NIGERIA-KIDNAPPED GIRLS
Video of kidnapped girls authenticated
ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigerian authorities have verified the authenticity of video of kidnapped girls shown wearing Islamic veils and singing Quranic verses under the guns of their captors.
Officials say 54 of the girls had been identified by relatives, teachers and classmates who watched the video late Tuesday.
The Islamist terrorist group Boko Haram captured nearly 300 school girls on April 15 from their school in remote northeast Nigeria.
There is a growing international movement to win the freedom of the girls before they are sold into slavery or married off to fighters, or worse.
In Washington, human rights attorney Emmanuel Ogebe (OH’-guh-bay) said Boko Haram continues to try force Christians to convert to Islam. Jews and Muslims considered apostates are also targeted. Ogebe, a panelist on a Hudson Institute forum, said the extremists captured the girls because men have left remote towns with the belief that women and girls would not be harmed.
A teen, Deborah Peters, says her father was killed in 2011 in the same village as the abductions. Peters, now a student in the U.S., says her father, a pastor, was slain because he wouldn’t renounce his faith. Her brother was also gunned down as she watched.
Sound:
206-a-12-(Jay Carney, White House press secretary, at news conference)-“or other concessions”-White House press secretary Jay Carney says it would be wrong to ransom the Nigerian school girls abducted by Boko Haram extremists. (13 May 2014)
< 205-a-09-(Attorney General Eric Holder, at news conference at the Justice Department)-“be of use”-Attorney General Eric Holder says the Justice Department is aiding the effort to find the kidnapped girls. (13 May 2014) < 177-a-15-(Shehu Sani (SHAY’-hoo SAH’-nee), former government mediator who’s negotiated with Boko Haram, in interview)-“freeing these girls”-Shehu Sani, who’s negotiated with Boko Haram for the Nigerian government in the past, says there’s going to have to be some give-and-take with this group. COURTESY: Sky News ((mandatory on-air credit)) (13 May 2014) < 178-a-15-(Shehu Sani (SHAY’-hoo SAH’-nee), former government mediator who’s negotiated with Boko Haram, in interview)-“scrutiny and question”-Shehu Sani, who’s negotiated with Boko Haram for the Nigerian government in the past, says the world is watching — and Nigeria’s stature and moral standing are being dissected. COURTESY: Sky News ((mandatory on-air credit)) (13 May 2014) < 162-a-09-(Colonel Steve Warren, Pentagon spokesman, with reporters)-“of rescue operation”-Colonel Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman, says the U.S. military has a team of analysts in Nigeria, with no plans to send ground troops in. (13 May 2014) < 159-w-35-(Sagar Meghani (SAH’-gur meh-GAH’-nee), AP national security correspondent, with Colonel Steve Warren, Pentagon spokesman)–The U.S. is flying surveillance aircraft over Nigeria in the hunt for the missing schoolgirls. AP National Security Correspondent Sagar Meghani reports from the Pentagon. (13 May 2014) < 161-a-11-(Colonel Steve Warren, Pentagon spokesman, with reporters)-“providing fixed-wing ISR”-Colonel Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman, says he will not discuss whether the U.S. military is using manned or unmanned aircraft to carry out intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance in searching for the girls. (13 May 2014) < 134-a-07-(Retired British Major General Jonathan Shaw, former assistant defense department chief of staff, security expert, in interview)-“of military intervention”-Retired Major General Jonathan Shaw, a security expert once with the British military, says he believes that despite the international might at its disposal, the Nigerian government will have to negotiate to bring the girls home. COURTESY: Sky News ((mandatory on-air credit)) (13 May 2014) < 135-a-15-(Retired British Major General Jonathan Shaw, former assistant defense department chief of staff, security expert, in interview)-“into the ether”-Retired Major General Jonathan Shaw, a security expert once with the British military, says the international military support might help the Nigerian government in its negotiations, but it’s not likely to lead to an actual rescue. COURTESY: Sky News ((mandatory on-air credit)) (13 May 2014) < ANTI-SEMITISM INDEX International survey finds 1 in 4 adults harbor anti-Semitic attitudes NEW YORK (AP) — A new survey has found that anti-Semitism remains prevalent around the world, with one in four adults surveyed in 102 countries expressing anti-Jewish sentiments. The Anti-Defamation League study released Tuesday sought to create a comprehensive survey of anti-Jewish sentiment