SALT LAKE CITY -- A sex offender parolee who killed a University of Utah student whom he briefly dated allegedly threatened to post compromising pictures of the couple online. Melvin Rowland, 37, demanded that Lauren McCluskey send him money to stop him from doing so, authorities said Thursday.

 Rowland, 37, had been lurking on campus for days trying to confront the woman who had broken up with him weeks earlier when she discovered his criminal background, university police chief Dale Brophy said. Rowland spent the hours before the fatal shooting Monday in McCluskey's dorm building socializing with her friends, university police chief Dale Brophy said.

 He later confronted the 21-year-old McCluskey in the parking lot, dragged her into a car and shot her multiple times in the back seat, Brophy said at a news conference.

 Rowland killed himself hours later in a church as police closed in.

 The killing of McCluskey, a track athlete at the school, came weeks after she broke off her month-long relationship with Rowland and filed a complaint with campus police alleging he had demanded money in exchange for not posting compromising pictures of the couple online. She had sent $1,000 to an account in hopes of preserving her reputation, Brophy said.

 Police were investigating the case as sexual extortion and knew Rowland was a sex offender but not that he was on parole, Brophy said.

 NEW in @UUtah student death

 Police say...

 -Lauren McCluskey paid Melvin Rowland $1000 to keep compromising photos private

 -He was on campus Fri to Mon, looking for McCluskey

 -He texted her, posing as cop Monday AM to lure her outside

 -He went on date (dinner, shower) after murder — Michael Locklear (@MichaelLocklear) October 25, 2018

 McCluskey reported receiving numerous emails and messages using different names trying to lure her to locations. Investigators now believe they all came from Rowland, who Brophy called a master manipulator.

 After shooting McCluskey, Rowland was picked up on campus by a woman he met online. They went to dinner, visited the state Capitol and went to her apartment where Rowland took a shower.

 Later that night, after the woman dropped Rowland at a coffee shop, police tracked him to the church where he killed himself.

 The woman had called police when she saw photos of the man being sought for the campus shooting.

 Rowland got the gun by telling an acquaintance that his girlfriend wanted to learn to shoot.

 Brophy said it appears the woman who picked up Rowland on campus and the person who loaned him the gun had been duped and are not expected to face charges.

 "Rowland was a manipulator. If his lips were moving, he was lying," Brophy said. "I don't think he told the truth to anybody based on our investigation."

 Kaitlin Felsted, a spokeswoman for the Utah Department of Corrections, said police didn't make parole officers aware of the complaint filed by McCluskey.

 Brophy said police didn't start the formal extortion investigation until six days after her Oct. 13 report due to workload issues.

 In the early stages of the investigation, they didn't have enough information to pass on to any other law enforcement, Brophy said, adding that there were no indications from McCluskey that Rowland was threatening physical violence.

 University of Utah president Ruth Watkins said outside investigations are being launched to assess campus security and police protocols to determine if improvements can be made to prevent future shootings.

 Watkins said so far she has found no mistakes in how police handled the case. Brophy said he welcomes the reviews.

 Gov. Gary Herbert said corrections and parole officials had approved independent investigations into the handling of Rowland's parole.

 "Clearly in hindsight, we're going to say, 'You should have done this, you should have done that,'" Herbert said during his monthly televised news conference at KUED-TV

 He noted, however, "You never know when these things are going to occur."

 Rowland was paroled in April when he told the parole board that he was a changed man after being a peer leader in prison had helped him tap into his empathy and learn to follow the rules.

 He spent nearly a decade in prison after pleading guilty in 2004 to trying to lure an underage girl online and attempted sex abuse charges, according to court records.

 After he was charged, a woman came forward to report he had sexually assaulted her after a separate online meeting a few days earlier.

 Rowland, a native of New York, was twice sent back to prison for parole violations that included possessing pornography and failure to complete therapy.

 He blamed his "thinking errors" for the actions that kept sending him back in prison, according to recordings of parole hearings from 2010 to 2018 released this week by the Utah Board of Parole and Pardons.

 Rowland said at a hearing in 2012 that he was a womanizer who manipulated women to get what he wanted.

 Brophy offered the same assessment. He said McCluskey met Rowland at a bar where he was working security and started dating him. He visited her often in her dorm and made friends with other students in the building.

 "He was very, very good at getting people to trust him," Brophy said. "Lauren was no different."

 Watkins said she gave McCluskey's parents a posthumous degree for their daughter, a senior from Pullman, Washington, who was majoring in communication.

 Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell paid tribute to McCluskey by writing her name on his sneakers before Wednesday's game against the Houston Rockets.

 "It was a scary feeling to be close to that. It's just so sad," Mitchell told NBA TV after the game. "I have a little sister. My mom raised me. Women have to be protected more. She was being harassed for two straight weeks. That's so tough. She was defenseless. She couldn't do anything about it. For a man to do that, that's terrible. For me, I just wanted to be able to dedicate this game to her and her family." ||||| In the wake of the fatal shooting of student-athlete Lauren McCluskey on campus Monday evening, the University of Utah will initiate a pair of separate reviews into campus safety and how the university police department responded to a complaint from McCluskey about her killer earlier this month.

 "Let me be clear: I have great faith that our university police department worked diligently on this incident," university president Ruth Watkins said. "They too welcome an independent review. We will leave no stone unturned in determining anything we can do to prevent something like this from happening again on our campus."

 Melvin Rowland, 37, a convicted sex offender who was free on parole, dated McCluskey, a member of the Utah track and field team, for about a month after they met at a bar where he worked as a bouncer, University of Utah police chief Dale Brophy said Thursday at a news conference. McCluskey ended the relationship Oct. 9, after learning about Rowland's criminal background. In the days following the breakup, Rowland attempted to extort McCluskey and stalked her residence before assaulting her in a parking lot and shooting her several times in the back seat of a car, Brophy said. She was 21.

 Rowland killed himself hours later in a church as police closed in.

 Rowland was convicted of forcible sexual abuse and enticing a minor, both felonies, in 2004 in Utah. On Oct. 9, when McCluskey became aware of his background, she invited him to her dorm to confront him and end the relationship, Brophy told reporters. He said McCluskey allowed Rowland to stay with her that night and borrow her car the next day.

 Lauren McCluskey, a member of Utah's track and field team, was shot and killed Monday evening on campus. University of Utah Athletics

 On Oct. 10, McCluskey's mother, Jill McCluskey, a professor at Washington State University, contacted campus police dispatch because she was worried her daughter would be forced to go alone to retrieve her car from Rowland.

 Police made contact with Lauren McCluskey, but she told them she did not feel uncomfortable having Rowland drop off her car, Brophy said. Police later provided an escort for McCluskey after Rowland dropped her car off in a parking lot several blocks from her dorm.

 Two days later, McCluskey began receiving suspicious messages she believed were from Rowland and/or his friends, and she contacted police, Brophy told reporters. She told police the messages didn't make her feel uncomfortable, but told them Rowland's friends were trying to lure her somewhere and she didn't know why, Brophy said. Police later determined Rowland likely was responsible for all the messages McCluskey received.

 Then, on Oct. 13, she received a demand for money in order to prevent compromising photos of her and Rowland from being published on the internet, and she met the demand by depositing $1,000 in an account, Brophy said. McCluskey filed a report and university police opened an extortion case against Rowland, but the formal investigation did not begin until Oct. 19 due to workload issues, Brophy said.

 Brophy also said the department knew Rowland was a registered sex offender but was not aware Rowland was on parole. In the early stages of the investigation, the police did not have enough information to pass on to any other law enforcement agency, Brophy said, adding that there were no indications from McCluskey that Rowland was threatening physical violence.

 Editor's Picks Utah track athlete McCluskey shot and killed University of Utah track athlete Lauren McCluskey was shot and killed Monday night, the school announced.

 Utah athlete's killer a self-described manipulator The man who killed Utah track athlete Lauren McCluskey said he sought to manipulate those he met in person or online, according to a recording of his 2012 parole hearing. 1 Related

 Rowland was granted parole on Feb. 20 and released in April, public records show. Rowland's address was available on the sex offender database and he was required to check in monthly, according to Kaitlin Felsted, a public information officer for the Utah Department of Corrections. Rowland was last in touch with his parole officer by phone on Oct. 16, and the conversation did not raise any red flags, Felsted said.

 Rowland was granted parole on two prior occasions -- in 2012 and 2016 -- but violated the conditions of his release on both occasions and was returned to prison, according to the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole. During one parole hearing, he described himself as a womanizer who manipulated women to get what he wanted and said he was attracted to teenage girls and vulnerable women, and sought to manipulate those he met in person or online, according to a recording of the 2012 hearing released by Utah state authorities.

 Gov. Gary Herbert said corrections and parole officials had approved independent investigations into the handling of Rowland's parole.

 On the day of McCluskey's killing, Rowland spent several hours hanging out near her residence and attempted to lure her out of her dorm by sending a text message posing as a police officer, Brophy said. When she returned to her dorm, Rowland attacked McCluskey in the parking lot while she was on the phone with her mother and dragged her to the car, where he shot her several times, the chief said.

