resulting in the death of Yingying Zhang, 26, whose body has not been found, the Chicago Tribune reports. The indictment, updating existing charges, says Christensen killed the University of Illinois student "in an especially heinous, cruel or depraved manner" involving "torture or serious physical abuse to the victim." Christensen, an ex-grad student, allegedly carried out the crime after "substantial planning and premeditation." The FBI questioned the suspect after determining his Saturn was the car captured on surveillance video that picked up Zhang, who was late for an appointment, at a campus bus stop on June 9. She is missing and presumed dead. Christensen is also charged with two counts of lying to the FBI when he said he was playing video games and sleeping on the day Zhang disappeared, when, the indictment says, "he knew full well" he offered her a ride. He allegedly lied again when he said he dropped her off a short time later. The FBI says he took Zhang back to his apartment. A lawyer for Christensen , who is being held without bail, had no comment, but an attorney for Zhang's family calls the new charges "not unexpected," per CBS News. Christensen's trial is set for Feb. 27. Cops say he was recorded at a vigil for Zhang describing the "characteristics of his ideal [kidnapping] victim."

Former University of Illinois graduate student Brendt Christensen could be eligible for the death penalty if convicted on new charges filed Tuesday alleging he kidnapped and killed a visiting scholar from China in June.

 Christensen, 28, of Champaign, was charged in a superseding indictment with one count of kidnapping resulting in a death stemming from the disappearance of 26-year-old Yingying Zhang, whose body has not been found.

 The federal grand jury returned the four-page indictment with the special finding that Christensen committed the offense “in an especially heinous, cruel or depraved manner, in that it involved torture or serious physical abuse to the victim,” and that the crime occurred after “substantial planning and premeditation.”

 The indictment also charged Christensen with two new counts of making false statements to FBI agents.

 Christensen could face the death penalty if convicted on the new kidnapping charge, although the decision whether to seek it will be made at a later date by U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, according to a news release from the U.S. attorney’s office in Urbana. If the death penalty is not sought, a conviction on the kidnapping count would call for mandatory life without parole.

 Christensen, who is being held without bond, is tentatively set to go to trial Feb. 27 before U.S. District Court Judge Colin Bruce. Reached by telephone Tuesday, his lawyer, Robert Tucker, said he had not seen the superseding indictment and had no comment.

 The new charges were the latest twist to a case that rattled the University of Illinois campus and sent shock waves throughout China.

 Prosecutors allege Zhang, who began her research appointment in April was on her way to sign a lease at an apartment building the afternoon of June 9 and unsuccessfully tried to flag down a bus before walking to another stop. Shortly after, federal authorities allege that Christensen approached Zhang in his car and lured her inside.

 Surveillance video from a nearby parking garage captured the exchange in which Zhang could be seen speaking to the driver for several moments before getting into the front passenger seat. One of Zhang's professors reported her missing by that evening, after several calls and texts went unanswered.

 The investigation homed in on Christensen after police concluded his Saturn Astra was the car seen in the footage. He initially told the FBI he was home all day playing video games on the day Zhang disappeared. When he was questioned a second time three days later, Christensen changed his story, telling agents he was driving on campus, came across an Asian woman looking distressed and offered her a ride because she said she was late to an appointment.

 Christensen said the woman panicked after he made a wrong turn, and he let her out of his car a few blocks from where they met. Meanwhile, police also searched his car and determined that the area where Zhang would have been sitting had been cleaned in a way to conceal evidence, FBI agents alleged in court documents.

 Police also searched his phone and found visits to a sadomasochism fetish website with discussion threads on kidnapping fantasies.

 The FBI also conducted audio surveillance on Christensen for several days, including when he attended a campus walk and vigil in Zhang's honor on June 29. There, Christensen was caught on tape pointing out people in the crowd and describing his "ideal victim."

 Other surveillance tapes recorded Christensen allegedly admitting to having kidnapped Zhang, and describing how she fought back as he held her against her will, prosecutors said.

 Police and prosecutors have not revealed the source of the recordings.

 jmeisner@chicagotribune.com

 Twitter @jmetr22b ||||| SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- A federal grand jury on Tuesday returned a superseding indictment against a man accused in the abduction of a University of Illinois scholar from China.

 The new indictment accuses Brendt Christensen, 28, of kidnapping resulting in the death of Yingying Zhang. If convicted of the charge, Christensen faces the death penalty or mandatory life in prison.

 Christensen was initially charged with the 26-year-old Zhang of Nanping, China. The new indictment alleges Christensen intentionally killed Zhang in "an especially heinous, cruel, or depraved manner." It contends her death involved torture or serious physical abuse and that he did so "after substantial planning and premeditation."

 The new indictment also alleges Christensen used a cellphone and a vehicle, both instruments of interstate commerce, to commit the offense.

 Zhang disappeared June 9, weeks after arriving at the central Illinois campus. Even though her body hasn't been found, authorities believe Zhang is dead.

