CHATTANOOGA SHOOTING-MUSLIM REACTION
4 Marines and gunman die in attack on two military sites
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Washington-based Muslim civil rights group has condemned Thursday’s deadly attack in Chattanooga, Tennessee, that left four Marines dead.
Authorities say a gunman opened fire at a recruiting center and another U.S. military site a few miles apart in Chattanooga. The attacker was also killed. He’s been identified as Kuwait-born Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez.
Federal authorities said they were investigating the possibility it was an act of terrorism, and the FBI took charge of the case.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations — CAIR — called the shooting an “inexcusable act of violence that must be repudiated by Americans of all faiths and backgrounds.”
CHARLESTON SHOOTING
Judge sets trial for suspect in Charleston church shooting
CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — The man accused of killing nine people at a church in Charleston last month will stand trial next July.
Circuit Judge J.C. Nicholson set a July 11, 2016, trial date for Dylann Roof, who sat quietly during a hearing Thursday. A public defender declined to seek any bond for Roof. Roof is considered a flight risk because he was arrested in Shelby, North Carolina, the day after the shootings. Roof hasn’t entered a plea.
Attorneys for The Associated Press and other media organizations asked for the release of police records from the investigation. Nicholson said the records will not be released before July 22 in order to give prosecutors, defense attorneys and family members time to object.
FAITH LEADERS-PAYDAY LENDING
Faith leaders condemn pay day, title loans, favor restrictions
WASHINGTON (AP) — A group of faith leaders taking part in a Washington forum on Capitol Hill have condemned payday and title loans, calling them immoral debt traps.
They spoke Thursday at an event organized by California Rep. Maxine Waters, who says she will call for widespread divestment from the lending firms.
A representative of The Center for Responsible Lending says there are more payday lending and title loan firms in the country than McDonalds and Starbucks combined. The group says borrowers who use their paychecks, bank accounts or car titles as collateral, can face interest rates and fees for extensions totaling as high as 500 percent. The Rev. Shane Scott, a pastor in the Watts section of Los Angeles, says there are nine payday loan firms in his zip code alone.
Rabbi Jonah Pesner, senior vice president of the Union for Reform Judaism said “incarceration is the new Jim Crow and predatory lending is the new slavery.”
The Rev. Sekinah Hamlin of Ecumenical Poverty Initiative says the payday loan industry has used donations to gain the support of lawmakers and even within the civil rights community and church groups.
Sound:
325-a-07-(Rabbi Jonah Pesner, senior vice president, Union for Reform Judaism, at news conference)-“the new slavery”-Union for Reform Judaism Vice President Rabbi Jonah Pesner says the practices of the payday lending industry are immoral. (16 Jul 2015)
< 323-a-08-(Reverend Shane Scott, Pastor, Macedonia Baptist Church, Los Angeles, at news conference)-“or share cropping”-Rev. Shane Scott, a pastor in the Watts section of Los Angeles, says the loan firms are exploiting low-income minorities. (16 Jul 2015) < 322-a-10-(Reverend Sekinah Hamlin, director, Ecumenical Poverty Initiative, at news conference)-“of these churches”-Rev. Sekinah Hamlin of Ecumenical Poverty Initiative says she has determined that the payday loan industry has used donations to gain the support of lawmakers and even church groups. (16 Jul 2015) < 324-a-13-(Rachel Anderson, director, Faith and Credit Roundtable, Center for Responsible Lending, at news conference)-“are over 20,000”-Rachel Anderson of The Center for Responsible Lending says the firms are as plentiful as fast-food locations. (16 Jul 2015) < SAME-SEX MARRIAGE-RELIGION Conservatives warn IRS could target gay marriage opponents WASHINGTON (AP) — A brief exchange during Supreme Court arguments in the same-sex marriage case has exploded into a full-blown debate for some conservatives who warn that the IRS could start revoking the tax-exempt status of religious groups that oppose gay marriage. The attorneys general of 15 states have written Congress asking for legislation to protect religious schools and other groups. Bills in the House and Senate are gaining support. In a brief statement, the IRS says the ruling will not affect the standards agents use to evaluate tax-exempt organizations. Democrats, meanwhile, say Republicans are creating a straw man to fire up the GOP base. Sound: 269-v-36-(Norman Hall, AP correspondent)–Debate is growing in Congress over whether the recent Supreme Court ruling on gay marriage could affect the tax-exempt status of some churches and religious groups. AP correspondent Norman Hall reports. (16 Jul 2015) < 270-c-23-(Norman Hall, AP correspondent)-“the court’s decision”-AP correspondent Norman Hall reports there is a dispute among some lawmakers over whether the recent Supreme Court ruling on gay marriage will affect the tax-exempt status of some churches and religious groups. (16 Jul 2015) < PLANNED PARENTHOOD-FETAL PARTS More investigations target Planned Parenthood policies UNDATED (AP) — The governors of Georgia and Indiana and Ohio’s attorney general have ordered investigations of Planned Parenthood facilities in their states to determine if organs from aborted fetuses were being sold. The state investigations — as well as probes announced Wednesday by three Republican-led congressional committees — come in response to the release of an undercover video made by anti-abortion activists. The video shows Dr. Deborah Nucatola, Planned Parenthood’s senior director of medical services, discussing procedures for providing fetal body parts to researchers. Planned Parenthood officials