Obama to GOP: 'Stop just hating all the time and get something done to boost Middle Class

Pointing the finger at Republicans for congressional inaction, President Barack Obama chided lawmakers Wednesday for spending the waning days before their month-long summer break trying to sue him rather than addressing economic issues that could boost the middle class.

"Stop being mad all the time. Stop just hating all the time. Come on," the president said in a boisterous and sharply partisan speech in Kansas City.

Addressing about 1,500 supporters at the historic Uptown Theatre, Obama cast the stalemate in Washington as a personal reaction to his presidency, accusing Republicans of choosing political stunts to undermine him over taking action on issues like immigration, transportation spending and tax reform.

Obama's tough talk came hours before Republicans were planning to push a bill through the House authorizing a lawsuit against Obama and accusing him of exceeding his powers in enforcing his health care law. Obama dismissed the suit as a waste of time, noting he'd likely be out of office by the time it's resolved and warning that taxpayers were on the hook for the legal expenses.

"I know they're not that happy that I'm president," Obama said. "I've only got a couple of years left. Come on, let's get some work done. Then you can be mad at the next president."

At the same time, Obama offered an optimistic assessment of an improving U.S. economy on the heels of new data showing strong growth in the second quarter of the year. "We hold the best cards," he said. "Things are getting better. The decisions we make now cold make things even better than that."

Embracing the populist economic message that Democrats are promoting ahead of the midterm elections, Obama said he was glad that stock markets and corporate profits were booming, but said the country must ensure that the middle class has opportunities to take part in that prosperity. It was a theme the president underscored the night before over ribs and beer as he shared a barbecue dinner with four Kansas City residents in an effort to highlight the struggles of working Americans.

After his speech, Obama meandered along picturesque Main Street in nearby Parkville, Missouri, popping in shops and greeting folks with an iced tea in hand. He cajoled patrons of Parkview Coffee to let him pay for their drinks. "It's not that often the president buys you a cup of coffee," Obama said.

Donald Sterling files new suit in attempt to block Clippers sale. Go away Donald Sterling!

Donald Sterling, who vowed to sue the NBA until the day he dies, filed a new legal action Tuesday in his effort to hang onto the Los Angeles Clippers, a lawsuit in which he asserted he is the only one who can determine the team's future.

The new suit, which was filed even as his attorneys were in a courtroom in the same building fighting to scuttle his wife's effort to sell the team, asserts that Sterling is the only shareholder in the corporation that owns the franchise. As a result, Donald Sterling contends that he alone has the power to sell the team.

Sterling named the NBA, league commissioner Adam Silver, his estranged wife, Shelly Sterling, and the corporation that owns the Clippers, LACBasketball Club Inc., in the suit.

The new suit by Sterling, who's under fire for his racially charged comments to an alleged mistress, is his latest effort to block the sale of the Clippers negotiated by Shelly Sterling, who accepted a $2 billion bid from former Microsoft executive Steve Ballmer.

Shelly Sterling took that step after removing her husband from decision-making authority in the family trust that held the shares of the team, a move she made after two doctors examined him and concluded that he was mentally incapacitated.

Then she went to court seeking a judge's confirmation of her right to do that, sparking the trial that is ongoing in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom.

One of Donald Sterling's attorneys, Bobby Samini, denied that the new suit was simply a last-ditch effort to scuttle that deal out of fear that Sterling is going to lose the ongoing court fight.

"It has nothing to do with derailing the sale or not," Samini said. "I don't think we've been coy about this: We've always said we're going to fight and we're not going to sell the team. We're not the ones who filed the probate petition. They filed it. We started in this courthouse by their action. So we're not the ones running to court proactively."

But Samini also acknowledged that he believes the sale of the Clippers to Ballmer, which must be completed by Aug. 15 under the terms of the contract he signed with Shelly Sterling, cannot be concluded until the new suit is settled.

"I don't think you can have a sale until the issues in our corporate lawsuit have been adjudicated by a jury," Samini said.

Attorneys for Shelly Sterling and Ballmer already had left the courthouse when the clerk's office confirmed the filing of the new suit, but attorney Pierce O'Donnell released this statement late Tuesday:

"Donald's latest lawsuit is a frivolous, last ditch act of desperation by a
delusional, bitter man. This action shows once more how obsessed he is with
ruining a record-setting $2 billion sale of the Los Angeles Clippers — a sale that
would solve the problems his racist rant started three months ago. As
testimony established today, Head Coach Doc Rivers doesn't want to coach for
him, the players don't want to play for him, the season ticket holders are about
to bolt and the major sponsors aren't willing to spend another dime until
there's a new owner. As Clippers CEO Dick Parsons made clear on the witness
stand: Donald's continuing ownership will put the franchise into a 'death
spiral.'"

'Friends' Star Lisa Kudrow Loses $1.6 Million Lawsuit

A verdict has been reached in the civil lawsuit filed against Lisa Kudrow by her former manager, who claims he is owed residuals from her days on "Friends." A 10-2 decision was reached in favor of Scott Howard, who was Kudrow's manager from 1991 to 2007, saying the actress was liable for breach of contract, KABC reports. The jury awarded the plaintiff $1.6 million for past and future economic losses. The legal dispute began in 2008, a year after they parted ways, when Howard, sued Kudrow for refusing to pay him more than $50,000 in fees from her earnings. Howard claimed in court last week that in 1991, the two made an oral agreement that Howard would receive a 10 percent cut of Kudrow's income she obtained or performed while he was her manager.. He added that when he and Kudrow split after 16 years of working together, the actress stopped paying him. He argued that Kudrow owes him a percentage of what she earns on "Friends" reruns and other projects. In a statement, Kudrow’s attorney Gerald Sauer said, "The jury’s verdict is merely one step in the legal process. This case ultimately will be resolved at the appellate level. Ms. Kudrow has faith in the judicial system, and she believes that the eventual outcome of this contractual dispute will be in her favor." In a statement of his own, Scott Howard’s attorney Mark Baute countered, "What generally happens now with unsophisticated actress clients is they overpay for filing a frivolous appeal that has no chance for success. The verdict is rock solid, and we look forward to collecting 10 percent, 16,000 dollars a month, in post-judgment interest while their frivolous appeal is pending. We will collect that interest for two years, which is how long it will take for the Court of Appeal to affirm this jury's righteous verdict." In court documents, Kudrow had claimed she had "no obligation to pay Howard" a commission after the two ended their professional partnership. Attorneys for Kudrow countered that Howard was the actress's manager, not her agent, and thus is not entitled to a commission. Kudrow, 50, starred from 1994 through 2004 as Phoebe on "Friends." She began the show as one of the lowest-paid actresses among the show's six stars – earning $13,500 per episode. Starting in 2004, Kudrow earned over $1 million for each of the show's final 18 episodes. ABC News'