 According to Brophy, Rowland obtained the gun from an acquaintance, whom he told his girlfriend wanted to learn how to shoot. The acquaintance reached out to police voluntarily upon seeing news reports about the shooting and is cooperating with police, Brophy said, but it remains possible the individual could face criminal charges down the line.

 After shooting McCluskey, Rowland was picked up by a woman he had recently met on a dating website, Brophy said. They had dinner and went to her apartment, where Rowland showered before leaving. That woman contacted police when she saw Rowland's name in news reports about the shooting and is not expected to face charges, Brophy said.

 The external, independent reviews of campus safety measures and the police department's handling of the case will begin as soon as possible, Watkins said. As of Thursday evening, the university had not announced who would lead those reviews. ||||| A University of Utah student who police say was murdered by her ex-boyfriend told officers she wired $1,000 to an account earlier this month to prevent the release of "compromising pictures" of the pair, investigators said Thursday.

 University Police Chief Dale Brophy told reporters that Lauren McCluskey, 21, reported the extortion to his officers on Oct. 13, nine days before she was found shot dead outside an on-campus dormitory. The suspect in her murder, 37-year-old Melvin Rowland, was found dead that same evening of a self-inflicted gunshot wound inside a Salt Lake City church.

 Brophy said that McCluskey had ended her relationship with Rowland on Oct. 9 after she discovered that he had lied to her about his age and was a registered sex offender. McCluskey initially declined police assistance in dealing with Rowland, but later reported receiving numerous emails and messages using different names trying to lure her to locations in addition to the extortion attempt. Investigators now believe the messages all came from Rowland, who Brophy called a master manipulator.

 "If his lips were moving, he was lying," Brophy said of Rowland. "I don't think he told the truth to anybody based on our investigation."

 Rowland was spotted on surveillance video at various locations around the University of Utah's campus during the weekend before McCluskey's murder. Authorities believe he was trying to confront her. Hours before the killing, Rowland was in McCluskey's dorm building socializing with some of her friends. He later confronted McCluskey in the building parking lot, dragged her into a car he had driven to campus, and shot her multiple times.

 After shooting McCluskey, Rowland was picked up on campus by a woman he met online. They went to dinner, visited the state Capitol and went to her apartment where Rowland took a shower.

 The woman later called police when she saw photos of the man being sought for the campus shooting.

 Later that night, after the woman dropped Rowland at a coffee shop, police tracked him to the church where he killed himself.

 Rowland got the gun by telling an acquaintance that his girlfriend wanted to learn to shoot.

 Brophy said it appears the woman who picked up Rowland on campus and the person who loaned him the gun had been duped and will not face charges.

 Police knew Rowland was a sex offender but not that he was on parole, Brophy said. He added that police didn't start the formal extortion investigation until six days after her Oct. 13 report due to workload issues.

 Kaitlin Felsted, a spokeswoman for the Utah Department of Corrections, said police didn't make parole officers aware of the complaint filed by McCluskey.

 In the early stages of the investigation, officers didn't have enough information to pass on to any other law enforcement, Brophy said, adding that there were no indications from McCluskey that Rowland was threatening physical violence.

 University of Utah president Ruth Watkins said outside investigations are being launched to assess campus security and police protocols to determine if improvements can be made to prevent future shootings.

 Watkins said so far she has found no mistakes in how police handled the case. Brophy said he welcomes the reviews.

 UNIVERSITY OF UTAH STUDENT WAS ON PHONE WITH PARENTS BEFORE DEADLY SHOOTING

 Earlier in the day, Gov. Gary Herbert said corrections and parole officials had launched investigations into the handling of the case.

 "Clearly in hindsight, we're going to say, 'You should have done this, you should have done that,'" Herbert said during his monthly televised news conference at KUED-TV

 He noted, however, "You never know when these things are going to occur."

 Rowland was paroled in April when he told the parole board that he was a changed man after being a peer leader in prison had helped him tap into his empathy and learn to follow the rules.

 He spent nearly a decade in prison after pleading guilty in 2004 to trying to lure an underage girl online and attempted sex abuse charges, according to court records.

 After he was charged, a woman came forward to report he had sexually assaulted her after a separate online meeting a few days earlier.

 Rowland, a native of New York, was twice sent back to prison for parole violations that included possessing pornography and failure to complete therapy.

 MARRIED COUPLE FOUND DEAD AT INDIANA HOME IDENTIFIED AS TEACHERS

 He blamed his "thinking errors" for the actions that kept sending him back in prison, according to recordings of parole hearings from 2010 to 2018 released this week by the Utah Board of Parole and Pardons.

 Rowland said at a hearing in 2012 that he was a womanizer who manipulated women to get what he wanted.

 Brophy offered the same assessment. He said McCluskey met Rowland last month at a bar where he was working security and started dating him. He visited her often in her dorm and made friends with other students in the building.

 "He was very, very good at getting people to trust him," Brophy said. "Lauren was no different."

 Click for more from Fox13Now.com.

 The Associated Press contributed to this report. |||||
What is a one-paragraph summary of the above article?

– Lauren McCluskey's killer was a master manipulator who penned messages under various names—even posed as a police officer—in an effort to lure and extort the 21-year-old University of Utah student before her death, according to police. Nine days before she was fatally shot on campus by an ex-boyfriend later found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, McCluskey told university police she'd wired $1,000 to an account to prevent the release of "compromising" photos of her and the killer, 37-year-old Melvin Rowland, says University Police Chief Dale Brophy, per Fox News and ESPN. McCluskey had ended her relationship with the registered sex offender days earlier after discovering he'd lied about his background. "If his lips were moving, he was lying," Brophy says of Rowland, who described himself as a manipulator of women at a 2012 parole hearing. Rowland told an acquaintance, for example, that he needed a gun because his girlfriend wanted to learn to shoot, reports CBS News. After shooting McCluskey multiple times in the backseat of a car he’d driven to campus, Rowland was picked up by a woman he'd met online. Before she recognized him as the murder suspect and called police, the pair went to dinner and back to the woman's apartment where Rowland showered before leaving, Brophy says. Meanwhile, the investigation into McCluskey's extortion complaint had been delayed by workload issues, and the Utah Department of Corrections had yet to be notified. Gov. Gary Herbert announced an investigation into the handling of the case on Thursday. Hindsight is 20/20, but "you never know when these things are going to occur," he said. (McCluskey was on the phone with her mom at the time.)


Here is a news article: (CNN) Hillary Clinton is not considering Bernie Sanders as a running mate, a Democrat familiar with the decision tells CNN.

 Sanders, who has still not yet officially conceded the Democratic presidential primary to Clinton, was not expecting to be considered as Clinton's vice president and he does not view her decision as a slight, according to a person close to him.

 Instead, Sanders remains committed to changing the Democratic Party, and not "becoming her partner."

 He would risk being considered a sell-out by loyal supporters if he joined the Clinton ticket, another person close to Sanders said Wednesday, so the news is not unexpected.

 The Vermont senator did not bring up the issue in his private meeting with Clinton on Tuesday night that lasted about 90 minutes.

 Read More ||||| 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. |||||
A summary of this is?

– The Wall Street Journal has revealed a list of potential running mates being vetted by Hillary Clinton, and it doesn't include Bernie Sanders. Possible future vice presidents currently in the early stages of vetting include Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Labor Secretary Tom Perez, Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro, Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, Rep. Xavier Becerra of California, and Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio. A national poll conducted by Bloomberg found Warren leads in popularity among Clinton supporters, 35% of whom wanted to see her as vice president. She was followed by Booker, Castro, and Al Franken. (Newt Gingrich was the most popular VP choice on the GOP side.) While some Sanders supporters had been hoping for a vice presidential nomination for him, Sanders himself wouldn't be interested in the position anyway, according to a source close to him. CNN reports Sanders would rather work to change the Democratic party from the Senate than be seen as a "sell-out" or Clinton's "partner." That may explain the interest in Warren, whose policies are close to those of Sanders and who could possibly bring some of his supporters over to Clinton. Bustle calls her a "shiny apple to Sanders' orange." Sources close to Clinton say the top priority for a running mate is someone who would be ready to step in as president, and that advisers aren't really looking at what a nominee does for Clinton's campaign in terms of demographics and geography.


– A 21-year-old former Stanford student killed his 19-year-old ex-girlfriend and then himself with a "ghost gun," say police. That phrase refers to a firearm that has no serial number, and the two "ghost guns" found on the scene in Walnut Creek, Calif., were homemade firearms built with parts bought online, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Police say Scott Bertics shot and killed Clare Orton on July 21 at her home; the 19-year-old was on summer break from San Diego State University, the Mercury News reports. There was no serial number on either gun found at the scene. (The Chronicle notes that lower receivers on homemade guns normally bear the numbers, though "incomplete ones can be bought as just simple pieces of metal.") Yesterday police revealed the firearms had been built by Bertics—an engineering major who took a leave of absence from Stanford in the fall—using parts he ordered off the Internet. A person "can buy 80% of a gun" online, says Lt. Lanny Edwards, who added there is no evidence Bertics did anything illegal to get the parts. The Chronicle points out that California Gov. Jerry Brown last year vetoed a bill that would have required any gun part sold online to have a serial number and background checks for anyone buying those parts, saying he didn't believe the bill would "significantly advance public safety." Police have so far not identified a motive in the killing of Orton; the two last dated in 2013, the Mercury News reports.

