EBOLA
Missionary doctor urges Obama to help others survive Ebola
WASHINGTON (AP) β An American missionary doctor who recovered from Ebola after being flown back from Liberia says he appreciates President Obama’s pledge to rush assistance to West Africa.
Hours after meeting with Obama, Samaritan’s Purse Dr. Kent Brantly told a Senate hearing that he thanked the president. But he added, “Now it is imperative that these words are backed up by immediate action.”
Brantly said Ebola is spreading like wildfire in West Africa.
Recalling his own battle with the disease and the agony of those he couldn’t save, Brantly called it “a fire from the pit of hell.” But he said this is a time for doctor to be like firefighters who run into a burning building to save lives and quench the flames.
Senators at Tuesday’s hearing praised Brantly and Samaritan’s Purse for their selfless service.
Sound:
295-a-10-(Senator Richard Burr, R-N.C., at Senate hearing)-“are certainly there”-North Carolina Senator Richard Burr says Dr. Kent Brantly has worked with an effective mission agency. (16 Sep 2014)
< 292-w-28-(Steve Coleman, AP religion editor, with Samaritan’s Purse Dr. Kent Brantly, Ebola survivor)–An American missionary doctor who recovered from Ebola after being flown back from Liberia says he appreciates President Obama’s pledge to rush assistance to West Africa. AP Religion Editor Steve Coleman reports. (16 Sep 2014) < 293-a-12-(Senator Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., at Senate hearing)-“have you here”-Maryland Senator Barbara Mikulski says Dr. Kent Brantly’s presence at the hearing is remarkable. (16 Sep 2014) < 294-a-07-(Senator Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, at Senate hearing)-“do us proud”-Iowa Senator Tom Harkin compares Dr. Kent Brantly to soldiers who serve in combat. (16 Sep 2014) < 262-a-12-(Dr. Kent Brantly, missionary doctor and Ebola survivor, testifying before Senate)-“this horrific disease”-Dr. Kent Brantly, missionary doctor and Ebola survivor, says urgent assistance is need for the thousands still suffering from Ebola. (16 Sep 2014) < 261-a-10-(Dr. Kent Brantly, missionary doctor and Ebola survivor, testifying before Senate)-“to my death”-Dr. Kent Brantly, missionary doctor and Ebola survivor, says the disease was horrible to endure. (16 Sep 2014) < 263-a-12-(Dr. Kent Brantly, missionary doctor and Ebola survivor, testifying before Senate)-“of this fire”-Dr. Kent Brantly, missionary doctor and Ebola survivor, says the disease is spreading like wildfire in West Africa. (16 Sep 2014) < CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES Wildfire burns homes, 2 churches, in Northern California town WEED, Calif. (AP) β Aided by calmer winds and fire-retardant bomber sorties, firefighters are mopping up around a fire in the Northern California town of Weed. More than 1,000 people were forced to flee their homes after the fire broke out Monday. In just a few hours, wind-driven flames destroyed or damaged 100 homes and two churches. On Tuesday, chimneys were the only thing still standing in the rubble, and broken pipes spurted water over the blackened landscape. The remnants of the Holy Family Catholic Church were still smoldering, its metal girders twisted on the ground. Maureen Campbell, the church’s music minister, was baptized, confirmed and married at the church, along with her children. She lost her home to the fire too, but said “This is my family church, you know? It’s much more endearing to me.” The town’s Presbyterian church also burned. The town and the forest that surrounds it were a tinderbox this summer after three years of drought. Sound: 300-a-10-(Maureen Campbell, Weed resident and music minister at Holy Family Catholic Church, in AP interview)-“endearing to me”-Maureen Campbell, Weed resident and music minister at Holy Family Catholic Church, says her house burned down in the wildfire. (16 Sep 2014) < 299-a-05-(Maureen Campbell, Weed resident and music minister at Holy Family Catholic Church, in AP interview)-“by the cross”-Maureen Campbell, Weed resident and music minister at Holy Family Catholic Church, says it hurts to stand in the ruins of the burned out church. (16 Sep 2014) < 241-a-13-(Maureen Campbell, Weed resident and music minister, Holy Family Catholic Church, in AP interview)-“is just destroyed”-Weed resident Maureen Campbell says people had very little time to evacuate. The fire destroyed Campbell’s home and her childhood church where she played the organ. (16 Sep 2014) < YALE-ISLAM CRITIC Islam critic invited by Yale group, meets protests NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) β An advocate for women in Muslim regions who is sharply critical of Islam has been warmly received at Yale University despite protests by the Muslim Students Association. 