around the globe, finding respondents to be anti-Semitic if they said at least six of 11 stereotypes about Jews were “probably” or “definitely” true. The study found the lowest level of anti-Semitism in Laos, with just 0.2 percent of the adult populations expressing such views, and the highest level in the West Bank and Gaza with 93 percent. Greece was the most anti-Semitic country in Western Europe, according to the survey, with 69 percent of the adults expressing such opinions and Sweden, with four percent, was the least. Sound: 257-c-22-(Violet Ikonomova (ee-koh-NOH’-moh-vah), AP correspondent)-“or definitely true”-A new survey suggests anti-Semitism remains prevalent around the world, with one in four adults expressing anti-Jewish sentiments. AP correspondent Violet Ikonomova has more. (13 May 2014) < 256-v-32-(Violet Ikonomova (ee-koh-NOH’-moh-vah), AP correspondent)–A new Anti-Defamation League survey says one in four people around the world are anti-Semitic. AP correspondent Violet Ikonomova reports. (13 May 2014) < 294-w-59-(Norman Hall, AP correspondent, with Deborah Peters, Boko Haram survivor, and Emmanuel Ogebe, human righs lawyer)–Religion Roundup: A survivor of a Boko Haram attack speaks out; A federal appeals court has heard arguments on Virginia’s same-sex marriage ban; and a survey finds finds anti-Semitism remains prevalent. The AP’s Norman Hall reports. (13 May 2014) < NYPD INTELLIGENCE NYPD defends use of Muslim informants despite disbanding surveillance unit NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Police Department is taking a tough stance in a legal battle over its use of informants in the city’s Muslim community. The department announced last month that it was disbanding a unit that tracked the everyday lives of Muslims. But it is fighting a lawsuit that challenges its ongoing practice of cultivating Muslim informants to detect terror threats. The practice incudes debriefing Muslims who are stopped by police. The lawsuit was filed last year on behalf of two Brooklyn mosques, an imam and three other plaintiffs. It asks a federal judge to declare the surveillance unconstitutional and halt it. The city has struck back by demanding to see any communications by the plaintiffs that mention terrorism, jihad or the war in Afghanistan. The plaintiffs say the city is unjustly seeking information that’s private. GAY MARRIAGE-VIRGINIA Appeals court in Va. hears gay marriage case RICHMOND,Va. (AP) — Federal appeals court judges have aggressively questioned lawyers on both sides of Virginia’s potentially landmark gay marriage case. Hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside the courthouse in Richmond, holding signs and shouting competing slogans. The three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals hinted at varying stances as they grilled attorneys for four couples challenging the state’s same-sex marriage prohibition and lawyers for two circuit court clerks defending the ban of same-sex marriages. Federal judge Arenda Wright Allen ruled in February that Virginia’s constitutional amendment and laws barring gay marriage and denying recognition of such unions performed in other states violate the U.S. Constitution’s equal protection and due process guarantees. Alliance Defending Freedom attorney Austin Nimocks (NIH’-muhks) argued that Virginia residents have the constitutional right to define marriage as between one man and one woman. Both sides believe the case ultimately will be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. Sound: 296-a-13-(Austin Nimocks (NIH’-muhks), senior legal counsel, Alliance Defending Freedom, in AP interview)-“it very seriously”-Alliance Defending Freedom senior counsel Austin Nimocks says there was vigorous questioning by the judges. (13 May 2014) < 297-a-09-(Austin Nimocks (NIH’-muhks), senior legal counsel, Alliance Defending Freedom, in AP interview)-“and one woman”-Alliance Defending Freedom senior counsel Austin Nimocks says the voters have a right to their traditions and legal preferences. (13 May 2014) < 298-a-06-(Austin Nimocks (NIH’-muhks), senior legal counsel, Alliance Defending Freedom, in AP interview)-“to do so”-Alliance Defending Freedom senior counsel Austin Nimocks says the will of voters should be respected. (13 May 2014) < ABORTION RESTRICTIONS-ARIZONA Federal court considers Arizona abortion rules SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal appeals court in San Francisco appears poised to continue blocking the nation’s strictest restrictions on the use of abortion drugs. It also questioned the constitutionality of the Arizona rules a month after putting them on hold. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments from the state and Planned Parenthood Arizona, which sued to stop the rules. The court issued an injunction in April, saying women likely would suffer irreparable harm if the restrictions were allowed to take effect. Arizona argued that the rules aim to safeguard women and follow Food and Drug Administration guidelines. The regulations ban women from taking the most common abortion-inducing drug — RU-486 — after the seventh week of pregnancy. Women had been allowed to take the abortion pill through nine weeks of pregnancy. The rules also require that the drug be administered only at the FDA-approved dosage and that both doses be taken at a clinic. The usual dosage is lower and now usually taken at home, decreasing the cost and chance of complications. CATHOLIC WORLD MEETING Vatican officials tour Philly ahead of conference PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Vatican officials have conducted a tour in Philadelphia ahead of a major Roman Catholic gathering that the city’s archbishop believes will include an appearance by the pope. Archbishop Charles Chaput (SHAP’-yoo) said he’s “personally convinced” the pontiff is coming to the World Meeting of Families in September 2015. But he stressed that nothing is certain until an official announcement from the Holy See, which won’t come for several months. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS-PRAYER Commissioners seek to return previous prayer policy WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — Forsyth County, North Carolina, Commissioners want relief from a federal court order on prayer at the body’s meetings. The commissioners voted unanimously to have the county attorney work to get the order overturned, so they can go back to their previous policy on prayer. The commissioners formerly invited clergy from various faiths to give the opening prayer. That stopped in 2010 when a federal judge issued an order prohibiting the board from allowing sectarian prayer in meetings. The commissioners lost an appeal and chose not to ask clergy to deliver prayers with nonspecific references to God. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last week in a New York case that a town did not violate the Constitution by allowing ministers to deliver Christian prayers at meetings. CHURCH ABUSE-MASSACHUSSETTS Massachusetts ex-altar boys claim priest sex abuse FALL RIVER, Mass. (AP) — Two former altar boys at a Massachusetts Roman Catholic church have filed a lawsuit alleging they were sexually abused by a now-deceased priest, while the former bishop of Fall River did nothing to stop it. The suit was filed in Hartford, Connecticut, in January but is just coming to light. The New Jersey advocacy group Road to Recovery announced to the media that the suit had been filed. The complaint alleges that former Fall River Bishop Daniel Cronin did not properly supervise the late Monsignor Maurice Souza. According to court documents, Souza is accused of sexually abusing the boys over a period of years, beginning when they were 9 and 10 in the 1970s and continuing until their teens, when Souza was at St. Anthony’s Church in Falmouth. Souza died in 1996. A church spokesman says the lawsuit is “old and is being dealt with by the diocese.” PUERTO RICO-CHURCH ABUSE Puerto Rico priest faces federal sex charges SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) – Authorities in Puerto Rico say they have arrested a Roman Catholic priest on charges including sexual trafficking of minors in the first federal case of its kind in the U.S. territory. A spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says Israel Berrios was a priest in the Diocese of Caguas (CAH’-qwahs), south of the capital of San Juan. He was arrested in the northern town of Naranjito (nah-rahn-HEE’-toh). The investigation is said to be ongoing and that more arrests are possible. Puerto Rico prosecutors also filed charges of lewd acts against Berrios. Berrios is the first priest to face federal sex charges of this kind in Puerto Rico, though local prosecutors are investigating at least 17 other priests and four dioceses facing similar allegations. TORNADO FAITH MOVIE Film explores role of faith after Moore tornado MOORE, Okla. (AP) – A film produced in Oklahoma that examines the role of faith in the aftermath of last year’s deadly May 20 tornado is being screened at a movie theater in Moore that suffered extensive damage from the twister. A private screening with several Oklahoma officials was held Tuesday night at the Warren Theater in Moore. The documentary film titled “Where Was God?” explores the role of faith in overcoming life’s challenges and follows the stories of people in Moore and in Joplin, Missouri. Joplin was struck by a tornado in 2011. The film will open to the public Friday night.