 The indictment also charged Christensen with two new counts of making false statements to FBI agents. It states Christensen lied when he told the FBI he stayed at his apartment and slept and played video games all day on June 9, "when he knew full well that he drove around the University of Illinois campus on the afternoon of June 9, and picked up Y,Z. as she was waiting for a bus."

 It alleges Christensen lied when he said he dropped of an Asian female in a residential area shortly after picking her up.

 Christensen has been held in the Macon County jail since his arrest by U.S. Marshals. He is tentatively set to go to trial Feb. 27.

 Christensen's lawyer, Robert Tucker, said he had not seen the superseding indictment and had no comment.

 Attorney Steve Beckett, who represents Zhang's family, said he had not spoken to them Tuesday but said the superseding indictment "is not unexpected."

 Beckett said Zhang's family remains in the Urbana area and intends to stay until she is found. |||||


Thom Hartmann: The Second Amendment Was Ratified to Preserve Slavery

 Founders Patrick Henry, George Mason, and James Madison were totally clear on that ... and we all should be too.

 The real reason the Second Amendment was ratified, and why it says "State" instead of "Country" (the Framers knew the difference - see the 10th Amendment), was to preserve the slave patrol militias in the southern states, which was necessary to get Virginia's vote. Founders Patrick Henry, George Mason, and James Madison were totally clear on that . . . and we all should be too.

 In the beginning, there were the militias. In the South, they were also called the "slave patrols," and they were regulated by the states.

 In Georgia, for example, a generation before the American Revolution, laws were passed in 1755 and 1757 that required all plantation owners or their male white employees to be members of the Georgia Militia, and for those armed militia members to make monthly inspections of the quarters of all slaves in the state. The law defined which counties had which armed militias and even required armed militia members to keep a keen eye out for slaves who may be planning uprisings.

 As Dr. Carl T. Bogus wrote for the University of California Law Review in 1998, "The Georgia statutes required patrols, under the direction of commissioned militia officers, to examine every plantation each month and authorized them to search 'all Negro Houses for offensive Weapons and Ammunition' and to apprehend and give twenty lashes to any slave found outside plantation grounds."

 It's the answer to the question raised by the character played by Leonardo DiCaprio in Django Unchained when he asks, "Why don't they just rise up and kill the whites?" If the movie were real, it would have been a purely rhetorical question, because every southerner of the era knew the simple answer: Well regulated militias kept the slaves in chains.

 Sally E. Haden, in her book Slave Patrols: Law and Violence in Virginia and the Carolinas, notes that, "Although eligibility for the Militia seemed all-encompassing, not every middle-aged white male Virginian or Carolinian became a slave patroller." There were exemptions so "men in critical professions" like judges, legislators and students could stay at their work. Generally, though, she documents how most southern men between ages 18 and 45 - including physicians and ministers - had to serve on slave patrol in the militia at one time or another in their lives.

 And slave rebellions were keeping the slave patrols busy.

 By the time the Constitution was ratified, hundreds of substantial slave uprisings had occurred across the South. Blacks outnumbered whites in large areas, and the state militias were used to both prevent and to put down slave uprisings. As Dr. Bogus points out, slavery can only exist in the context of a police state, and the enforcement of that police state was the explicit job of the militias.

 If the anti-slavery folks in the North had figured out a way to disband - or even move out of the state - those southern militias, the police state of the South would collapse. And, similarly, if the North were to invite into military service the slaves of the South, then they could be emancipated, which would collapse the institution of slavery, and the southern economic and social systems, altogether.

 These two possibilities worried southerners like James Monroe, George Mason (who owned over 300 slaves) and the southern Christian evangelical, Patrick Henry (who opposed slavery on principle, but also opposed freeing slaves).

 Their main concern was that Article 1, Section 8 of the newly-proposed Constitution, which gave the federal government the power to raise and supervise a militia, could also allow that federal militia to subsume their state militias and change them from slavery-enforcing institutions into something that could even, one day, free the slaves.

 This was not an imagined threat. Famously, 12 years earlier, during the lead-up to the Revolutionary War, Lord Dunsmore offered freedom to slaves who could escape and join his forces. "Liberty to Slaves" was stitched onto their jacket pocket flaps. During the War, British General Henry Clinton extended the practice in 1779. And numerous freed slaves served in General Washington's army.

 Thus, southern legislators and plantation owners lived not just in fear of their own slaves rebelling, but also in fear that their slaves could be emancipated through military service.

 At the ratifying convention in Virginia in 1788, Henry laid it out:

 "Let me here call your attention to that part [Article 1, Section 8 of the proposed Constitution] which gives the Congress power to provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the militia, and for governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the United States. . . .

 "By this, sir, you see that their control over our last and best defence is unlimited. If they neglect or refuse to discipline or arm our militia, they will be useless: the states can do neither . . . this power being exclusively given to Congress. The power of appointing officers over men not disciplined or armed is ridiculous; so that this pretended little remains of power left to the states may, at the pleasure of Congress, be rendered nugatory."

