Syria: The European Union said today that a military strike against Syria should wait until the preliminary results of the UN weapons inspectors’ report. But an EU senior official said the Aug. 21 attack in Syria was clearly carried out by the government and was “a blatant violation of international law, a war crime and a crime against humanity”. French President Francois Hollande, the only national leader who would have his forces join an attack, also says the action should wait for the UN report.

 President Obama left the G-20 summit in St. Petersburg yesterday without gathering much support, and in particular without moving Russian President Vladmir Putin. The Russian leader said at a closing press conference, “I don’t agree with his arguments and he doesn’t agree with mine, but we hear and try to analyze.” Some other government leaders said they could not approve an attack without permission from the UN. And the president’s position is looking shaky at home where Congressional representatives say voter opposition is loud.

National: New York City is looking into the safety of remote-controlled model planes after the death Thursday of a 19-year-old who was killed by his own helicopter. Roman Pirozek Jr. was performing a complicated stunt when he was hit in the head and throat by the 3-foot blades of his helicopter. Model plane enthusiasts described the incident as a fluke.

• NASA yesterday launched an orbiter that will circle the moon collecting information about the atmosphere of the moon.

World: China announced today it is paying $5 billion to own a share of a Kazakhstan’s offshore oil field in the Caspian Sea. China has become increasingly dependent upon oil deals with Kazakhstan.

The Obit Page: Rochus Misch, who was Adolph Hitler’s devoted and longest-surviving bodyguard, died Thursday in Germany at age 96. Misch spent five years living with Hitler and said he never heard a word about the Final Solution or the murder of 6 million Jews. Apparently Hitler never discussed business in front of the help. Misch spent 9 years in a Soviet POW camp, but remained loyal and described Hitler as a wonderful boss.

Fast and Stupid: New York police arrested a 30-year-old man who claimed a record of 24 minutes for driving around the circumference of Manhattan and posted a dashboard video on YouTube to prove it. The driver, who posted as “Afroduck”, thought he was anonymous, but the cops matched time of day on the video to traffic and surveillance video, which led them to Adam Tang and his 2006 BMW Z4. Tang was charged with 6 traffic violations and his Beemer was confiscated in record time.

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