Midday Roundup: No (more) leakers allowed in U.K.

Stay away. British officials don’t want anything to do with Edward Snowden, the man who allegedly leaked details about U.S. surveillance programs to the press. According to a travel alert issued by the Home Office, the British government has asked airlines worldwide not to allow Snowden to board any flights to the United Kingdom. If he does somehow manage to sneak onto British soil, Snowden is “highly likely to be refused entry.” Looks like British officials have learned their lesson after the Julian Assange debacle. The Australian-born founder of WikiLeaks has been holed up for almost a year in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, fighting extradition to Sweden, where he faces rape allegations. Ultimately, Assange fears he will be sent to the United States to face prosecution for posting leaked diplomatic cables on his website.

Surprising discovery. An Associated Press reporter discovered an embarrassing piece of World War II history in Minneapolis—a Nazi collaborator living out the last 69 years in peaceful obscurity. Or mostly obscurity, except for that memoir he published in the Ukraine, which undeniably links him to civilian massacres. Michael Karkoc, a top commander of a Nazi SS-led unit, lied his way into the United States shortly after the war ended. He’s been living in a Ukrainian neighborhood in Minnesota since then. No word yet on whether Karkoc will ever be tried for his crimes. Reporter David Rising tracked Karkoc down after getting a tip that tied him to a Ukrainian defense group. And this isn’t the first time Rising has made a significant discovery involving Nazi war crimes. He previously discovered documents that might exonerate John Demjanjuk, a death camp prison guard convicted last year of 28,060 counts of being an accessory to murder.

Building blame. The Philadelphia building inspector who reviewed a demolition site just days before the empty building collapsed on a next-door thrift shop, killing six and injuring 13 others, blamed himself for the accident. In a video message left for his family on his cell phone, Ronald Wagenhoffer said he didn’t do enough to make sure the demolition site was safe. Wagenhoffer, 52, committed suicide Wednesday night. Immediately after his body was found, city officials said there was no evidence the inspector did anything wrong. But in the video, Wagenhoffer admitted he never really inspected an adjacent worksite after a citizen complained about safety concerns, although he reported finding no violations. A crane operator, who allegedly bumped the building with his heavy equipment shortly before the collapse, has been charged over the incident. A drug test revealed he had prescription painkillers and marijuana in his system at the time of the accident.

Safe travels. President Barack Obama will travel to Africa later this month, and according to an analysis by The Washington Post, the trip could cost as much as $100 million. Can we afford that? White House officials say, don’t blame us; it’s the Secret Service’s fault. Hundreds of agents will travel ahead of the president to secure facilities in Senegal, South Africa, and Tanzania. A Navy ship with a fully staffed medical trauma center will be stationed offshore. And military cargo planes will carry 56 support vehicles, including three trucks carrying bulletproof glass to install in the hotels where the president and first lady will be staying. Fighter jets will provide 24-hour coverage for the president’s airspace.