 George Mason expressed a similar fear:

 "The militia may be here destroyed by that method which has been practised in other parts of the world before; that is, by rendering them useless, by disarming them. Under various pretences, Congress may neglect to provide for arming and disciplining the militia; and the state governments cannot do it, for Congress has an exclusive right to arm them [under this proposed Constitution] . . . "

 Henry then bluntly laid it out:

 "If the country be invaded, a state may go to war, but cannot suppress [slave] insurrections [under this new Constitution]. If there should happen an insurrection of slaves, the country cannot be said to be invaded. They cannot, therefore, suppress it without the interposition of Congress . . . . Congress, and Congress only [under this new Constitution], can call forth the militia."

 And why was that such a concern for Patrick Henry?

 "In this state," he said, "there are two hundred and thirty-six thousand blacks, and there are many in several other states. But there are few or none in the Northern States. . . . May Congress not say, that every black man must fight? Did we not see a little of this last war? We were not so hard pushed as to make emancipation general; but acts of Assembly passed that every slave who would go to the army should be free."

 Patrick Henry was also convinced that the power over the various state militias given the federal government in the new Constitution could be used to strip the slave states of their slave-patrol militias. He knew the majority attitude in the North opposed slavery, and he worried they'd use the Constitution to free the South's slaves (a process then called "Manumission").

 The abolitionists would, he was certain, use that power (and, ironically, this is pretty much what Abraham Lincoln ended up doing):

 "[T]hey will search that paper [the Constitution], and see if they have power of manumission," said Henry. "And have they not, sir? Have they not power to provide for the general defence and welfare? May they not think that these call for the abolition of slavery? May they not pronounce all slaves free, and will they not be warranted by that power? "This is no ambiguous implication or logical deduction. The paper speaks to the point: they have the power in clear, unequivocal terms, and will clearly and certainly exercise it."

 He added: "This is a local matter, and I can see no propriety in subjecting it to Congress."

 James Madison, the "Father of the Constitution" and a slaveholder himself, basically called Patrick Henry paranoid.

 "I was struck with surprise," Madison said, "when I heard him express himself alarmed with respect to the emancipation of slaves. . . . There is no power to warrant it, in that paper [the Constitution]. If there be, I know it not."

 But the southern fears wouldn't go away.

 Patrick Henry even argued that southerner's "property" (slaves) would be lost under the new Constitution, and the resulting slave uprising would be less than peaceful or tranquil:

 "In this situation," Henry said to Madison, "I see a great deal of the property of the people of Virginia in jeopardy, and their peace and tranquility gone."

 So Madison, who had (at Jefferson's insistence) already begun to prepare proposed amendments to the Constitution, changed his first draft of one that addressed the militia issue to make sure it was unambiguous that the southern states could maintain their slave patrol militias.

 His first draft for what became the Second Amendment had said: "The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed; a well armed, and well regulated militia being the best security of a free country [emphasis mine]: but no person religiously scrupulous of bearing arms, shall be compelled to render military service in person."

 But Henry, Mason and others wanted southern states to preserve their slave-patrol militias independent of the federal government. So Madison changed the word "country" to the word "state," and redrafted the Second Amendment into today's form:

 "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State [emphasis mine], the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

 Little did Madison realize that one day in the future weapons-manufacturing corporations, newly defined as "persons" by a Supreme Court some have called dysfunctional, would use his slave patrol militia amendment to protect their "right" to manufacture and sell assault weapons used to murder schoolchildren. ||||| The President is ready to announce his plans to restrict gun ownership. Most likely, nothing the President proposes will do anything to stop a future Sandy Hook. We know the President understands he is putting Democrats in a terrible spot. We know because he did nothing after the Aurora, CO shooting in the midst of a political campaign. He had to wait so he wouldn’t spook voters.

 Now he will put the Democrats on the line. Senators Baucus, Begich, Hagan, Johnson, Landrieu, and Pryor — all Democrats from very pro-second amendment states who are up for re-election in 2014 — will be in jeopardy when, not if, the President overreaches.

 In all the talk that has happened and will happen, the press and the general public seem willing to ignore the actual purpose of the second amendment.

 The amendment is not about sports. It is not about recreation. It is not about hunting. It is only partly about defending yourself from a criminal.

 The second amendment is about ensuring a “free state.”

 On April 19, 1775, British regulars marched on Lexington and Concord to seize the guns of American colonists that had been stockpiled in case of revolution.

 It may be an abstract concept for us. It may be distant. But when the 1st Congress of the United States met in 1789, the memory of 1775 was fresh. More so, what they saw as an abridgment of their freedoms in 1775, they viewed as an abridgment of their freedoms going back to the Glorious Revolution of 1688.

