Judge blocks online plans for printing untraceable 3D guns
A U.S. judge in Seattle blocked the Trump administration Monday from allowing a Texas company to post online plans for making untraceable 3D guns, agreeing with 19 states and the District of Columbia that such access to the plastic guns would pose a security risk.
The states sued to stop an agreement that the government had reached with Austin, Texas-based Defense Distributed, saying guidelines on how to print undetectable plastic guns could be acquired by felons or terrorists.
U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik extended a temporary restraining order, and his new decision will last until the case is resolved. He said Cody Wilson, owner of Defense Distributed, wanted to post the plans online so that citizens can arm themselves without having to deal with licenses, serial numbers and registrations.
Under pressure, Trump re-lowers White House flag for McCain
Bowing to pressure, President Donald Trump on Monday ordered American flags at U.S. buildings lowered to half-staff for Sen. John McCain until his burial on Sunday. Trump’s proclamation came just hours after the White House flag had been returned to full-staff, drawing complaints from right and left.
Trump, who had traded bitter criticism with McCain since before the election, declared his order “a mark of respect.” At the same time, he said it would be Vice President Mike Pence and other officials who would represent the administration at McCain’s funeral services.
“Despite our differences on policy and politics, I respect Senator John McCain’s service to our country and, in his honor, have signed a proclamation to fly the flag of the United States at half-staff until the day of his interment,” Trump said in a statement.
Body left to rot in funeral home 3 years leads to charges
Two South Carolina funeral home workers have been indicted after authorities say they left a body to rot in an unrefrigerated room surrounded by air-fresheners for nearly three years because the woman’s family owed them money.
Lawrence Robert Meadows and Roderick Mitchell Cummings, both 40, were charged Friday by a state grand jury with desecration of human remains. A conviction on the charge carries a sentence of one to 10 years in prison.
They were supposed to cremate 63-year-old Mary Alice Pitts Moore after her funeral in Greenwood in March 2015, but instead left her remains in a locked room under blankets and “surrounded by fragrant items,” and even moved her body from one funeral home to another 65 miles away, according to a lawsuit filed by Moore’s family.
Kingsley: I wanted to nail Eichmann to gates of Auschwitz
Ben Kingsley said he didn’t portray Adolf Eichmann out of love or admiration. Rather, he wanted to “nail him to the gates of Auschwitz.”
The Oscar-winning Kingsley, who has tackled historical figures before, including Mahatma Gandhi, Otto Frank and Simon Wiesenthal, said playing Eichmann in “Operation Finale” produced an entirely different feeling in him.
“With Gandhi, I loved him. With Simon, I loved him. With Otto, I loved him. With Itzhak (Stern), I loved him. But him — I’ll nail you to the gates of Auschwitz. I’ll put you up there so everyone can see what you did, what you stood for and who you are,” Kingsley told The Associated Press in a recent interview.
Judge declares Utah women, 1 dead, to be legally married
A 74-year-old woman cried tears of joy when a Utah state judge took the rare step of declaring her and her longtime lesbian partner legally married just months after her wife died.
The Salt Lake Tribune reports Judge Patrick Corum on Tuesday ruled that Bonnie Foerster is legally married to Beverly Grossaint, who died in May in Salt Lake City at age 82.
Foerster met Grossaint in January 1968 in New York City under unhappy circumstances: Foerster was escaping an abusive husband. When Grossaint first saw her, Foerster had broken ribs and was wearing dark glasses to hide black eyes.
