U.S. to Receive Nurse Exposed to Ebola in Sierra Leone

WASHINGTON – A U.S. nurse exposed to Ebola while working as a volunteer treating people sick with the virus in Sierra Leone will be admitted to the National Institute of Health Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, the institution announced Thursday.

The nurse, whose identity has not been made public, will be placed under observation in a special clinical studies unit, where healthcare professionals will follow the established protocols for dealing with Ebola patients.

“The special clinical studies unit is specifically designed to provide high-level isolation capabilities and is staffed by infectious diseases and critical care specialists,” the NIH said in a statement.

“The unit staff is trained in strict infection control practices optimized to prevent spread of potentially transmissible agents such as Ebola. In addition, access to the unit will be strictly controlled,” the institution added.

Being exposed to the Ebola virus does not necessarily mean that someone has contracted it, given that it is transmitted only by direct contact with blood or body fluids from infected people or animals.

The World Health Organization, at latest count, estimates that 17,908 people have become infected with Ebola to date, of whom 6,373 have died.

More than a dozen people with Ebola have been treated in the United States so far and two of them have died.

The fatalities include surgeon Martin Salia, who contracted the disease in his native Sierra Leone, and Liberian Thomas Eric Duncan, who came to Dallas, Texas, in September when he was already unknowingly infected and died the following month in a local hospital.

Mexico - private prison run by " vigilante citizens " must see video

Iran nuclear talks to resume next week

The world powers and the Iranian regime will resume nuclear talks in Geneva next Wednesday, the state-run news agency IRNA reported on Friday.

Before the talks, bilateral meetings at deputy minister level between Iran and the P5+1 group, including Britain, France, the United States, Russia, China plus Germany, will also be held in Geneva, said Abbas Araqchi.

The latest round of the nuclear talks ended in Vienna on Nov. 24 without a permanent agreement. However, both sides agreed to extend the talks until July 1, 2015.

The Iranian regime has been a target of UN sanctions due to its attempts to build nuclear weapons.
The latest round of the nuclear talks ended in Vienna on Nov. 24 without a permanent agreement. However, both sides agreed to extend the talks until July 1, 2015.

The Iranian regime agreed to negotiate due to mounting international pressure. However, has stalled on signing a permanent agreement due to West’s concessions

Grandpa Shoots Home Invaders Who Tried to Rape Granddaughter

Posted: Tuesday, October 21, 2014 2:02 pm | Updated: 2:30 pm, Tue Oct 21, 2014.

By Nancy McCleary Staff writer

LUMBERTON - A Lumberton man traded gunfire with three men who forced their way into his home, robbed the family, tried to rape his granddaughter and stole his car Monday, Robeson County authorities said.

One of the men, identified as Jamie Faison, 20, was shot and found dead in the stolen Cadillac parked at his home on the 600 block of Singletary Church Road, Sheriff Kenneth Sealey said in a news release.

The two other men turned up at area hospitals with gunshot wounds.

The homeowner, Kenneth Byrd, 67, was shot multiple times, the release said.

Authorities received a call about 10 p.m. that someone had been shot at a home on the 100 block of Yedda Road, east of Lumberton.

Deputies responded and found Byrd, his wife, Judy, 65, and his 19-year-old granddaughter at the home.

The family told them that a man came to the door and said he was having problems with his vehicle and needed water.

Two men wearing black clothing, ski masks and gloves forced their way into the home and demanded money, Sealey said.

All three of the men had guns.

The Byrds were pushed to the back of their home and instructed to open a safe.

When the men tried to rape the couple's granddaughter, Byrd grabbed a gun and exchanged shots with the assailants, Sealey said.

The men fled in Byrd's car.

Byrd was taken to Southeastern Regional Medical Center and later airlifted to an unidentified hospital.

Later, the Sheriff's Office was notified that two people who had been shot came to McLeod Medical Center in Dillon, South Carolina.

Both were airlifted to an unidentified hospital for emergency surgery, Sealey said.

The Sheriff's Office identified them as Brandon Carver Stephens, 28, whose last known address was N.C. 130 East in Fairmont, and Jamar Hawkins, 17, of Old Whiteville Road in Lumberton.

They will be charged upon their release from the hospital, a Sheriff's Office spokesman said.

Faison, Stephens and Hawkins are believed to have been involved in other home invasion robberies, Sealey said.

Anyone with information should call the Sheriff's Office at 910-671-3100 and ask for the Homicide Division.

Staff writer Nancy McCleary can be reached at mcclearyn@fayobserver.com or 486-3568.

Maryam Rajavi participates in the European Parliament Conference on International Human Rights Day

Brazilian Police Accused of Racketeering

RIO DE JANEIRO – Brazilian police on Wednesday busted a violent gang comprising at least five police officers that controlled three Rio de Janeiro shantytowns.

Authorities said 15 suspected gang members were arrested in the first few hours of the operation, among them Rio de Janeiro state police Pvt. Carlos Roberto Bernardo.

The gang, according to authorities, employed torture, homicide, assaults and threats to hold sway over the Campinho, Fuba and Caixa D’Agua “favelas,” all located on Rio’s north side.

Police Inspector Alexandre Capote described the gang as “extremely violent” and said members would post photos of their dead victims on the Internet.

The gang extorted “security fees” from favela residents and merchants and maintaining monopolies over utilities, cable television and Internet and public transportation.

About 450 police officers were deployed for the operation that closed two gambling parlors and seized a sizable arsenal of firearms and ammunition.

At least three suspected gang members resisted and attempted to shoot at arresting officers.

In recent years Rio de Janeiro has seen the emergence of self-proclaimed “militias,” usually made up of current and former cops.

Militias have expelled drug trafficking gangs from tens of favelas only to impose their own criminal rule over the neighborhoods.

Mexican Judge Kicked Off the Bench for Sexual Harassment

MEXICO CITY – A federal judge has been removed from the bench after he was found to have engaged in sexual and workplace harassment, the Mexican Federal Judiciary Council said.

Rafael Zamudio Arias is also being investigated in connection with financial transactions totaling more than 4.49 million pesos ($326,453), a sum that cannot be accounted for based on his salary as a judge, the CJF said.

Zamudio Arias was the senior federal judge in the Second Circuit in Toluca, a city located about 60 kilometers (37 miles) from Mexico City.

The judge was found to have engaged in the “serious conduct” of sexual and workplace harassment “against several and different public servants,” the CJF said.

Zamudio Arias’s banking transactions are under investigation because the funds could be related to illicit enrichment and illegal transactions, the Federal Judiciary Council said.