 Many historians have come to view the American Revolution as a conservative revolution. The revolutionaries believed they were protecting their English rights from the Glorious Revolution of 1688. They were, in effect, revolting to demand the rights they thought they already had as English citizens. It is why, for much of 1775, they petitioned the King, not Parliament, for help because they had, separated by distance and time, not kept up with the legal evolution of the British constitutional monarchy in relation to Parliament. The colonists believed themselves full English citizens and heirs of the Glorious Revolution.

 One of the rights that came out of the Bill of Rights of 1689 in England following the Glorious Revolution was a right to bear arms for defense against the state. The English Bill of Rights accused King James II of disarming protestants in England. That Bill of Rights included the language “That the Subjects which are Protestants may have Arms for their Defence suitable to their Conditions and as allowed by Law.“

 The Americans, however, saw the British government, via Parliament, begin curtailing the rights of the citizenry in the American colonies. When they formed the federal government with ratification of the Constitution, the colonists, now Americans, were deeply skeptical of a concentrated federal power, let alone standing armies to exercise power on behalf of a government. This is why, originally, the colonists chose to require unanimity for all federal action under the Articles of Confederation that the Constitution would replace. Likewise, it is why many early state constitutions gave both an explicit right to keep and bear arms, but also instructed that standing armies in times of peace should not be maintained.

 Prior to the Civil War, the Bill of Rights only applied to the federal government and that first Congress dropped references to “as allowed by Law” that had been in the English Bill of Rights. The Founders intended that Congress was to make no law curtailing the rights of citizens to keep and bear arms.

 The 2nd Amendment, contrary to much of today’s conversation, has just as much to do with the people protecting themselves from tyranny as it does burglars. That is why there is so little common ground about assault rifles — even charitably ignoring the fact that there really is no such thing. If the 2nd Amendment is to protect the citizenry from even their own government, then the citizenry should be able to be armed.

 There are plenty of arguments and bodies to suggest that we might, as a nation, need to rethink this. The Founders gave us that option. We can amend the Constitution.

 In doing so, we should keep in mind that in the past 100 years Germany, Italy, Russia, Japan, China, and other governments have turned on their people at various times and, in doing so, restricted freedoms starting often with gun ownership. You may think a 30 round magazine is too big. Under the real purpose of the second amendment, a 30 round magazine might be too small.

 Regardless, as the President announces how he will curtail the freedoms of the second amendment, we should remember Justice Robert Jackson’s opinion in West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624 (1943) |||||

Write a summary.

– The debate over gun laws brings renewed attention to the debate over the Second Amendment, with two very different takes today from the left and right: Noble intent: Erick Erickson as RedState offers a history lesson. "On April 19, 1775, British regulars marched on Lexington and Concord to seize the guns of American colonists that had been stockpiled in case of revolution," he writes. "It may be an abstract concept for us. It may be distant. But when the 1st Congress of the United States met in 1789, the memory of 1775 was fresh." The amendment is all about protecting citizens from the abuses of their own government. Full post here. Awful intent: Nope, writes Thom Hartmann at Alternet. The Second Amendment was written to protect slavery. The slave states needed militias to keep rebellions in check and were worried the federal government would disband them. That's why the line about a "well regulated militia being the best security of a free country" got changed to "free state" in the final version. Read the full post here.


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– A woman who worked as JK Rowling's personal assistant for more than three years allegedly used a business credit card issued to her by the Harry Potter author to buy stuff for herself—lots of stuff. In a new lawsuit against Amanda Donaldson, Rowling says her former employee benefited to the tune of more than $31,000 by charging all sorts of things to the credit card—including nearly $2,000 at a luxury candle company, nearly $5,000 at a cosmetics store, and more than $2,000 at Starbucks—plus helping herself to Harry Potter merchandise. Rowling is suing Donaldson, who was fired in April 2017 after spending discrepancies were uncovered, for more than $31,000, the BBC reports. Per the Sun, Rowling's husband helped to uncover the alleged misdeeds. In addition to the allegedly unauthorized "business" expenses, which also included $2,800 at a stationery store and more than $1,000 at a bakery, Rowling says Donaldson was in charge of handling memorabilia requests from fans—and that she used that role to snag items including a "Harry Potter Wizard Collection" worth nearly $3,000 without Rowling's "knowledge or consent." Perhaps the oddest expense of all: Donaldson allegedly spent more than $1,500 on two cats. She's also alleged to have taken more than $10,000 in cold hard cash, most of it from a safe she had access to. Donaldson, 35, has denied the allegations and has claimed Rowling has "not suffered any loss and is not entitled to damages." (When Harry Potter and philosophy class merge.)

Image copyright PA

 Harry Potter author JK Rowling has launched a £24,000 legal claim against a former employee for allegedly using her money to go on shopping sprees.

 Ms Rowling, 53, claims Amanda Donaldson broke strict working rules by using her funds to buy cosmetics and gifts.

 Ms Donaldson worked as a personal assistant for the writer between February 2014 and April 2017, before being sacked for gross misconduct.

 The 35-year-old from Coatbridge, Lanarkshire, has denied the claims.