Expand this summary.

WALNUT CREEK -- A one-time Stanford University student who killed his former girlfriend and himself at her home last month built the gun he used from parts he ordered from the Internet, police said Tuesday.

 Scott Bertics, 21, turned the homemade weapon on himself after shooting 19-year-old Clare Orton in the doorway of her family's home on Holton Court, off Homestead Avenue, around 6:50 a.m. on July 21. Orton was home for the summer during a break from classes at San Diego State.

 Police quickly focused the investigation on where Bertics got the two guns found at the scene. Neither had a serial number, Walnut Creek police Lt. Lanny Edwards said.

 Further investigation revealed that he obtained parts to make his own guns by ordering them online, Edwards said.

 "Basically, anyone can buy parts," Edwards said. "These places sell the metal. They sell a trigger assembly. They sell handles and stocks. Essentially, you can buy 80 percent of a gun. That's what he did."

 According to Edwards, everything Bertics did to assemble the gun was legal. Such parts to build a gun generally would run between $400 and $1,200, according to websites advertising the parts and Edwards' own estimates.

 Bertics, like Orton, was majoring in engineering.

 Police have not said Bertics' motive in showing up at the Ortons' door. He and Orton dated for a while but had not seen each other in that capacity since 2013, Edwards said.

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 Small aspects of the crime still were being investigated, according to Edwards, but nothing has happened in the two weeks since the shooting to indicate anyone else was involved or that Bertics tipped off anyone to his plans.

 "This should not be seen as something that can easily be done," Edwards said. "He knew what he was doing."

 According to Stanford's website, Bertics was part of a team in 2013 who worked on a project called "Controlling Robot Dynamics with Spiking Neurons" and wrote a paper with other team members in 2014 titled, "Controlling Articulated Robots in Task-Space with Spiking Silicon Neurons."

 He took a leave from Stanford after the fall 2014 quarter and didn't return.

 Orton was an honors student at San Diego State, according to a school merit page. Her Facebook page indicated she belonged to the Society of Western Engineers at San Diego State, and that she was part of the Eco-Action Club while attending Las Lomas High School in Walnut Creek, where she graduated in 2014.

 Contact Rick Hurd at 925-945-4789 and follow him at Twitter.com/3rderh. ||||| Walnut Creek murder-suicide suspect used “ghost guns,” police say

 A 21-year-old Lafayette man who shot his former girlfriend to death at her Walnut Creek home before taking his own life used two untraceable “ghost guns” he built himself with mail-ordered parts, police said Tuesday.

 Scott Bertics shot and killed Clare Orton, 19, at her home in Walnut Creek’s North Homestead neighborhood about 6:50 a.m. July 21, said Walnut Creek police Lt. Lanny Edwards.

 An investigation determined that Bertics had secretly purchased various parts for the guns by mail and then built the weapons himself, Edwards said.

 Police referred to the firearms as “ghost guns” because they contained no serial numbers.

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 The homemade guns usually include unfinished lower receivers, the critical mechanism from which bullets are fired. Lower receivers normally require serial numbers, but incomplete ones can be bought as just simple pieces of metal.

 There was no evidence that the retailers sold Bertics the gun parts illegally, Edwards said.

 “There has been nothing in this investigation to suggest anyone else was involved or had any knowledge of Scott Bertics’ plans prior to the tragedy,” Edwards said.

 Bertics, who had once dated the victim, was a 2012 graduate of Acalanes High School in Lafayette who went on to Stanford University.

 Orton was a 2014 graduate of Las Lomas High School in Walnut Creek, where she was a cross-country and track athlete. She was studying environmental engineering at San Diego State University and made the dean’s list in the fall semester.

 Bertics also ran cross-country and track in high school, then studied electrical engineering and computer sciences at Stanford. He took a leave of absence from the university after the fall 2014 semester, officials said.

 In September 2014, Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a bill that would have tightened laws on unregistered guns built with parts purchased online and delivered through the mail.

 The bill — proposed by state Sen. Kevin de León, D-Los Angeles — would have banned the sale of gun parts unless they had serial numbers and required buyers to go through background checks.

 At the time, De León warned that criminals, gang members and anyone else who wants to avoid background checks can get the parts through the mail and assemble their own guns.

 In his veto message, Brown said, “I appreciate the author’s concerns about gun violence, but I can’t see how adding a serial number to a homemade gun would significantly advance public safety.”

 Henry K. Lee is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: hlee@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @henryklee |||||


– An Atlanta private school principal who dissed "all the black people" during a graduation ceremony last week is unsurprisingly out of a job. "In light of recent events, the board of directors of TNT Academy has moved to dismiss Nancy Gordeuk as principal," the board says in a statement, per USA Today. After mistakenly dismissing students at the ceremony, Gordeuk said, "Look who's leaving—all the black people." She later apologized and told NBC News, "I didn't know 'black people' was a racist term. I didn't say the N-word or anything like that 'cause that isn't in my vocabulary." Friends of Gordeuk's son, who reportedly posted racist comments online, say his accounts were hacked, per Q13 Fox.

Expand this summary.

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 The founder of a suburban Atlanta private school who singled out black attendees at a graduation ceremony last week has been fired.

 Nancy Gordeuk, who also served as principal of TNT Academy in Stone Mountain, was booted by the board of directors after her comments were caught on video and went viral.

 In a letter obtained by NBC affiliate WXIA, Chairwoman Heidi Anderson said the decision was made "in light of recent events" and that educators would "continue to prioritize support for most of our recent graduates."

 At the ceremony, Gordeuk mistakenly dismissed attendees before the valedictorian spoke, the station reported. She asked them to return to their seats, then said amid the confusion: "Look who's leaving, all the black people."

 Gordeuk said later that people were being disruptive when the valedictorian attempted to speak, and that she was frustrated. "When I looked up, all I saw was black families leaving, and thus the comment," she told NBC News.

 "I didn't know 'black people' was a racist term. I didn't say the N-word or anything like that 'cause that isn't in my vocabulary," Gordeuk added.

 She also apologized for her "racist comment" and asked for forgiveness.

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 IN-DEPTH

 SOCIAL

 — Erik Ortiz ||||| × Son of principal in racial controversy joins her in hot seat; but says tweets weren’t his

 Cartersville, GA — Travis Gordeuk, the son of TNT Academy Principal Nancy Gordeuk, is joining his mother in the hot seat.

 Recently posted on his Twitter account were a number of controversial statements. In one of them, he used the N-word and said if anyone had a problem with him to, “Come and see me.”

 Another tweet mentioned his actual address.

 Gordeuk’s mother was involved in a racial controversy over the weekend at a graduation ceremony. Video shows Nancy Gordeuk standing at the podium in front of a live microphone as she says, “You people are being so rude, to not listen to this speech.”

 As commotion grows in the audience, she blurts out, “Look who’s leaving, all the black people,” prompting cries from the audience and an even larger exodus.

 Gordeuk, in a statement to CNN, apologized for her “offensive comment” and said “my emotions got the best of me.”

 “I deeply apologize for my actions made in the emotional state of trying to let this last student finish his speech. I take a personal interest in the success of every student that comes through our doors without regard to their race, religion or ethnicity.”

 Travis Gordeuk wasn’t home when CBS46 arrived at his home, but people that live with him said the principal’s son never posted that tweet. Instead, they said his social media accounts were hacked.

 Neighbors said they’ve never known him to be racist.

 “He hangs out with a mixed group of people,” said Heidi Carter.

 People who live next door went on to say that he’s a nice person. ||||| STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga. — The private school principal who gained national attention for a racially charged comment she made during a graduation ceremony has been fired.

 Dr. Heidi Anderson, chair of the board of directors at TNT Academy, wrote in a letter sent to the Gwinnett County NAACP that the board voted to dismiss school director Nancy Gordeuk:

 In light of recent events, the board of directors of TNT Academy has moved to dismiss Nancy Gordeuk as principal. During the coming transition, we will continue to prioritize support for our most recent graduates. Moreover, we will continue our commitment to providing students with the best educational classes, transcription services, and academic credit recovery possible.

 During last Friday’s graduation celebration, Gordeuk accidentally dismissed attendees before the school valedictorian could give a speech. As people began filing out of the room, she asked them to come back, then said, “Look who’s leaving, all the black people.”

 Gordeuk later apologized to parents in an email, saying, “The devil was in the house and came out from my mouth. I deeply apologize for my racist comment and hope that forgiveness is in your hearts.”