said Thursday that Nucatola has been “reprimanded.” They did not elaborate. Nucatola is heard giving a range of monetary estimates for the procurement of fetal organs. But she also is heard saying that “Nobody should be ‘selling’ tissue. That’s just not the goal here.” According to Planned Parenthood, the monetary sums mentioned by Nucatola were for reimbursem*nt of the clinics’ costs in handling the tissue donations. Sound: 288-a-06-(House Speaker John Boehner (BAY’-nur), R-Ohio, with reporters)-“about it. It’s disgusting”-House Speaker John Boehner says he’s reluctant to even speak about comments he heard about an undercover video made by activists speaking with a Planned Parenthood official. (16 Jul 2015) < 287-a-05-(House Speaker John Boehner (BAY’-nur), R-Ohio, with reporters)-“by Planned Parenthood”-House Speaker John Boehner says he favors congressional investigations into an activist’s undercover video of a Planned Parenthood official talking about harvesting fetal parts for use by researchers. (16 Jul 2015) < HACKERS HACKED Spies in the hot seat after Italian surveillance firm breach LONDON (AP) — A dramatic breach at an Italian surveillance company has laid bare the details of government cyberattacks worldwide, putting intelligence chiefs in the hot seat from Cyprus to South Korea. More than 1 million emails released online in the wake of the July 5 breach show that the Milan-based company Hacking Team sold its spy software to the FBI and to Russian intelligence. It also worked with authoritarian governments in the Middle East and pitched to police departments in the American suburbs. It even tried to sell to the Vatican — all while devising a malicious Bible app to infect religiously minded targets. Some messages appear to show Hacking Team working on apps named “Quran” and “DailyBible.” VATICAN-FINANCES Vatican 2014 deficit rises with new accounting standards VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican’s cultural activities, in particular its museums, have helped boost profits by nearly double at the Vatican city-state last year, while the budget to run the Roman Curia continued to show a deficit. That’s according to budget figures released Thursday. The Vatican city-state, which includes the post office, museums and other activities, saw its surplus surge to 63.5 million euros last year from 33 million euros a year earlier. The Vatican said investments also played a role. Meanwhile, the Holy See, which governs the universal church, reported a 5 percent increase in its deficit to 25.6 million euros, up from 24.5 million euros a year earlier, as the Holy See transitioned to international accounting standards. Staffing costs weighed most heavily on the Holy See’s budget. MORMON LEADER-NELSON Mormon church appoints new leader to top post SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The Mormon church has a new top-ranking leader to replace the late Boyd K. Packer, who was next in line to become president and prophet of the faith. The Salt Lake City-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints says that Russell M. Nelson will serve as the president of the church’s Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, its high-level governing body. Nelson has been a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles since 1984. He replaces Packer, who died July 3 at his Salt Lake City home of natural causes. He was 90. INDIANA MORMON TEMPLE Mormon Temple in Indiana open to anyone before dedication CARMEL, Ind. (AP) — The first temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Indiana, standing 106 feet tall and crowned with a gilded statue of the angel Moroni, opens Friday, There will be three weeks of public tours before its dedication next month makes it off-limits to non-Mormons. Church leaders expect 75,000 visitors to tour the temple through Aug. 8. The 34,000-square-foot structure standing on 18 acres of grounds in Carmel, a couple of miles north of Indianapolis, will be the 148th LDS temple worldwide. It is one of fewer than 20 in the U.S. east of the Mississippi River. Temples are used for sacred ceremonies, with attendance limited to Mormons in good standing. TV-TLC-DUGGARS-STATEMENT AP Exclusive: TLC cancels ’19 Kids’ after child-abuse scandal; plans education push NEW YORK (AP) — After weeks in limbo stemming from revelations of sexual misconduct by one of its stars, the TLC reality show “19 Kids and Counting” is officially dead. TLC is not moving forward with an 11th season of “19 Kids” featuring the Duggars, whose show “will no longer appear on the air.” That’s what the network told The Associated Press. In a move to redirect the attention and public outcry, TLC also announced it has teamed with two prominent child-protection organizations for an ongoing campaign to raise awareness about child sexual abuse. Josh Duggar apologized for unspecified actions on a Facebook post and resigned from the Family Research Council, a conservative Christian group, where he had worked as a lobbyist. A statement released by the family said it is their prayer that the “painful situation” it went through years ago “can point people toward faith in God and help others who also have lived through similar dark situations.” The show had ended its 10th season when the scandal broke. FUNERAL-HEARSE STOLEN New York man charged with stealing hearse during funeral BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — A 28-year-old New York man has been charged with stealing a hearse from outside a Buffalo church while a funeral was underway. Joe Brown of Buffalo told WIVB-TV that he was among the pallbearers carrying his father’s casket out of St. Michael’s Roman Catholic Church on Wednesday morning when the funeral director told them the hearse was gone. Brown’s family had to wait a half hour for another hearse to arrive. Police recovered the hearse about two hours later in nearby North Tonawanda. A Niagara Falls man has been charged in connection with the theft.