 Legal papers lodged at Airdrie Sheriff Court allege Ms Donaldson wrongly benefited to a value of £23,696.32 by spending on a business credit card and taking Harry Potter merchandise.

 Memorabilia requests

 It is claimed Ms Donaldson had responsibility for funds and was provided with a credit card for buying items in connection with business and personal affairs only.

 She had to submit statements and receipts once a month to the accountants and also had access to a safe containing foreign money.

 But discrepancies were picked up in February last year on statements revealing a high volume of personal spending by Ms Donaldson.

 She had a meeting with an accountant to discuss use of the card and was suspended.

 Ms Rowling has alleged Ms Donaldson made a series of unauthorised payments, including:

 £823 at Bibi Bakery

 £1,482 at luxury candle company Jo Malone

 £3,629 in cosmetic firm Molton Brown

 £2,139 in card shop Paper Tiger

 £1,636 in Starbucks.

 Ms Rowling also claims Ms Donaldson, who controlled memorabilia requests from fans, used her position to steal a Harry Potter motorised Hogwarts Express worth £467.56, a Harry Potter Wizard Collection worth £2231.76 and a Harry Potter Tales of Beedle The Bard Set worth £395.

 Ms Rowling says the toys were taken without her "knowledge or consent".

 It is alleged Ms Donaldson bought two cats worth £1,200 and withdrew £400 in cash for a deposit for a restaurant lunch but that Ms Rowling's husband Neil Murray discovered no deposit had been paid.

 The author also claimed her former employee took £7,742-worth of foreign money from a safe.

 Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Ms Rowling claims her husband, Neil Murray, discovered that a £400 deposit for lunch at a restaurant was not paid

 Ms Donaldson has denied the claims and said Ms Rowling had "not suffered any loss and is not entitled to damages" from her.

 A spokeswoman for Ms Rowling said: "I can confirm JK Rowling has taken legal action against her former personal assistant, Amanda Donaldson, following her dismissal for gross misconduct involving a substantial breach of trust.

 "As the case is not yet concluded we are not able to comment further and there won't be any comment from JK Rowling."

 Ms Donaldson was unavailable for comment.

 The case before Sheriff Derek O'Carroll is due back in court later this year. ||||| JK Rowling is suing her ex- assistant for allegedly splashing thousands on a credit card without authorisation.

 The Harry Potter author has accused Amanda Donaldson, 35, of spending £10,000 on a business credit card and helping herself to £3,000 of merchandise.

 PA:Press Association 3 JK Rowling's ex- assistant allegedly spent thousands of pounds on a credit card without the author's approval

 Court papers seen by The Sun claim Donaldson’s alleged spending was rumbled by JK’s hubby Neil Murray, 47.

 He called a Michelin-starred Edinburgh restaurant the assistant was supposed to have booked for a party — only to find it hadn’t been done.

 The writer, 53 — who appeared before Airdrie Sheriff Court in Scotland under her real name Joanne Murray - is suing for more than £24,000 in total.

 She claims Donaldson, from North Lanarkshire, Scotland, took funds and spent money without her authorisation.

 facebook 3 Amanda Donaldson, 35, denies all the claims made against her

 The former PA, who was sacked for gross misconduct, denies the claims.

 The separated mum-of-two, who used to be in the Royal Navy, is said to have spent money at Jo Malone and Molton Brown, racked up nearly £2,000 in coffee shops and even allegedly spent £230 in Waterstones.

 JK — worth nearly £500 million — told Sheriff Derek O’Carroll financial inaccuracies were allegedly discovered when her accountant reviewed a spreadsheet Donaldson updated.

 The former employee is claimed to have “fraudulently” marked entries as either for business or personal use by her boss.

 3 Amanda Donaldson from Scotland took funds and spent money without the authorisation of the Harry Potter author

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 She is also accused of stealing foreign currency to use herself.

 After the claims came to light, Donaldson is said to have blamed JK’s nanny Fiona Shapcott.

 Court documents state Donaldson has refused to repay the sum. A spokeswoman for JK confirmed action to get the cash back is underway.

 The case continues next month.

 Trailer for Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindlewald |||||


Article:

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. ||||| The seed for Wide00014 was:

 - Slash pages from every domain on the web:

 -- a ranking of all URLs that have more than one incoming inter-domain link (rank was determined by number of incoming links using Wide00012 inter domain links)

 -- up to a maximum of 100 most highly ranked URLs per domain

 - Top ranked pages (up to a max of 100) from every linked-to domain using the Wide00012 inter-domain navigational link graph ||||| Natalie Portman married Benjamin Millepied in Big Sur over the weekend in an intimate ceremony in front of 100 guests including Ivanka Trump and Macaulay Culkin. If Culkin’s presence wasn’t odd enough, the absence of Natalie’s “Black Swan” co-star, Mila Kunis, was even weirder. Did Natalie have to make a choice between friends? Did Mila opt out of the ceremony because of Culkin’s recent drug allegations? Or simply, was Mila just not invited?

