“Newly authenticated Billy the Kid photo”

Any day now a California collector appears poised to cash in to the tune of $5 million five years after paying just $2 for what has turned out to be only the second known photo of Western outlaw Billy the Kid. The tintype, dating to 1878, depicts Billy the Kid and several members of his gang, the Regulators, playing croquet outside a Lincoln County, New Mexico, building, according to Kagin's Inc., the company that authenticated the photo and is handling its sale. Collector Randy Guijarro told reporters that purchasing the photo was a last-minute decision. The photo has been authenticated by a photography expert and a facial recognition expert who has reportedly done work for the National Security Agency and the FBI. Billy the Kid -- also known as Henry McCarty and William Bonney -- is one of the best-known figures of the American West, simultaneously a folk hero and an outlaw credited with at least eight murders. "The historical importance of a photograph of Billy the Kid alongside known members of his gang and prominent Lincoln County citizens is incalculable. This is perhaps the single most compelling piece of Western Americana that we have ever seen," Kagin's owner said in a statement. The company has appraised the photo's value at $5 million.

In Other News Vice President Joe Biden has personally made a series of calls this week to Democratic strategists from Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, asking a final round of detailed questions about how -- not whether -- to launch a 2016 presidential campaign. People familiar with the conversations tell CNN that Biden has been making the calls throughout the week, including on Wednesday, just as many leading Democrats argued the window to a potential candidacy was closing in the wake of Hillary Clinton's strong performance in the party's first presidential debate. Fire broke out at the compound housing Joseph's Tomb overnight, a religious site venerated by Jews. Palestinian forces dispersed alleged Palestinian arsonists and put out the fire. Joseph's Tomb is located in the city of Nablus, in the West Bank in an area under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority and has been attacked before. Judaism considers the site to be the resting place of the figure Joseph, son of Jacob, a high Israelite patriarch who, according to biblical accounts, was sold into slavery as a boy but then rose to become one of the most powerful figures in ancient Egypt, second only to the pharaoh.