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(AP) β A gunman who was persuaded by a bookkeeper to surrender during a 2013 gun battle with police at a school near Atlanta has pleaded guilty to multiple charges and has been sentenced to 20 years in prison. Police say Michael Brandon Hill entered the school on Aug. 20, 2013, armed with a rifle and nearly 500 bullets. He repeatedly fired at police from inside the school before school bookkeeper Antoinette Tuff persuaded him to surrender. Tuff said later that she prayed as she dissuaded him from further violence. No one was hurt in the gunfire. Tapes of 911 calls revealed Tuff’s calm intervention. She began by telling Hill of her own struggles, including raising a disabled child and losing her husband. After convincing him to lay down his weapons, Tuff told Hill she loved him and would pray for him. FIBA-HEAD COVERINGS FIBA: Players can wear religious head coverings UNDATED (AP) β International basketball’s governing body says players will be allowed to wear religious head coverings, such as hijabs or turbans, on a trial basis. FIBA’s central board met over the weekend at the men’s world cup and voted to allow a two-year testing phase that would let players wear head coverings. Previous FIBA rules only allowed a player to wear a 5-centimeter headband to control hair and sweat. That drew objections that the group was discriminating against Muslim and Sikh players, who wear head coverings for religious reasons. In 2012, football governing body FIFA changed its rules to allow female Muslim players to wear head scarves after a campaign by executive committee member Prince Ali bin Al-Hussein of Jordan. VATICAN-GRANDPARENTS Pope to focus on grandparents after newlyweds VATICAN CITY (AP) β Pope Francis and 100 elderly priests will celebrate a Mass in St. Peter’s Square on Sept. 28 in honor of the elderly, part of his long-standing belief that old people shouldn’t be shut away in retirement homes but should be actively cherished for their wisdom. Some 40,000 people from 20 nations are expected to attend the Mass. Monsignor Vincenzo Paglia, head of the Vatican’s family office, says one of the elderly couples taking part in the Mass recently fled the Islamic militants in northern Iraq and will recount their family’s story to the crowd. Francis was particularly close to his own grandmother. He has also said having Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI in the Vatican is like having a “wise grandfather” living at home. 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He says they took the cardinal’s cellphone, ring, crucifix and pen and the photographer’s cameras. Police later recovered the stolen goods except for the cameras. EGYPT-SECTARIAN TENSION Coptic Christians clash with police in Egypt CAIRO (AP) β A security official says a couple hundred Christian protesters clashed with police in southern Egypt after holding a demonstration in front of a police station demanding that authorities locate an abducted housewife. The official says protesters on Tuesday hurled Molotov cocktails at Samalout police station, in Minya province, injuring three policemen. The police arrested at least 33 protesters. The official says the demonstration was over the abduction of a 37-year-old Coptic housewife, who went missing two weeks ago. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press. Egypt’s Christian minority has complained of a rise in kidnappings, armed robberies and assaults over the past three years, after the country was plunged into turmoil by the 2011 uprising that toppled longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak. SAUDI-SHIITE CLERIC Verdict postponed on Saudi Shiite cleric RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) β A Saudi Arabian court has postponed issuing a verdict in a sensitive case against a Shiite cleric who faces charges that carry the death sentence. Sheik Nimr al-Nimr’s brother told The Associated Press that the verdict was delayed until Oct. 21. He says that for the first time since his brother’s arrest in July 2012, security officials barred the sheik from attending Tuesday’s court session. The prosecution is asking that al-Nimr be publicly crucified. He faces charges that include disobeying the ruler, firing on security forces and inciting protests. The 54 year-old cleric is revered among many young Shiites in Saudi Arabia. He does not deny the political charges against him, but denies ever carrying weapons or calling for violence. SOUTH AFRICA-DALAI LAMA Nobel laureates appeal to South Africa JOHANNESBURG (AP) β A group of Nobel peace laureates is appealing to South Africa to grant a visa to the Dalai Lama, who abandoned an attempt to get permission to travel to Cape Town next month. The 14 Nobel laureates said in a statement Monday that the Tibetan Buddhist leader withdrew his application for a South African visa after being told he would not get it. South Africa has close business ties with China and has previously denied entry to the Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama wants increased autonomy for Tibet, the homeland from which he has been exiled since 1959. China says he is a separatist. The Tibetan leader won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989. Nobel Peace Prize laureates are holding an annual meeting in Cape Town Oct. 13-15.