 It was a small wedding so it wouldn’t be the biggest deal if Mila wasn’t invited but she and Natalie struck up a pretty strong friendship during the movie that made the women Oscar nominees. And Natalie and Benjamin met on the set of “Black Swan” which makes the co-stars’ bond even more special regarding the wedding. I have to think Mila found out Culkin was showing up and decided it was best for all if she got out of dodge. Especially since the media is reporting that Culkin’s alleged heroin abuse has a lot to do with his break up with Mila and the fact she’s now dating her “That 70′s Show” co-star Ashton Kutcher – WHO, coincidentally enough, starred with Natalie in “No Strings Attached”! Read more… ||||| After three years, one baby and an Academy Award, Black Swan co-stars Natalie Portman and Benjamin Millepied tied the knot in Big Sur, Calif., on August 4. And only In Touch has the exclusive details!

 In Touch can reveal that Natalie walked down the aisle in a stunningly simple Rodarte gown — a tea-length cocktail number with sheer, full-length sleeves. “Her dress was stunning, not overly showy or revealing,” says an insider who lives in Big Sur. “Very much her own subtle and pretty personal style — she always has a hippie theme, whatever she does.”

 The traditional Jewish ceremony, which took place after sundown on Saturday at a private residence on the scenic Californian coastline, was an intimate affair with just 60 of the couple’s family and closest friends in attendance. A select group of celebrity guests included Diane Sawyer and her husband, Mike Nichols (who directed Natalie in Closer), Ivanka Trump, Macaulay Culkin, Rashida Jones and Rodarte designers Kate and Laura Mulleavy.

 After a vegetarian meal — Natalie has been a strict vegan since 2009, apart from a brief break during her pregnancy with son Aleph, now 14 months — the newlyweds let loose on the dance floor. The DJ spun hip-hop tunes until 2:30 a.m., says the insider. “Natalie looked so happy and was glowing. It was a beautiful day for her and Benjamin to celebrate with those they hold closest.”

 For more exclusive details on Natalie’s dream wedding, pick up the latest issue of In Touch, on stands this week. |||||
What is a summary?

– Natalie Portman managed to get married very, very quietly Saturday—but details are now trickling out about the Big Sur ceremony, which celebrated the backgrounds of both Portman (Jewish) and new hubby Benjamin Millepied (French). The couple married under a Jewish chuppah overlooking the ocean, wore a Jewish prayer shawl during the ceremony, and ended by smashing the traditional glass as guests cheered, "Mazel Tov!" They also danced the hora as a Klezmer band played, People notes (later, in keeping with Natalie's tastes, the DJ busted into some hip-hop until 2:30am). Guests ate French macarons instead of cake, and left with wildflower seed packets inscribed with "Merci." Those macarons must have been made without eggs, because the entire menu was vegan, in keeping with Portman's diet. The couple also used indigenous wildflowers rather than flying any flowers in for the ceremony, and even Natalie's Rodarte gown had a "hippie" feel, a source tells In Touch. It was tea-length with full sleeves and "not overly showy or revealing," the insider says. Portman wore wildflowers in her hair and Millepied donned a blue tux. The 60 to 100 guests included Ivanka Trump, Macaulay Culkin, Diane Sawyer, and Rashida Jones (but not, notably, Mila Kunis). Click to see pictures of an absolutely beaming Portman on her big day.


Article:
Image copyright AFP/Getty Images Image caption Kim Jong-yang had been acting Interpol chief since the last president's disappearance in September

 Interpol has elected South Korean Kim Jong-yang as its president, rejecting the controversial Russian frontrunner.

 Mr Kim was chosen by Interpol's 194 member states at a meeting of its annual congress in Dubai.

 He beat Russia's Alexander Prokopchuk, who has been accused of using Interpol's arrest warrant system to target critics of the Kremlin.

 Russia blamed the outcome of the voting on "unprecedented pressure and interference".

 The election follows the disappearance of Interpol's former president Meng Hongwei, who vanished on a trip to China in September. Beijing has since confirmed he has been detained and is being investigated for allegedly taking bribes.

 Who is Kim Jong-yang?

 Mr Kim, 57, beat Mr Prokopchuk, also 57, by 101 votes to 61 at Interpol's General Assembly meeting on Wednesday, media reports say.

 Interpol confirmed the South Korean's victory, without revealing the breakdown of the results.

 Mr Kim is a former South Korean police officer who once served as head of police in Gyeonggi, the country's most populous province.

 He was already senior vice-president of Interpol and had been serving as acting president since Mr Meng's disappearance. He will serve out the remaining two years of Mr Meng's term.

 Although his role as president is largely ceremonial - the day-to-day running of Interpol is led by Secretary-General Jürgen Stock - it does wield influence.

 Upon his election, Mr Kim said: "Our world is now facing unprecedented changes which present huge challenges to public security and safety.

 "To overcome them, we need a clear vision: we need to build a bridge to the future."

 Who is Alexander Prokopchuk?

