BLIND JUSTICE-MICHIGAN
Blind judge making history on Michigan’s top court
DETROIT (AP) β For Richard Bernstein, who was born blind, becoming a Michigan Supreme Court justice on New Year’s Day will be just the latest challenge he’s overcome.
The 41-year-old Bernstein has also run 18 marathons and competed in an Iron Man competition.
He says, “Even though your body is mortal, and even though your body is fragile as a disabled person, I think it’s all within the spirit.”
Since winning election in November with the campaign slogan “Blind Justice,” Bernstein has been listening to an assistant who reads legal briefs aloud. Bernstein then memorizes key points in cases that will be argued starting Jan. 13.
Bernstein says athletics have taught him that when struggles get the hardest, “that’s when you come to make your peace with God,” and realize that you’ll have “what you need when you need it.”
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168-a-08-(Richard Bernstein, Michigan Supreme Court justice-elect, in AP interview)-“within the spirit”-Michigan Supreme Court justice-elect Richard Bernstein says God gives him what he needs when he needs it to overcome challenges. ((longer version of cut used in wrap)) (28 Dec 2014)
< 169-a-11-(Richard Bernstein, Michigan Supreme Court justice-elect, in AP interview)-“of the people”-Michigan Supreme Court justice-elect Richard Bernstein says he intends to travel the state meeting the people he’ll represent. (28 Dec 2014) < 167-a-12-(Richard Bernstein, Michigan Supreme Court justice-elect, in AP interview)-“you need it”-Michigan Supreme Court justice-elect Richard Bernstein says spiritual strength has helped him run marathons despite his blindness. ((longer version of cut used in wrap)) (28 Dec 2014) < 166-w-34-(Diane Kepley, AP correspondent, with Michigan Supreme Court Justice-elect Richard Bernstein)–For Richard Bernstein, who was born blind, becoming a Michigan Supreme Court justice on New Year’s Day will be just the latest challenge he’s overcome. AP correspondent Diane Kepley reports. (28 Dec 2014) < ARAB FEST-CHRISTIANITY ACLU backs evangelists in Arab fest controversy DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) β The American Civil Liberties Union is taking the side of Christian evangelists in a First Amendment case at a federal appeals court, despite what it calls “hate-filled speech” directed at Muslims at a Detroit-area street festival. Members of a group called Bible Believers were pelted with rocks while carrying a pig’s head and telling Dearborn Muslims they would “burn in hell.” Wayne County sheriff’s deputies told the evangelists to leave the 2012 event or be ticketed. An appeals court ruled in August, in a 2-1 decision, that group members’ First Amendment rights weren’t violated. But the full 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals threw out that decision in October and said it would hear the case again. Rana Elmir, ACLU of Michigan’s deputy director, says the evangelists must be defended, because “censorship is never the answer.” IN GOD WE TRUST ‘In God We Trust’ signs now hang in Capitol meeting rooms FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) β Kentucky lawmakers will debate legislation in committees in the new year beneath “In God We Trust” signs. The Lexington Herald-Leader reports that officials hung the new signs in 11 committee rooms in the state Capitol and Capitol Annex, where legislators have offices and meeting rooms. Republican Senate President Robert Stivers said the signs were paid for with private donations, not taxpayer dollars. Kentucky legislators approved the signs earlier this year. Similar signs already hang in the state House and Senate chambers. The ACLU and Americans United for the Separation of Church and State are unhappy about the signs, but say there is little chance a judge would order them removed. President Dwight Eisenhower established “In God We Trust” as the country’s national motto in 1956. The slogan has appeared on U.S. currency since 1864. INDONESIA-PLANE-VATICAN Pope urges prayers for rescuers and victims of Adriatic maritime accidents and AirAsia flight VATICAN CITY (AP) β Pope Francis says he’s “sending prayers and love” to those affected by maritime accidents in the Adriatic Sea and the AirAsia plane that disappeared with 162 people on board. Francis was addressing a large crowd of pilgrims gathered Sunday outside the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City. A Turkish cargo ship collided with another merchant vessel near an Italian port in the northern Adriatic on Sunday, leaving five crew members missing in rough seas. Separately, a ferry carrying nearly 500 people caught fire off the Greek island of Corfu, trapping passengers on the top decks as gale-force winds and choppy seas hampered the evacuation. Francis told pilgrims that his thoughts went out to passengers of the ships, as well as those on board an AirAsia Airbus A320 that disappeared on Sunday. The plane was bound for Singapore from Indonesia’s second-largest city, Surabaya. Sound: 125-r-20-(Sound of Pope Francis, speaking Italian, addressing a large crowd of pilgrims gathered outside the Apostolic Palace)–Sound of Pope Francis, saying in Italian, that he is sending prayers and love to those affected by accidents in the Adriatic Sea and the AirAsia plane that disappeared. COURTESY: Vatican TV ((mandatory on-air credit)) (28 Dec 2014) < JEWISH IN SOUTH DAKOTA South Dakota’s Jewish community small, tight-knit RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) β South Dakota’s tiny Jewish community has only two active synagogues, one in Sioux Falls and another in Rapid City. A third synagogue in Aberdeen sometimes hosts services and Torah study groups. The first Jews to settle in what is now South Dakota established themselves in Deadwood during the Gold Rush over 150 years ago, finding a niche selling hardware, groceries, dry goods and more. By 1920, the state was home to some 1,300 Jews. That community has dwindled to an estimated 390 people. No state has fewer. South Dakota is the only state without a permanent rabbi. Steve Benn is a doctor who serves as lay leader at Rapid City’s Synagogue of the Hills. He says “nobody wants to be the last one to turn the lights out.” Benn