The world grows smaller

October 02, 2014 - Daily News Briefing

Interconnectivity brings problems and opportunities. Mostly opportunities.

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The Obama administration is initiating a program to give refugee status to some young people from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador in response to the influx of unaccompanied minors arriving at the US-Mexico border. Under the program, immigrants from those countries who are lawfully in the United States will be able to request that child relatives still in those three countries be resettled in the United States as refugees. The program would establish in-country processing to screen the young people to determine if they qualify to join relatives in the US. The program would not provide a path for minors to join relatives illegally in the United States, and would not apply to minors who have entered the country illegally. Instead, it aims to set up an orderly alternative for dealing with young people who otherwise might embark on a dangerous journey to join their families in the United States.

Rebels in eastern Ukraine appeared to be successfully closing in on the government-held airport in Donetsk Wednesday, a strategic victory for the pro-Russian separatists. At least 10 people were killed as residential areas near the airport were caught in the crossfire, further undermining a shaky truce that was imposed last month and has been riddled by violations since.

A Florida police officer has been placed on administrative leave pending an internal affairs investigation after he fired a stun gun into a 62-year-old black woman's back during an arrest in a Tallahassee neighborhood, police said. Tallahassee Police Chief Michael DeLeo called a news conference early Wednesday to announce the investigation after authorities obtained a video capturing the Tuesday afternoon incident that was shot by a citizen on a nearby porch.

The death toll from Saturday's eruption on Mount Ontake in central Japan rose to 47 after Wednesday's search, Nagano police said in a statement. Police who recovered the bodies Wednesday portrayed a painful scene of death around the summit where hikers enjoying an autumn weekend hike were caught by the mountain's surprise eruption. The death toll is the worst in postwar history, exceeding the 43 killed in the 1991 eruption of Mount Unzen in southern Japan.

A bomb threat led to the evacuation of the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut. Monroe Police Lt. Brian McCauley says the threat was called in to the school at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday and the evacuation was ordered as a precaution. He says the school building and grounds were checked and no evidence of danger was found. Nancy Bartosik of the Monroe superintendent's office says the school was dismissed early and students moved to a nearby school to be picked up by their parents.

Slovakia says it has seen a 50 percent drop in Russian gas supplies in the past day. Prime Minister Robert Fico says the national gas company, SPP, wouldn't restrict gas supplies domestically. He told reporters Wednesday the government would hold a crisis meeting if the trend continues, adding the Russians blame technical problems. Russia's state-owned gas company Gazprom has not yet commented on the reported drop. Slovakia, Poland and other East European countries have reported similar drops in Russian gas flows in recent weeks. So far, they have proved temporary.

US businesses continued hiring at a solid pace in September, according to a private survey. The result marks the the sixth straight month of gains. Payroll processer ADP says private employers added 213,000 jobs last month, up slightly from 202,000 in August. Job gains above 200,000 are usually enough to lower the unemployment rate. The figures suggest the government's jobs report on Friday could show a rebound in hiring.

The 10,000 doves released in a ceremony Wednesday for China's National Day underwent unusual scrutiny, each having a full-body check - including all orifices – for dangerous materials, state-run media reports said, reflecting government jitters over possible attacks. The symbols of peace were released at sunrise in Beijing's symbolic heart of Tiananmen Square in a ceremony for the Oct. 1 holiday to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

“The object of the Monitor is to injure no man, but to bless all mankind.” – Mary Baker Eddy

The Daily News Briefing is published Monday through Friday by The Christian Science Publishing Society in Boston, Massachusetts.

“The object of the Monitor is to injure no man, but to bless all mankind.” – Mary Baker Eddy

The Daily News Briefing is published Monday through Friday by The Christian Science Publishing Society in Boston, Massachusetts.

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