 Mr Prokopchuk is a Russian general who worked for many years with Russia's interior ministry.

 Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Russian Alexander Prokopchuk was widely considered the frontrunner for the post

 While he was Interpol's Moscow bureau chief, he was accused of abusing the so-called red notice system - international arrest warrants - to target those who were critical of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

 No such accusations have been levelled at him while he has been one of Interpol's four vice-presidents.

 Moscow said Mr Prokopchuk would remain an Interpol vice-president representing Europe and "focus on strengthening the position of Interpol in the international police community and increasing the efficiency of the organisation's work".

 Who opposed Prokopchuk's candidacy and why?

 There had been growing fears among Russian human rights groups and officials from other countries that Moscow would use his position as president to target its political opponents.

 A bipartisan group of US senators said electing Mr Prokopchuk would be "akin to putting a fox in charge of the henhouse", while a prominent Kremlin critic said it would be like "putting the mafia in charge".

 This prompted a furious response from Moscow, who said such comments amounted to a "certain kind of interference in the electoral process of an international organisation".

 Both the UK foreign office and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo threw their weight behind Kim Jong-yang's candidacy. Lithuania and Ukraine had threatened to withdraw from Interpol if Mr Prokopchuk was elected.

 Two British-based prominent critics of the Kremlin - financier Bill Browder and ex-oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky - say they plan to launch a legal bid to have Russia suspended by Interpol.

 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Bill Browder: Russian Interpol candidate 'most inappropriate'

 Bill Browder, who was held in Spain earlier this year after a Russian Interpol request, has been a thorn in the Kremlin's side, being widely credited with the creation of the Magnitsky Act, a 2012 range of sanctions from the United States on top Russian officials accused of corruption.

 He welcomed the rejection of Mr Prokopchuk saying: "Reason prevails in this dark world."

 "The clear next step is to suspend Russia from Interpol for its consistent and serial abuse of the Red Notice and diffusion system for political purposes," he added.

 How many Red Notices are issued?

 By BBC Reality Check team

 Most of them are not made public, so tracking is difficult. It's also highly subjective as to whether notices have been issued for only political reasons.

 But looking at Interpol's published database on Red Notices, we can draw some interesting insights.

 First, of the cases publicly declared by individual countries, Interpol's data shows that 160 individuals are wanted by Russia. This is also the number wanted by the US.

 One person is wanted by the UK and 44 by China.

 This is not a complete picture as countries can restrict details of the notice to law enforcement.

 We do, however, know the total number of notices issued by all countries, and this shows a significant rise over the past decade.

 In 2006, Interpol issued fewer than 3,000, according to statistics gathered by Fair Trial (from collated Interpol data), an organisation that campaigns against abuses of Interpol.

 The number has steadily increased and in 2017, when Interpol published about 13,000 Red Notices.

 There were a total of about 85,000 notices in circulation at the end of 2016.

 Countries can also request other colour-coded notices to help locate suspects or warn member countries of criminal activity.

 How did Russian media react?

 By BBC Monitoring

 Image caption Kremlin-controlled media said the vote was further evidence of "a veritable information war" against Mr Prokopchuk

 The Kremlin-controlled media are casting Mr Prokopchuk's defeat as the victory of a "Russophobic lobby".

 A newsreader on national state TV channel Rossiya 1 accused the West of mounting a "veritable information war" against the Russian candidate.

 On the country's tightly-controlled daytime political talk shows, the mood was that the vote was yet another example of the wall of hostility apparently encircling Russia.

 Presenters stressed that Moscow was in fact not really that interested in the Interpol job, and that this was a fight started out of nothing by its enemies, especially US politicians and the British media. ||||| In this Jan. 23, 2018, photo, Kim Jong Yang, the senior vice president of Interpol executive committee, speaks during a press conference in Changwon, South Korea. On Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2028, Interpol... (Associated Press)

 In this Jan. 23, 2018, photo, Kim Jong Yang, the senior vice president of Interpol executive committee, speaks during a press conference in Changwon, South Korea. On Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2028, Interpol elected Kim Jong Yang as its president in a blow to Russian efforts at naming one of their own. (Kang... (Associated Press)

 DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — South Korea's Kim Jong Yang was elected as Interpol's president on Wednesday, edging out a longtime veteran of Russia's security services who was strongly opposed by the U.S., Britain and other European nations.

 Kim's surprise election was seen as a victory for the White House and its European partners, who had lobbied up until the final hours before the vote against Alexander Prokopchuk's attempts to be named the next president of the policing organization.

 The U.S. and others expressed concern that if Russia's candidate had been elected, that would have led to further Kremlin abuses of Interpol's red notice system to go after political opponents and fugitive dissidents.

 Russia accused its critics of running a "campaign to discredit" its candidate, calling Prokopchuk a respected professional.

 Groups campaigning to clean up Interpol celebrated the win, as did South Korea. South Korea's police and Foreign Ministry issued a joint statement saying Kim's election is a "national triumph" that could elevate South Korea's international standing.