 TNT Academy is a non-traditional school for home-schooled students hoping to obtain accredited degrees. |||||


– Wednesday saw what could be the world's largest-ever pearl; Thursday, a massive gold nugget weighing in at around 9 pounds. Found in central Victoria's Golden Triangle in Australia by an explorer who wishes to stay anonymous, per ABC.net.au, the gleaming chunk of precious metal, estimated to be worth up to $190,000, was found 12 inches below the surface using what Gizmodo Australia calls a $7,600 Minelab metal detector known as the "next level of gold detection." "I thought it was rubbish at first, maybe an old horseshoe," says the prospector, who's been scouting for buried treasure in his spare time for 10 years with a group of friends, per 9News. But as he dug deeper, the finder of the nugget now being called "Friday's Joy" realized he hadn't just stumbled across some junkyard-worthy detritus. The prospector, who had found a 9-ounce gold nugget the previous day, initially wasn't sure what to do with this substantially larger find—discovered, incidentally, in a location that had already been "worked over," a Minelab rep tells AustraliaMining.com—so he rinsed it off with water, wrapped it tinfoil, and stuck it in his oven for the night. For now, the gold piece remains secure in a bank vault until it can be sold at auction, and the prospector, who has promised to split the proceeds with his metal-detecting group, is planning to use his share to buy a van so he can travel around his home continent. His lucrative new lucky charm is still far from being the world's biggest: Per the Discovery Channel, that honor goes to the 158-pound "Welcome Stranger" nugget found in Dunolly, Victoria, in 1869. (Once found in a plane toilet: 32 gold nuggets.)

Expand this summary.

As geeks, we get excited about phones that are 10 per cent faster than their competitors, and camera sensors that capture 20 per cent more light. That technological arms race is equally ferocious in the metal detector world, as crazy as that sounds, and avid hobbyists can spend serious money on new toys that they compare with their mates. Sometimes, though, it pays off — like for one (anonymous) Aussie gold-digger that found a 4.1-kilo nugget in Victoria's Golden Triangle.

 Informally named "Friday's Joy", the nugget will go up for auction and is expected to net more than $250,000 — the same value that the (relatively) well-known Cindy's Pride, one of the largest single gold deposits ever found in Australia, is worth. The 145-ounce nugget was actually the second one the wisely-wants-to-remain-anonymous prospector found, but it was a damn sight larger than the 9-ounce speck that drew him to the location originally.

 Looking for the tech angle? This news comes to us by way of Minelab, the Aussie company that makes the GPZ 7000 — apparently the "next level of gold detection" according to Minelab's website — and a wide range of other gold and treasure detectors. The GPZ is supposedly "equipped with Minelab’s exclusive, groundbreaking, Zero Voltage Transmission (ZVT) technology and state-of-the-art features", and "offers the deepest ground penetration and represents the most significant advancement in gold detecting technologies in years". Hey, if it's found a $250,000 piece of gold, you've convinced us.

 And apparently gold detecting is a more lucrative hobby than we thought, too; a prospector called Mick Brown found a 2.7-kilogram nugget worth $175,000 that he called "Fair Dinkum" last year, also with a Minelab detector. Maybe we should hang up our keyboards and invest in a metal detector instead. [Minelab] ||||| Welcome Nugget

 This massive 68 kilo (150 lbs.) gold "boulder" was discovered by a group of miners in the Ballart gold fields in Victoria, Australia on 9 June 1858. The first two miners to see the nugget fainted at the sight of it. At the time it was the largest single piece of natural gold ever found. A little over a year later, the nugget was melted down by the London mint to make gold coins, but models were made beforehand to create replicas like the one seen here. At around 2,217 troy ounces (69 kg), it remains the second largest gold nugget ever found. Because of their scarcity, large nuggets always fetch a price well above their value as precious metal. In 2013, the Welcome Nugget's gold content alone would be valued at nearly $4 million, but an actual specimen of this size and purity would sell for many times this amount. ||||| An Australian prospector has discovered a massive 145-ounce gold nugget worth more than $250,000.

 Dubbed ‘Friday’s Joy’, the nugget was found with a Minelab metal detector in an already work-over area at the southern edge of central Victoria’s Golden Triangle, an area well known for yielding gold, finding the top of the nugget only around 30cm below the ground.

 The prospector who found the nugget wanted to stay anonymous.

 “I thought it was rubbish at first, maybe an old horseshoe,” the man said,“I was in total disbelief as I didn’t think nuggets of this size were still around.”

 An avid prospector – having prospected for more than ten years – the man had an agreement with his other gold prospecting enthusiast friends to split the proceeds on any large gold item found when they went prospecting together.

 Upon the find, he was unsure of what to do at first.

 “It’s like catching a big fish and not knowing what to do with it,” he said.

 “I washed it in water, covered it in aluminium foil and kept it in my oven on the first night.”

 The man did not intend to quit his job and retire, instead aiming to buy a van and travel around Australia, sightseeing and prospecting.

 The nugget is currently in a bank vault, with a replica in construction. Plans for an auction are also underway.

 Minelab’s regional sales and marketing director Fraser Kendall said the company was thrilled a customer made such a discovery.

 “He was prospecting in an area that others had clearly worked over and this just goes to show that there’s plenty of gold still coming out of Victoria,” he said.

 Kendall added that the nugget was on par with the 159.3 ounce ‘Cindy’s Pride’, and surpassed prospector Mick Brown’s 87-ounce ‘Fair Dinkum’ gold nugget found last year near the Wedderburn, around 200km north of Melbourne; it was later auctioned for $175,000. |||||


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Certain staffers in the FBI's New York Field Office have been told to expect a special guest tomorrow: Donald Trump.

 Interested in Donald Trump? Add Donald Trump as an interest to stay up to date on the latest Donald Trump news, video, and analysis from ABC News. Add Interest

 He is scheduled to receive his first classified briefing as the Republican Party's presidential nominee, according to sources notified of the upcoming visit.

 Trump is planning to take with him New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, a former Defense Intelligence Agency director who has become an outspoken supporter of Trump, a senior campaign official said.

 Career staffers from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), the nation's top intelligence office, will be leading the briefing, which is expected to cover major threats and emerging concerns around the world.

 Trump's session comes two days after he laid out a series of foreign policy proposals, including plans for subjecting immigrants to "extreme vetting" and temporarily blocking immigration from "the most dangerous and volatile regions of the world."

 Because of the sensitivity of the information discussed during briefings of presidential candidates, the sessions must take place in locations with secure rooms, known as sensitive compartmented information facilities. The FBI's office in New York City has such rooms.

 The FBI, however, will have no role in the briefing beyond playing host, ABC News was told.

 The decision to take Christie and Flynn with him could stoke speculation that Trump is considering them for positions in his Cabinet.

 Both spoke in support of Trump at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland last month. And – unlike Trump – both would have had to receive security clearances to attend the briefing.

 As a U.S. attorney under George W. Bush's administration, Christie ran the federal prosecutors' office in New Jersey for several years, and he is now leading Trump's transition team.

 In 2014, Flynn retired as the head of the Defense Intelligence Agency after a long career in military service. He has recently received criticism for some of his public positions, including a retweet of an anti-Semitic message and the posting of a tweet that read, "Fear of Muslims is RATIONAL."

 As for Trump, many of his critics, including top Democratic senators, have questioned whether he is fit to receive classified information, citing controversial statements he has made on the campaign trail.

 But DNI Director James Clapper and the White House recently said they have no qualms about briefing the Republican or Democratic presidential candidates, noting that providing the briefings is a "long-standing tradition in our system," dating back more than 60 years.

 "Ensuring a smooth transition to the next president is a top priority ... and that's important, in part, because of the significant threats around the world," White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters in Washington, D.C., last month.

 He said U.S. intelligence officials "understand what steps are necessary to protect sensitive national security information, and the administration is confident that they can both provide relevant and sufficient briefings to the two major-party presidential candidates while also protecting sensitive national security information."

 Clapper said there is no concern in the U.S. intelligence community about providing classified information to either of the presidential candidates, insisting, "It's not up to the administration and certainly not up to me personally to decide on the suitability of a presidential candidate."

 "The American electorate is in the process of deciding the suitability of these two candidates to serve as commander in chief, and they will make that decision, to pick someone who will be cleared for everything," Clapper said at the annual Aspen Security Forum in Colorado last month.

 Each of the campaigns decides the location for the classified briefings, according to Clapper.

 Trump and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton are each expected to receive two or three classified briefings before Election Day.

 These briefings resemble the annual Worldwide Threat Assessment issued by the intelligence community, which releases an unclassified version each year. While some top-secret information could be discussed, the briefings will not include the nation's most sensitive secrets, particularly information on sources, methods and operations.

 Trump began this week with a campaign rally in Youngstown, Ohio, where he laid out his plan to fight "radical Islamic terrorism" and "make America safe again."

 He proposed subjecting immigrants who want to enter the United States to "extreme vetting" and a new ideological test, saying it would help ensure that only "those who share our values and respect our people" are admitted into the country.

 --ABC News' Veronica Stracqualursi, Justin Fishel, Alex Mallin and Devin Dwyer contributed to this report. ||||| Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump can be given classified intelligence briefings now that they are the Democratic and Republican presidential nominees, the top U.S. intelligence official said Thursday, despite calls from party leaders to limit the other candidate's access to national security secrets.

 “We will brief both candidates if they want it,” James Clapper, the director of National Intelligence, said at the Aspen Security Forum in Aspen, Colo.

 The candidates don’t need a security clearance to receive the briefing, Clapper said. He said they both are entitled to get classified information because they now are the major party nominees.

 Sharing intelligence assessments with presidential nominees is a tradition that goes back to Harry Truman, who signed the law that created the CIA in 1947.

 Senior officials in both parties have sought to turn this year's closed-door briefings into a campaign issue.

