Air Force sergeant to be discharged
Air Force sergeant to be discharged
OMAHA, Neb.
The Air Force said Wednesday it is discharging a hero of the so-called birther movement who refused to report to duty in Germany for a few days earlier this month because he doubts President Barak Obama’s citizenship.
Staff Sgt. Daryn Moran expects to be discharged within the next week. Although the 41-year-old Nebraska man refused to report to duty and had called for Obama’s arrest in statements on websites, several other things contributed to his discharge, including his opposition to Obama’s decision to allow gays to serve openly in the military.
Moran, who has served nine years in the Air Force, drew the attention of the birther movement when he shared his views on Obama’s citizenship on websites of groups that believe Obama was not born in the U.S. and therefore is not eligible to serve as president or commander in chief.
hUK: 400K Somali children could die
NAIROBI, Kenya
A British government minister says up to 400,000 Somali children could die of starvation unless urgent action is taken.
International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell on Wednesday made the first visit in 18 years by a British minister to Somalia’s capital of Mogadishu, where he met with government leaders and aid groups.
Mitchell said in neighboring Kenya that Britain will give UNICEF more than $41 million in additional aid. That will allow nearly 200,000 people to have two months of supplementary food rations and vaccinations against measles for 800,000 children.
More than 12 million people need food aid in drought-struck East Africa. More than 2 million live in areas controlled by the Somali militant group al-Shabab.
Vatican releases files on alleged abuser
VATICAN CITY
The Vatican, reeling from unprecedented criticism over its handling of sexual-abuse cases in Ireland, took a pre-emptive strike Wednesday and published some internal files about a priest accused of molesting youngsters in Ireland and the U.S.
The files published on the website of Vatican Radio represent a small, selective part of the documentation the Holy See must turn over to U.S. lawyers representing a man who says he was abused by the late Rev. Andrew Ronan. The man, known in court papers as John V. Doe, is seeking to hold the Vatican liable for the abuse.
A federal judge in Portland, Ore., ordered the Vatican to respond to certain requests for information from Doe’s lawyers by Friday.
Police: Plot aimed for mass casualties
TAMPA, Fla.
Tampa police have arrested an expelled student after thwarting what they deemed a potentially “catastrophic” plot to set off a bomb at his former high school and cause mass casualties on the first day of classes next week, authorities said Wednesday.
Police Chief Jane Castor said Jared Cano, 17, had threatened to plant a bomb at Freedom High School in north Tampa and detonate the device when students return Tuesday.
The suspect was arrested Tuesday night after someone alerted police to the alleged plot.
Associated Press