Franciscan Father, Francois Murad
Updated: A news release from the Vatican was wrong, in part, when it suggested that on June 23, Syrian priest Francois Murad was beheaded. New reports suggest he was shot while attempting to defend his sister nuns. The report was correct in that Murad was martyred on June 23, by jihadists while taking refuge in the monastery of St. Simon.
The Vatican’s first release had noted, “The circumstances of the death are not fully understood.”
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If any ever had a doubt that government can and occasionally does abuse its force and power, the case of a simple trip to the grocery to buy bottled water could prove enlightening.
The Blaze writes: It should have been just a simple trip to the grocery store to buy bottled water, cookie dough and ice cream for a sorority event.
Instead, six plainclothes officers swarmed University of Virginia student Elizabeth Daly, who was ultimately arrested and spent the night and next afternoon in jail, the Charlottesville Daily Progress reported.
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The Financial Times: It has taken a long time, but the world’s fantasies about Barack Obama are finally crumbling. In Europe, once the headquarters of the global cult of Obama, the disillusionment is particularly bitter. Monday’s newspapers were full of savage quotes about the perfidy of the Obama-led US.
Der Spiegel, the German magazine that alleged that America’s National Security Agency has bugged the EU’s offices, thundered that “the NSA’s totalitarian ambition … affects us all … A constitutional state cannot allow it. None of us can allow it.” President François Hollande of France has demanded that the alleged spying stop immediately. Le Monde, Mr Hollande’s home-town newspaper, has even suggested that the EU should consider giving political asylum to Edward Snowden, the NSA whistleblower.
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Steve Lackmeyer writing for the Oklahoman reports that in just a few short years, a series of improvements along the Oklahoma River in Oklahoma City have transformed the one time flood control channel into one of Oklahoma City’s top attractions. Tulsa’s natural Arkansas River continues to be abused and ignored. This story is much more about Oklahoma City’s success.
Lackmeyer writes:
It’s more a happy accident of design rather than intentional civic promotion that has thousands of cross-country travelers wondering about the “amusement park” they see rising up along the Oklahoma River.
The sight of dozens of kids crawling all over the 80-foot-high SandRidge Sky Trail alone is proving to be a draw for some of the 111,500 motorists who travel the new highway daily. Mike Knopp, director of the Oklahoma Boathouse Foundation, can only imagine what the response might be once the master plan for the area is fully realized over the next few years.
“People see the Sky Trail, and they come here thinking it is an amusement park,” Knopp said. “And in some ways, you can say it is. We like to call it an adventure park.”
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Two lawmakers who took on the task of creating an Oklahoma-based solution for increasing access to health care said a new report commissioned by the Oklahoma Health Care Authority (OHCA) mirrors many of the recommendations they had included in Senate Bill 640. The Utah-based Leavitt Partners presented their findings on Thursday to OHCA’s governing board. Sen. Brian Crain, R-Tulsa, and Rep. Doug Cox, M.D., R-Grove, said the report shows they were on the right track with their proposals.
Oklahoma leaders have steadfastly refused to expand Medicaid arguing the plan would ultimately prove too costly for the state. However, the state’s program to enable greater access to health care insurance, Insure Oklahoma, could see its federal support eliminated by the end of this year unless OHCA receives a waiver for continued funding. The Leavitt Report recommended modifying Insure Oklahoma as a way to increase access to health care.