 After the FBI director said this month that Clinton had been extremely careless but had broken no laws by using a private email server while secretary of State, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) urged Clapper to deny classified material to her.

 Giving the Democratic nominee access, he wrote in a letter, would “send the wrong signal to all those charged with safeguarding our nations’ secrets."

 Clinton is scheduled to accept her party's nomination tonight at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.

 Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), in turn, said that U.S. intelligence analysts should "fake it" if they are ordered to brief Trump, a businessman who has never held elected office.

 "If you're forced to brief this guy, don't tell him anything," he told the Huffington Post. "Just fake it because this man is dangerous."

 Intelligence officials say election briefings to presidential nominees tend to be chiefly analysis of current events and leaders, and do not include highly classified details of spying sources and methods.

 Clapper said this year's heated campaign rhetoric has been “very bothersome” to U.S. allies.

 “I hear that from my counterparts who take very, very seriously and study very, very closely what political figures in this country say and it is worrying to them,” he said.

 “I tell them that it is part of our process in the United States and, hopefully, it will all come out right.” |||||

– Donald Trump's worst critics won't be happy with this piece of information from ABC News: The candidate will receive his first classified security briefing on Wednesday from the FBI. Trump will visit the field office in New York City and bring Chris Christie and Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, two contenders to be in a Trump Cabinet, notes the network. Major party nominees have long gotten such briefings, though critics including Sen. Barbara Boxer say it's too much of a risk in Trump's case. By the same token, Paul Ryan thinks Hillary Clinton ought to be denied them, given her use of a private email server, reports the LA Times. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, however, says both will be briefed if they wish.


Here is a news article: CLOSE The Caller-Times chatted with actor Lou Ferrigno and he told us a little about himself and what fans can expect at the second annual Corpus Christi Comic-Con this weekend. Meagan Falcon/Caller-Times

 Lou Ferrigno attends The Hollywood Show held at Westin LAX Hotel on Feb. 10, 2018 in Los Angeles, Calif.\ (Photo: Albert L. Ortega, WireImage)

 Lou Ferrigno is looking a little green.

 “The Incredible Hulk” star revealed on Instagram he was hospitalized this week after he went to get a pneumonia shot – presumably a vaccine – and ended up with fluid in his bicep. He posted an unhappy looking snap in a green hospital gown, warning his 87,000 Instagram followers about his condition.

 “Went in for a pneumonia shot and landed up here with fluid in my bicep,” he wrote Thursday. “I’ll be ok but it’s important that you keep an eye on who’s giving the shot and make sure they not only swab the spot correctly but that you watch the needle come out of the package.”

 The 67-year-old actor’s fans crowded his Instagram comments field with well wishes, sending him their concerns.

 One fan wrote, “Lou! Please get better very soon. You're such an inspiration to me and for so many!”

 On Friday, Ferrigno revealed he was doing better. On Thursday night after he was released from the hospital, he attended a Smash Global MMA event in Los Angeles.

 “What a great night with @smashglobal and @steveorosco,” he wrote. “Really great getting to hang out with some old friends as well @dolphlundgren. Happy I made it out of the hospital in time.”

 Read or Share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2018/12/14/hulk-lou-ferrigno-hospitalized-after-pneumonia-shot-gone-wrong/2314320002/ ||||| Tweet with a location

 You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more ||||| Lou Ferrigno is recovering after a pneumonia vaccination went wrong.

 The Incredible Hulk actor, 67, shared the news to his social media accounts on Wednesday, revealing that he ended up in the hospital after he was allegedly incorrectly administered a pneumonia vaccine.

 Get push notifications with news, features and more.

 “Went in for a pneumonia shot and landed up here with fluid in my bicep,” he tweeted alongside a photo of himself lying in a hospital gown with IVs in his arm.

 “I’ll be ok but it’s important that you keep an eye on who’s giving the shot and make sure they not only swab the spot correctly but that you watch the needle come out of the package,” he advised.

 Lou Ferrigno's tweet Lou Ferringo/Twitter

 He also shared the news to his Instagram account, adding the hashtags “#neveradullmoment #tips #shots #hospitalvisit #louferrigno #illbeok”

 Reps for Ferrigno did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

 While it is unclear what specific shot was given to Ferrigno, there are two types of vaccines that fight against pneumonia, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

 Lou Ferrigno Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

 PCV13 and PPSV23 are both recommended for adults who are 65 and older in order to avoid contracting infections from pneumococcal diseases, such as meningitis, bloodstream infections, pneumonia, and ear infections.

 Though both shots can bring on mild side effects that often go away on their own, only PCV13 has been reported to cause swelling at the injection site, the CDC said.

 Lou Ferrigno as "The Incredible Hulk" Silver Screen Collection/Getty

 RELATED: Inside The Incredible Hulk Is a Gentle Giant from Brooklyn, Bodybuilder Lou Ferrigno

 Despite Ferrigno advising his fans to be extra cautious when receiving shots, the CDC reports that the United States has the safest and most effective vaccine supply in its history.

 In addition to playing The Hulk, Ferrigno most recently picked up roles in several films including The Avengers in 2012, Star Trek Continues in 2014, and Enter the Fire in 2018. He also has several projects lined up for 2019, according to his IMDb page.

 RELATED VIDEO: Lou Ferrigno and Erik Estrada Reminisce About Being 70s Stud

 Aside from his acting career, Ferrigno has spent years dedicated to bodybuilding, which he officially retired from in the 90s, and co-founded his family’s fitness program, Ferrigno Fit, with his daughter Shanna.

 His reputation in weightlifting and bodybuilding secured him the job of training Michael Jackson ahead of his comeback tour in 2009. ||||| Tweet with a location

 You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more |||||
A summary of this is?

– The Incredible Hulk was feeling pumped up this week—but with IV fluid, not testosterone-induced rage. On Wednesday night, Lou Ferrigno posted on social media a picture of himself wearing a green hospital gown (naturally) and hooked up to an IV in a medical center in Santa Monica, Calif., noting he "went in for a pneumonia shot and landed up here with fluid in my bicep." The 67-year-old actor implied someone administered the shot (apparently a vaccine, USA Today notes) the wrong way, warning others to "keep an eye on who's giving the shot and make sure they not only swab the spot correctly but that you watch the needle come out of the package." Although Ferrigno didn't say what shot he received, People notes that, per the CDC, there are two types of pneumonia vaccines, both suggested for older adults and one of which can produce swelling at the site where the shot was given. All appears to be well now with the star: On Friday morning, he tweeted a picture of himself hanging out with Rocky actor Dolph Lundgren and others at an MMA event the night before in Los Angeles. (Ferrigno's wife was one of many who lobbed accusations against Bill Cosby.)


News article:

FILE In this May 6, 2015 file photo, local resident Martha Mattison, left, helps out her son Jacob, 14, with his dog walking business as they walk past recently installed synthetic grass, seen at right,... (Associated Press)

 FILE In this May 6, 2015 file photo, local resident Martha Mattison, left, helps out her son Jacob, 14, with his dog walking business as they walk past recently installed synthetic grass, seen at right, in Garden Grove, Calif. California water officials say they will consider dropping a mandate requiring... (Associated Press)

 FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — Strict rules adopted at the height of California's drought leading many people to let their lawns turn brown may soon end as state regulators Wednesday consider letting local communities decide how to keep their own water use in check.

 That's good news to Southern California landscaper Greg Gritters, who says local water officials are best suited to manage their supplies.

 His clients have had to choose between keeping their lawns green at the expense of huge water bills or turning down their sprinklers and watch their yard turn brown.

 "Either way they're unhappy," said Gritters, owner of Vintage Landscape in the Coachella Valley. "There's lots of unhappy people since the drought went into effect."

 A proposal before the State Water Resources Control Board in Sacramento would allow local districts to compare their water supplies with how much they anticipate needing if drought continues for three more years.

 Cities and water districts will set their conservation targets based on the difference between the anticipated supply and demand. The proposed regulation would extend to January.

 The Irvine Ranch Water District in Orange County led the push for a regional approach. Fiona Sanchez, director of water resources for the district, said she is confident that districts statewide will carefully study their supply and demand ratio.

 "If agencies are not taking it seriously, it will be very evident they can't meet their customers' demands," she said.

 Some districts may set strict conservation goals for residents and businesses, while others could determine it is time to lift conservation mandates.

 California is in its fifth year of drought, but regulators are considering the new approach as El Nino storms delivered nearly average amounts of rain and snow this winter in Northern California, filling key reservoirs.

 Southern California, however, remains deep in drought, and it's unclear what the future will bring.

 Bans on wasting water by washing sidewalks with a hose or washing cars without a shut-off nozzle would become permanent under the proposed regulation.

 Max Gomberg, a senior climate scientist for the state water board, said Californians understand the drought remains critical. He doesn't expect people to suddenly begin wasting water with any changes.