 Kim's win means he secured at least two-thirds of votes cast at Interpol's general assembly in Dubai on Wednesday. He will serve until 2020, completing the four-year mandate of his predecessor, Meng Hongwei, who was detained in China as part of a wide anti-corruption sweep there.

 Kim, a police official in South Korea, was serving as interim president after Meng's departure from the post and was senior vice president at Interpol.

 Russia's Interior Ministry said after the vote that Prokopchuk, who is one of three vice presidents at Interpol, will remain in that position. Spokeswoman Irina Volk told the Interfax news agency that Prokopchuk will "focus on advancing the stature of Interpol in the international police community and making its work more effective."

 Most of Interpol's 194 member-countries attended the organization's annual assembly this year, which was held in an opulent Dubai hotel along the Persian Gulf coast.

 Interpol was facing a pivotal moment in its history as delegates decided whether to hand its presidency to Prokopchuk or Kim, who were the only two candidates vying for the post.

 Based in the French city of Lyon, the 95-year-old policing body is best known for issuing "red notices" that identify suspects pursued by other countries, effectively putting them on the world's "most-wanted" list.

 Critics say countries like Russia, Turkey, Egypt, Iran and China have used the system to try to round up political opponents, journalists or activists, even though its rules prohibit the use of police notices for political reasons.

 The agency faced criticism two years ago when Interpol's member-states approved Meng as president for a four-year term. Amnesty International has criticized "China's longstanding practice of trying to use Interpol to arrest dissidents and refugees abroad."

 In 2016, Interpol introduced new measures aimed at strengthening the legal framework around the red notice system. As part of the changes, an international team of lawyers and experts first check a notice's compliance with Interpol rules and regulations before it goes out. Interpol also says it enhanced the work of an appeals body for those targeted with red notices.

 Still, member countries can issue requests, known as diffusions, directly to other countries using Interpol's communication system, without going through the centralized Interpol vetting that's in place for red notices. Watchdog groups are urging Interpol to reform the diffusion system too.

 Bill Browder, who runs an investment fund that had once operated in Moscow, says Russia used the diffusion system against him, which led to his brief arrest in Spain earlier this year.

 Browder and another prominent Kremlin critic, oligarch-turned-dissident Mikhail Khodorkovsky, warned Tuesday that electing Prokopchuk— who has ties to President Vladimir Putin— would have undermined the international law enforcement agency and politicized police cooperation across borders. Prokopchuk was in charge of facilitating Interpol warrants on behalf of Russia.

 Browder and Khodorkovsky — who are reviled by the Kremlin — celebrated the result of the Interpol vote. Browder told The Associated Press on Wednesday that "Common sense has prevailed in a dark world. This is a real humiliation for Putin, who thought he'd get away with it."

 A lawyer who wrote a book on Interpol, Christopher David, hailed Kim's election as "a solid, uncontroversial choice." He said in a statement that if Interpol is to be a credible crime-fighting resource, Kim must increase transparency "to demonstrate and maintain its political neutrality."

 A day before the Interpol vote, the White House had come out publicly against the election of Prokopchuk, with National Security Council spokesman Garrett Marquis saying "the Russian government abuses Interpol's processes to harass its political opponents." U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Washington was encouraging all nations and organizations that are part of Interpol to choose Kim.

 Russia, however, secured a win for its ally Serbia on Tuesday when Kosovo's bid to join Interpol failed to garner enough votes at the general assembly in Dubai. The move would have boosted Kosovo's efforts at recognition of its statehood. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008.

 ___

 Charlton reported from Paris. Nataliya Vasilyeva in Moscow and Danica Kirka in London contributed. |||||Summary:

– South Korea's Kim Jong Yang was elected Interpol's president on Wednesday, reports the AP, edging out a longtime veteran of Russia's security services who was strongly opposed by the US, UK, and other European nations. Kim's surprise election was seen as a victory for the White House and its European partners, who had lobbied until the final hours against Alexander Prokopchuk; the BBC notes that a bipartisan group of US senators said electing Prokopchuk would be "akin to putting a fox in charge of the henhouse." Russia accused critics of running a "campaign to discredit" Prokopchuk. Critics say countries like Russia, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and China use Interpol's red notice system to round up political opponents, journalists, or activists, even though its rules prohibit that. The US and others expressed concern that the Russian's election would have led to further Kremlin abuses of the system. Groups working to clean up Interpol celebrated, as did South Korea—which called Kim's election a "national triumph." Financier and Kremlin critic Bill Browder, who says Russia used the diffusion system against him, celebrated the vote, saying, "This is a real humiliation for Putin, who thought he'd get away with it." Kim will serve until 2020, completing the four-year term of his predecessor, Meng Hongwei, who was detained in China as part of a wide anti-corruption sweep there. Kim, a police official in South Korea, was serving as interim president after Meng's departure. Russia's Interior Ministry said after the vote that Prokopchuk, who is one of three vice presidents at Interpol, will remain in that position.