orchestrates bar mitzvah ceremonies, performs ritual circumcisions and conducts funeral services. EGYPT-US-FILM-EXODUS Egypt: Biblical epic ‘Exodus’ banned over errors CAIRO (AP) β Egypt says it has banned Ridley Scott’s biblical epic “Exodus: Gods & Kings” because it distorts Egypt’s history and presents a racist image of Jews. Egypt’s Culture Ministry explained its decision in a statement Sunday, a few days after the initial ban. It listed a number of reasons, including that the film’s account of the story of Moses was not in line with monotheistic religions. It said the movie inaccurately depicts ancient Egyptians as “savages” who kill and hang Jews, and presents a “racist” depiction of Jews as a people who mounted an armed rebellion. It said religious scriptures instead present Jews as being weak. The film had sparked controversy elsewhere over Scott’s casting of white actors to play ancient Egyptians. ISRAEL-GENDER GAP Israel’s ultra-Orthodox mull bigger role for women JERUSALEM (AP) β A struggle for women’s rights is brewing within Israel’s deeply conservative ultra-Orthodox community, where women, largely shut out of politics, are beginning to demand greater representation in the country’s parliament. More than 20 percent of Israeli lawmakers are female, but not one woman serves from the country’s two ultra-Orthodox, or haredi, parties. In haredi communities, women are expected to manage a home, raise children and provide an income for the family, often while the husband studies Torah. Those beliefs remain firmly entrenched, but in the run-up to the March 17 elections, some haredi women are demanding change. A group called “No Voice, No Vote” has pledged to boycott haredi parties that don’t include female lawmakers. Secular Israeli women serve at all levels of government and society. Golda Meir served as Israel’s prime minister from 1969 to 1974. STOLEN HEARSE Hearse stolen outside church with casket inside LOS ANGELES (AP) β A pastor’s wife says a hearse was stolen from outside a Southern California church ahead of funeral services with a casket inside. The Los Angeles Times reports Sunday that the hearse was idling outside Ebenezer Baptist Church in South Los Angeles while the funeral director arranged flowers for Saturday morning services for 19-year-old JontΓ© Lee Reed. Shirley Little, the pastor’s wife, says the director called ministry friends for help when he saw the hearse was missing. Little says family members driving to the funeral had been notified and stopped the hearse four blocks from the church. KTLA-TV reports that police detained the man, whose mental condition will be evaluated. Little says the hearse was returned and the funeral was only delayed by 30 minutes. WOMAN PRIEST Woman in KC plans to defy church, become a priest KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) β A Kansas City woman is planning to defy the Roman Catholic Church and be ordained as a priest. The Kansas City Star reports that 67-year-old Georgia Walker knows she will be excommunicated from the church, but says she wouldn’t accept the legitimacy of the excommunication. The church in turn will not accept her ordination, scheduled for Jan. 3. Under canon law, only men can be priests. Walker is part of a movement called the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests. Instead of leaving the church, they hope to change it from within. There are nearly 200 women priests, all but about 50 of them in the U.S. The Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph said in a statement that Walker’s ordination “does not involve the participation of any validly ordained Catholic clergy.” VATICAN-ACTIVIST ARREST Woman who bared breasts in Vatican square is freed VATICAN CITY (AP) β The Holy See has released a Ukrainian activist who bared her breasts in St. Peter’s Square on Christmas Day and snatched the statue of Baby Jesus from the Vatican’s outdoor Nativity scene. Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi said the Holy See prosecutor, met with Yana Zhdanova on Saturday and decided to order her freed. She was also ordered to never set foot again in Vatican City State, including St. Peter’s Basilica, or on other Vatican property outside the tiny city-state’s walls. The Femen protester shouted “God is woman” when she uncovered her chest in the square on Thursday, about an hour after Pope Francis had greeted and blessed tens of thousands of faithful. A Vatican guard then covered her chest with his cloak and took her into Vatican custody. VATICAN-AGCA Agca leaves flowers on John Paul’s tomb in Vatican VATICAN CITY (AP) β The Vatican says the Turk who shot and wounded Pope John Paul II in 1981 has laid flowers on the saint’s tomb in St. Peter’s Basilica. A Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Ciro Benedettini, said the surprise visit Saturday by Mehmet Ali Agca lasted a few minutes. As with other flowers left by visitors to the tomb, the white blossoms were later removed by basilica workers. John Paul visited the incarcerated Agca in 1983 and later intervened with Italian authorities to gain Agca’s release in 2000 from the Italian prison where he was serving a life sentence for the assassination attempt in St. Peter’s Square. Agca then served a sentence in Turkey in another case and is now free. Benedettini said there are no legal matters pending against Agca in the Vatican. ISLAMIC CENTER VANDALISM California man suspected of vandalizing Islamic center FRESNO, Calif. (AP) β Authorities in California say they have arrested a man suspected of vandalizing an Islamic center. Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer said Saturday that 28-year-old Asif Mohammad Khan caused more than $10,000 in damage at the Islamic Cultural Center. Dyer said Khan broke windows, poured bleach on an American flag and vandalized a nearby medical office. Dyer says that at first investigators suspected the case might be a hate crime because a mosque was targeted. He says that after talking with Khan, Fresno police investigators will let the FBI decide whether to file hate crime charges. Khan’s sister, Samia Khan, says her brother suffers from mental illness and isn’t guilty of committing a hate crime. She says her family is a part of Fresno’s Muslim community and issued an apology.