 "Californians have shown that when there's a serious drought and a need to conserve, people step up and pitch in," he said. "We're confident that people are going to continue practicing their conservation habits." ||||| 0:31 Golden 1 Center doors open, cowbells clang for Kings home opener Pause

 1:15 Turkeys gone wild in Davis

 0:42 McClatchy High School students fight to save newspaper

 1:08 Driving to Golden 1 Center? These tips could help make your journey easier

 0:46 Finding a drink in downtown Sacramento

 2:33 Golden 1 Center's food: 'Local eats,' not concessions

 1:04 These tips make it easier to use Sacramento light rail for trips to Golden 1 Center

 1:32 Development around the Golden 1 Center

 2:02 Fare check at downtown Sacramento light rail stop goes out of control |||||
What is a shorter version of the above article?

– It used to be you'd be heavily fined if you turned on your water too much or for an unapproved reason in parched California. Now many of those restrictions are about to be dismissed, with a reversal of the state mandate for a 25% drop in city water use, the New York Times reports. Instead, thanks to the hard work of everyday Californians and a precipitation-filled winter that partly restocked the area's reservoirs and mountain snowpacks, the State Water Resources Control Board is rolling back its rules on keeping tabs on how long people shower or water their lawns, allowing local communities to come up with their own conservation methods. "We are still in a drought, but we are no longer in the-worst-snow-pack-in-500-years drought," says Felicia Marcus, the head of the SWRCB. By putting the conservation power back into the hands of each community as of June 1, those areas can come up with the best plan based on their particular area's water supply, which varies greatly from place to place. But a climate manager on the water board warns this is still just a trial run, with the National Drought Mitigation Center noting in the Sacramento Bee that 70% of the state is still in "severe," "extreme," or "exceptional" drought. The AP notes that certain bans, such as spraying down sidewalks with a hose, will permanently remain.


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– The plot has again thickened in the mysterious death of Georgia teen Kendrick Johnson: A second autopsy on the 17-year-old's exhumed body has found that before burial almost all of his organs were replaced with newspaper. Kendrick was found dead in a rolled-up wrestling mat at his school in January, in what was originally ruled an accidental asphyxiation. But his parents were suspicious and had him exhumed and examined by a private doctor. That doctor found evidence of "non-accidental" trauma, and now reveals that every organ from Kendrick's pelvis to skull—including his brain, lungs, heart, and liver—is missing, CNN reports. Newspapers were stuffed into the cavities the organs should have occupied "like he was a garbage can," his mother says. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which conducted the first autopsy, says it put all the organs back in afterward. But the funeral home that embalmed Kendrick tells the family's attorney that before it got the body the organs "were destroyed through natural process," and then "discarded by the prosecutor." The county sheriff, meanwhile, says the death is a closed case and refuses to discuss it. Yesterday, CNN revealed photos and video from the scene of Kendrick's death that raise serious questions about investigators' work, showing among other things blood stains on the wall that weren't investigated. "They know something happened in that gym," Kendrick's father says, "and they don't want it to come out." Click for more on the case.

Story highlights Autopsy shock: Teen's organs removed, cavity filled with newspaper

 "We thought we were burying Kendrick, not half of Kendrick," father says

 Kendrick Johnson was found dead in a rolled-up gym mat in January

 His death was ruled accidental; a private autopsy challenged that finding

 The death of 17-year-old Kendrick Johnson was awful enough for his parents. Then came the doubts about investigators' conclusion that it was an accident.

 But the discovery that their son's body and skull had been stuffed with newspaper before burial added a horrific new dimension to their anguish and further fueled their skepticism of the official findings.

 "We have been let down again," his father, Kenneth Johnson, told CNN. "When we buried Kendrick, we thought we were burying Kendrick, not half of Kendrick."

 Kendrick Johnson was found dead in a gym at Lowndes County High School in January. State medical examiners concluded that the three-sport athlete suffocated after getting stuck in a rolled-up gym mat while reaching for a sneaker.

 Death was not accidental, family's autopsy finds

 His parents, Kenneth and Jacquelyn Johnson, never have bought that explanation. They won a court order to have their son's body exhumed and a second autopsy performed in June.

 During an autopsy, internal organs are removed and examined before being returned for burial. But when Dr. Bill Anderson, the private pathologist who conducted the second autopsy, opened up the teen's remains, the brain, heart, lungs, liver and other viscera were missing. Every organ from the pelvis to the skull was gone.

 JUST WATCHED New evidence in Kendrick Johnson's death Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH New evidence in Kendrick Johnson's death 06:52

 JUST WATCHED Dead teen's parents speak out Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Dead teen's parents speak out 03:09

 JUST WATCHED New autopsy finds teen death not accident Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH New autopsy finds teen death not accident 04:16

 "I'm not sure at this point who did not return the organs to the body," Anderson said. "But I know when we got the body, the organs were not there."

 Two entities had custody of Kendrick Johnson's body after his death -- the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which conducted the first autopsy in January; and the Harrington Funeral Home in Valdosta, which handled the teen's embalming and burial.

 GBI spokeswoman Sherry Lang told CNN that after the autopsy, "the organs were placed in Johnson's body, the body was closed, then the body was released to the funeral home." That's normal practice, Lang said.

 The funeral home would not comment to CNN. But in a letter to the Johnsons' attorney, funeral home owner Antonio Harrington said his firm never received the teen's organs. Harrington wrote that the organs "were destroyed through natural process" due to the position of Kendrick Johnson's body when he died, and "discarded by the prosector before the body was sent back to Valdosta." A prosector dissects the body for pathological examination.

 Scene points to foul play

 Stuffing a body with old newsprint and department-store circulars -- "like he was a garbage can," as Jacquelyn Johnson put it -- isn't exactly standard practice in forensic pathology or the mortician's trade. Vernie Fountain, the founder of a Missouri embalming school, called it "not consistent with the standards of care" in the industry. And Dr. Gregory Schmunk, the president of the National Association of Medical Examiners, told CNN, "I have never heard of this practice."

 Organs are typically placed in plastic bag, which is then put back into the body cavity after an autopsy, Schmunk told CNN in an e-mail. While individual organs may be kept back for further testing, he wrote, "This would not amount to all of the organs in any circumstance that I can imagine."

 Funeral homes are licensed by the Georgia Secretary of State's office, which has opened an investigation into how Johnson's body was treated, said Jared Thomas, a spokesman for the agency.

 Anderson, who was hired by the Johnson family for a second autopsy, found Kendrick Johnson had sustained a blow to the right side of his neck that was "consistent with inflicted injury." Challenging the state autopsy's finding of positional asphyxiation, he concluded the teen died as the result of "unexplained, apparent non-accidental, blunt force trauma."

 And death scene imagery obtained exclusively by CNN has led a former FBI agent to question how Johnson died: "I think this young man met with foul play," said Harold Copus, now an Atlanta private investigator.

 Lowndes County Sheriff Chris Prine refused to discuss the matter with CNN, calling Johnson's death a closed case. The U.S. Justice Department announced in September that it wouldn't open a civil rights investigation into the case.

 But federal prosecutors in south Georgia have met with the family's representatives and are weighing whether to open their own probe, said Michael Moore, the U.S. attorney whose district includes Valdosta.

 "This is about getting to the facts and the truth, and we want the Johnson family and the community of Valdosta to have confidence in the process," Moore said. "I am cognizant of time, and we continue to move the process along."

 Moore urged anyone with information about Johnson's death to contact his office. Johnson's parents have come to believe their son's death was no accident, and the macabre discovery about their son's body has only deepened that belief.

 "It's unbearable, just about," Jacquelyn Johnson said. "The only thing that wakes you up in the morning is to just keep pushing." ||||| See more disturbing developments in the Kendrick Johnson case on 'AC360" tonight, 8pm ET

 Valdosta, Georgia (CNN) -- For the local sheriff's department, the death of 17-year-old Kendrick Johnson is a closed book: A tragedy, but an accident.

 State medical examiners concluded that Johnson suffocated in January after getting stuck in a rolled-up gym mat while reaching for a sneaker. That's a finding his family has never accepted, and one challenged by the findings of a second autopsy they commissioned.

 Now, death scene imagery obtained exclusively by CNN has led a former FBI agent to question how the three-sport athlete died.

 Original story: Family demands answers in teen's death

 "I don't believe this was an accident. I think this young man met with foul play," said Harold Copus, now an Atlanta private investigator.

 And Johnson's father, Kenneth Johnson, said he believes authorities aren't leveling with his family.

 "They know something happened in that gym, and they don't want it to come out," he said.

 'Accidental' death challenged by new autopsy

 A 15-minute video and nearly 700 photos taken by sheriff's investigators in Lowndes County documented the horrific scene. Johnson's body, clad in jeans and and layered orange and white T-shirts, was found wedged into a rolled-up wrestling mat in January. His face was bloated with pooled blood, some of which had poured out of his body, soaking his dreadlocks and spilling onto the floor.

 There were more streaks of blood on a nearby wall -- but it wasn't Johnson's, according to investigators. Meanwhile, Copus said there appeared to be no blood on a sneaker that the teen supposedly was attempting to reach, located inches beneath him.

 A pair of orange-and-black gym shoes found a few yards from the body had a substance that looked like blood on them, but investigators told CNN the stains weren't blood -- and so the shoes weren't collected as potential evidence. The same went for a hooded sweatshirt found a few feet away from the teen.

 Copus said he can't explain how investigators handled items found around the gym.

 Family: Kendrick's death wasn't accidental

 "If you're running a crime scene, then you're going to say 'That's potential evidence. Obviously, we're going to check this out and find out who does it belong to,' " he said.

 Lowndes County Sheriff Chris Prine refused to discuss the case with CNN, saying, "Our case is closed." But in June, an independent pathologist who conducted a second autopsy for the Johnson family found the teen suffered a blow to the right side of his neck that was "consistent with inflicted injury."

 In May, sheriff's Lt. Stryde Jones told CNN that investigators tested the bloodstains on the nearby wall, "and it was not the blood of Kendrick Johnson." Investigators haven't determined whose blood it was, "but it doesn't appear to be involved in our crime in any way," he said.

 "In the opinion of our crime scene personnel, after looking at it closely, the blood appeared as if it'd been there for an extended period of time. It didn't appear to be very fresh," Jones said.

 But Copus said it's difficult to believe that old bloodstains weren't cleaned up.

 "There is no way that they would allow whoever was supposed to clean this gym to leave that blood on that wall," he said.

 In September, the Justice Department said it wouldn't open a civil rights investigation into Johnson's death. But federal prosecutors in south Georgia are reviewing the imagery to determine whether a separate investigation is necessary, the U.S. attorney's office in Macon told CNN.

 For Johnson's father, the evidence is clear.

 "Someone murdered him," he said. "They should be in jail."

 Justice Department won't probe teen's death

 Watch Anderson Cooper 360° weeknights 10pm ET. For the latest from AC360° click here. |||||


Here is a news article: These crawls are part of an effort to archive pages as they are created and archive the pages that they refer to. That way, as the pages that are referenced are changed or taken from the web, a link to the version that was live when the page was written will be preserved.Then the Internet Archive hopes that references to these archived pages will be put in place of a link that would be otherwise be broken, or a companion link to allow people to see what was originally intended by a page's authors.The goal is to fix all broken links on the web . Crawls of supported "No More 404" sites. ||||| Former Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards and his wife, Trina, arrive with their son, Eli, at a Baton Rouge news conference, where Edwards announced his comeback bid for Congress. (Sean Gardner / Getty Images / )

 He has served in prison, starred in a short-lived reality TV show and delivered enough quotable quips to fill a bookshelf in the public library.

 Now, in his latest exhibition of life as political performance art, Edwin Edwards — former Louisiana governor, convicted racketeer, celebrated womanizer and, at age 86, new father — announced Monday he would be a candidate for Congress.

 "I've given a great deal of thought to this ... and I acknowledge that there are good reasons why I should not run ... but there are better reasons why I should," Edwards told reporters in Baton Rouge, La. "I am positive I can run, and I am confident I can win."

 When last seen on the national stage, Edwards was co-starring in "The Governor’s Wife," an A&E; series focused on his pen-pal-turned-bride No. 3, Trina Scott. Their son, Eli, was born in August, and Edwards, accompanied by his wife, arrived at Monday’s announcement pushing the boy in a stroller.

 The former four-term Democratic governor served more than eight years in federal prison for fraud, racketeering and extortion in connection with the state's licensing of riverboat casinos. He left prison in 2011 and has steadily maintained his innocence — though he pointed out Monday that nothing in the Constitution prevents a convicted felon from being elected to Congress.

 Part of a long line of populist, picaresque Louisiana governors, Edwards himself made a reference to his checkered past. "I haven't had this much attention since the trial," he told reporters in making his announcement.

 He said improving accessibility to healthcare would be a centerpiece of his congressional campaign. He criticized the state’s Republican governor, Bobby Jindal, for refusing to accept expanded Medicaid coverage under the federal Affordable Care Act, more widely known as Obamacare.

 Edwards served three terms as a congressman before running for governor in 1971. He served two terms in the statehouse in the 1970s and, after a four-year break, was again elected in 1983. During that term, he was acquitted of federal corruption charges but his image was badly tainted. Still, he managed a comeback for a fourth term in 1991, beating Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke. The campaign’s indelible bumper sticker read: "Vote for the crook — it's important."

 The congressional seat that Edwards is pursuing is being vacated by Republican Bill Cassidy, who is running for Senate against incumbent Democrat Mary L. Landrieu. The district is centered in Baton Rouge, the state capital, extending south into coastal Louisiana. It leans strongly toward the GOP and several Republicans have already announced their designs on the seat.

 David Wasserman, who analyzes congressional races for the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, described Edward’s candidacy as "more of a side show than a legitimate threat, particularly after redistricting cut out all the African American neighborhoods in Baton Rouge. ... A Republican will eventually win this seat."

 Even if it is a sideshow, Edwards’ campaign will presumably run longer than "The Governor’s Wife." The reality series was canceled last fall after just three episodes.

 mark.barabak@latimes.com

 Twitter: @markzbarabak ||||| Just three years after his release from federal prison, former Gov. Edwin Edwards is throwing his hat into the open race for Louisiana's 6th Congressional District.

 The 86-year-old Silver Fox, known for his memorable, often shocking quotes and the nearly nine years spent behind bars on extortion, fraud and racketeering charges, made the announcement at a meeting of the Press Club of Baton Rouge on Monday (March 17).

 "I acknowledge there are good reasons I should not run. But there are better reasons why I should," said the Democrat, who served an unprecedented four terms as governor. He also put to rest questions over whether his status as an ex-con would keep him from being a qualified Congressional candidate: "Once and for all I'm positive I can run and I'm confident I can win."

 Edwards said the decision was not an easy one, but he ended up where he was "because I feel, I feel, that I can accomplish something if not immediately then in the long-run to help make my country a better country and properly address the needs of the 6th District."

 It also wasn't the only race he grappled with entering, Edwards said Monday, making it clear he was at one point deciding whether to challenge U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, a fellow Democrat, for her seat. The 6th District seat will be vacant this year because U.S. Rep. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, is challenging Landrieu.

 "She's running her race and I'm running mine," said Edwards. Famously, there is no love lost between the two Democrats. But pundits agree the presence of each of their powerful campaign machines in Louisiana come November will be mutually beneficial for both.

 "I'd like to run for governor, but there seems to be some question about whether I could," Edwards added. Louisiana law bars convicted felons from running for statewide office for 15 years, unless they receive a pardon. Edwards would be 101 by that time.

 The Marksville native and arguably Louisiana's most famous Cajun told the assembled press and public Monday that he hopes to serve on the public works and agriculture committees in Congress to address oil and gas industry and infrastructure concerns pertinent to Louisiana.

 On issues, he said he favors the approval of the controversial Keystone XL Pipeline and would like to spur along a study to look at securing funds for high-speed rail between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. He also said he's also been in touch with another famous Cajun -- Lt. Gen. Russel Honore -- to discuss his Green Army's environmental concerns regarding Baton Rouge's aquifer.

 On the Affordable Care Act, Edwards said he would not have voted it if he had been in Congress at that time because "it is too fraught with pitfalls."

 "(But) it is the law and we're going to have to deal with it at least until Obama is out of office," he added. Edwards did say, however, that he is in favor of the Medicaid expansion option available under the federal health care law known as Obamacare.

 "I'm going to work in Congress in an effort to try to override the governor's decision," Edwards said, referring to Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal's staunch refusal to opt into the expansion, under which around 242,000 uninsured Louisianians would be covered.

 Will you vote for Edwin Edwards or support his campaign now that he's announced his run for Louisiana Congressional 6th District?

 At one point, a member of the audience asked how he would respond to opponents who say his run will engender negative national attention and be "an embarrassment" for the state.

 "They said that last time I ran for governor, and I don't know, I hardly think it is an embarrassment to the state. It might be something the state should be proud of because forgiveness, understanding and second chances are important in life and in politics," said Edwards.

 Edwards also discussed the more than eight years he spent in federal prison; as he has in the past, he denied wrongdoing during his years as governor: "(The trial) was not about Edwin Edwards the governor. It was about Edwin Edwards who was a friend of the people, who for reasons of their own testified falsely about our relationship after I was out of office."

 The Monday announcement did not come as a surprise, as rumors of his purported run began swirling months earlier.

 Edwards chances of winning in the heavily Republican district are slim, demographers and pollsters agree. But they don't deny he could make it into a runoff based solely on name recognition. The 6th District was redrawn in 2011, its odd horseshoe shape encompassing parts of southeast Louisiana from Baker, through East Baton Rouge and Ascension Parishes and down to the Houma-Thibodaux area.

 The field is already bloated with more than 10 Republican candidates, including a state senator and a former coastal adviser to Jindal, having already officially announced their intentions to run, with more expected to jump on in coming months. Edwards filed his candidacy papers Friday, he said, and he's already chosen a treasurer but not a campaign manager.

 Edwards' sixty year political career began in 1954, when he was elected to the Crowley City Council. He also served in the state Legislature and Congress. He has become a particularly divisive political figure in Louisiana, famous for his populist leanings and larger-than-life persona, infamous for being found guilty on 17 counts of bribery, extortion and fraud charges in 2000.

 He spent more than eight years in federal prison, where he became acquainted by mail with Trina Scott, a registered Republican 50 years his junior. She and Edwards were married soon after his release in 2011, and the two starred in an ill-fated reality TV show last year.

 Trina sat patiently with their 1-year-old son Eli during Edwards' speech Monday. The former governor said he and Trina made the decision he would definitely run about a week ago, adding, "no office in the world would attract me if it means separating from my child, my children and my wife."

 Edwards has two other sons, Stephen and David, and two daughters, Victoria and Anna, from his two previous marriages.

 While he spent the bulk of Monday's announcement discussing the issues he'd like to focus on during his campaign, it wasn't bereft of a showing of the characteristic Edwards wit. When asked how he would convince Republicans to vote for him, he said, "I'm going to let Trina talk to them."

 One reporter cited a Louisiana Republican Party statement calling Edwards' run part-and-parcel of his "antics" to remain in the spotlight. "My antics?" Edwards asked, "You mean the things that got me elected so many times?"

 "I haven't had this much attention since the trial," Edwards quipped when he took the podium.

 But before he strode away, the inveterate politician in the Cajun Prince had came alive. Employing what some might say is a rather curious Latin turn-of-phrase (considering his checkered past) he asked for the support of those who love him and the reconsidering of those who don't.

 "'Alea iacta est.' The die is cast. And I hope you will join with me in making this district a better district, because we have that potential."

 . . . . . . Lauren McGaughy is a state politics reporter based in Baton Rouge. She can be reached at lmcgaughy@nola.com or on Twitter at @lmcgaughy. Find her latest stories on the Baton Rouge hub's Facebook page.

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A summary of this is?

– Former Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards has decided that neither age—nor his status as an ex-con—is a barrier to a run for Congress. The 86-year-old Democrat, who was released from federal prison in 2011 after serving eight years on fraud and racketeering charges, has entered the race for the state's 6th congressional district and says he's convinced he can win, the Times-Picayune reports. The four-term governor has always maintained his innocence on fraud charges connected to state licensing of riverboat casinos, the Los Angeles Times notes. "I acknowledge there are good reasons I should not run. But there are better reasons why I should," said Edwards, who starred in a reality TV show after getting out of prison. He says he'd really like to run for governor again, but because of his conviction, state law bans him from doing so until he's 101 years old. Analysts say that while Edwards certainly has name recognition on his side, he will struggle to make headway in the heavily Republican district centered on Baton Rouge. "This changes the race. It’s sure to stir up some notoriety ... but I don’t think he has a chance of winning," a political scientist tells the Baton Rouge Advocate.


Article:
BENSALEM, Pa. (CBS) — Several multi-vehicles crashes, involving as many as 100 cars and dozens of tractor-trailers stretched over several miles of icy highway, shut down the Pennsylvania Turnpike for most of the day today between Willow Grove and Bensalem, Pa.

 One crash area involved approximately 75 cars and several tractor-trailers in the eastbound lanes of the highway. The westbound lanes were closed to allow access by emergency vehicles.

 According to the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, 30 people were injured and transported to local hospitals. Doylestown Hospital confirmed it was treating one victim who was in stable condition, while Abington was reportedly treating 16 people. St. Mary’s Medical Center, in Langhorne, was treating seven and Temple University Hospital was treating one. CBS 3 is told five of the injuries are classified as serious, but none are considered life-threatening.

 Dr. John Kelly, chief of staff at Abington, says the good news is none of the injuries are serious.

 “The word that we have is that we may have seen the most severely injured at this point in time, which we’re pleased to say did not include any life-threatening injuries that we are aware of.”

 Kelly explained what kind of injuries they were seeing, “In a blunt trauma situation, you’re going to have a lot of soft tissue and bone type injuries. I’m unaware of any fractures to date. We did have one patient who had a closed- head injury but appears to be recovering well from that.”

 The incident began about 8:30am in the eastbound lanes between Willow Grove and the Route 1 exits in Bensalem, Pa.

 Another crash happened closer to the Route 1 exit. That accident area involved approximately 30 cars and included a jackknifed tractor-trailer.

 Chopper 3 was over the scene where it appeared at least four cars were stuck under the jackknifed tractor-trailer.

 “We believe that it looks like at this point that the initial incident involved several tractor-trailer trucks. There have been reports of three to four. State police are working through sorting all that out right now,” Carl DeFebo of the Pa. Turnpike Commission said.

 “Scared to death, just thinking that it wasn’t going to stop,” remembered Kate Garwood. “You kinda think you’re going to continue to get hit.”

 “I was able to get off to the shoulder,” said Terry Foley, who drives the route to work every day. “I didn’t hit the car in front of me. I said, ‘I survived,’ and then somebody comes flying in the back of me.”

 CBS 3 traffic reporter Bob Kelly called this “the worst accident I have seen in the 20 years I have been doing this.”

 The Pa. Turnpike Commission reported around 3:30 p.m. that the tractor-trailer blocking all eastbound lanes was moved to allow trapped backlog to get past the scene in the left lane to continue eastbound on I-276. Disabled commercial vehicles remained, but all passenger vehicles in the backlog had been removed.

 Other crews were removing small portions of the concrete median, to allow drivers trapped on the eastbound turnpike to U-turn onto the westbound lanes (which were also shut down to all but emergency vehicles) and get off the turnpike.

 The turnpike was reopened to traffic just before 4pm — about 7½ hours after the first crash occurred.

 Investigators indicate icy conditions and sun glare are being blamed as likely culprits in causing the pileup.

 One driver said that road spray on windshields plus the sun low in the sky may have hindered visibility as drivers found themselves suddenly upon a stopped vehicle ahead with insufficient room to stop on the slick pavement.

 Terry Foley seemed to agree.

 “It’s all ice,” Foley said.

 A total of 75 cars and trucks, including six tractor trailers, were taken to Rob Liepziger’s tow yard in Bristol, Bucks County alone. Many of them have front-end damage, back-end damage and a lot of the vehicles have been totaled.

 Rob’s been in the towing business for more than 30 years.

 “I haven’t seen anything like this in forever that I’ve been out here,” Liepziger said.

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 It was an all-day mess on the Pennsylvania Turnpike with the road shut down for miles after two major pileups and several other wrecks in between.

 The crashes left dozens of drivers stranded in the cold. Up to 50 cars were involved in those pileups.

 Here's what we know:

 The crashes on Interstate 276 were first reported just after 8 a.m. right in the middle of the morning rush, closing the turnpike between Willow Grove and the Philadelphia Interchanges in Bensalem;

 A total of 27 people were taken to hospitals, at least four of them with serious injuries;

 Drivers say the roadway was icy and incredibly slick.

 From the air, the long scene looked like an auto junkyard with dozens and dozens of cars and trucks scattered every which way.

 Drivers caught in the middle of the wreckage told us traffic had been moving smoothly at 50 to 55 mph until suddenly, "All we saw was brake lights. Everybody locked up their wheels, and next thing you know the sun glare, the spray from the road, everything hit us all at once," said Bill Warrin, of Broomall, Pa.

 "It was like a perfect storm, and then boom," he added.

 At the front of dozens of separate wrecks were two 18-wheelers, a box truck and several passenger cars.

 This stretch of the turnpike is three tight lanes, a wall of snow on one side, a concrete median Jersey barrier on the other.

 When cars ahead began to crash, there was no way to avoid impact.

 From the ground it was clear there was plenty of hard, packed ice on the road surface, a reminder of our massive snowstorm that lasted Wednesday night into Friday morning.

 But drivers told us conditions were deceiving.

 "It was much icier once you got out of the car than you expected it to be," said Frank Atkinson, of Furlong, Pa. "It seemed like it was slushy maybe, but it didn't seem like it was icy."

 The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission had lifted its storm-related speed limit and ban on some commercial vehicles just two hours before the crash.

 But a spokesman said that decision does not let drivers off the hook.

 "It boils down to responsibility of motorists," turnpike spokesman Carl DeFebo said. "That's our job when we're driving on the roads to monitor the conditions and to be sure that we are adjusting our speeds that are appropriate to whatever the driving conditions are."

 By early afternoon, a parade of flat-bed tow trucks was removing vehicles caught in the mess.

 The extent of the damage was a reminder that the injury toll could have been much higher, FOX 29's Bruce Gordon reported.

 In the second video clip above, FOX 29's Thalia Perez reports that all but one of the injured persons taken to Abington Memorial Hospital had been treated and released by Friday night. You'll also hear from some of the motorists who were injured. |||||Summary:

– More than 100 cars and dozens of tractor trailers have been caught up in a chain of accidents stretching over several miles of the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Bensalem this morning, backing up traffic for several more miles behind that. The first accident came at about 7:45am on the westbound side, causing a rubbernecking delay on the eastbound side—where the subsequent crashes occurred beginning at 8am, Fox 29 Philadelphia reports. Icy conditions are believed to be responsible—though residents say that stretch of road is so notoriously treacherous that accidents sometimes occur there in good weather. One crash site involves roughly 75 cars and several tractor trailers, CBS 3 Philadelphia reports. Another 30 cars were involved in another big wreck, in which a tractor trailer jackknifed, reportedly landing on top of at least four cars. Emergency crews are now using the westbound side to transport out the wounded. At least five people have been hospitalized so far. This is "the worst accident I have seen in the 20 years I have been doing this," CBS' traffic reporter said.