A date that endures

December 24, 2015 - Daily News Briefing

News arrives with urgency, stirs up humanity, then fades away. The most important news ever arrived with little notice but continues to change the world.

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Russia's bombing of Syria has killed many civilians and may amount to a war crime, Amnesty International said on Wednesday, presenting what it said was evidence that Moscow's actions had violated humanitarian law. "Russian air strikes in Syria have killed hundreds of civilians and caused massive destruction in residential areas, striking homes, a mosque and a busy market, as well as medical facilities, in...attacks that show evidence of violations of international humanitarian law," Amnesty said in a report. Russia's Defense Ministry strongly rejected the allegations, saying the London-based rights group's report was full of "cliches and lies."

After a British Muslim family was barred from flying to the United States for a planned vacation to Disneyland, Prime Minister David Cameron’s office said it would investigate the last-minute cancellation. Stella Creasy, a member of the opposition Labour party, wrote to Mr. Cameron seeking his intervention after the family, who are from her district in northeast London, was told their authorization to travel to the US had been revoked as they waited in the departure lounge at Gatwick Airport. Ms. Creasy raised concerns that US officials may be discriminating against British Muslims in the wake of attacks linked to extremist groups. The issue has gained additional sensitivity because of controversial calls by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump to ban Muslims from entering the US. Creasy told The Associated Press there’s been a rising fear among many Muslims that the public condemnation of Mr. Trump’s comments “contrasts with what is going on in practice."

In the latest example of what observers describe as a resurgence of activism by nationally prominent athletes, the National Basketball Association is introducing a TV campaign featuring some of its top players aimed at raising awareness about the toll of gun violence. The campaign, which will launch on Friday during games broadcast on ABC and ESPN, the league said Wednesday, marks a high-profile partnership between the NBA and Everytown for Gun Safety, an anti-violence group founded and backed by Michael Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York.

The Indonesian government has punished 23 companies for causing forest fires that spread thick, smoky haze around Southeast Asia, an official said Tuesday. The Forestry Ministry's investigations director, Brotestes Panjaitan, said that 33 more companies are under scrutiny and waiting for decisions on possible punishment. Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya announced Monday that a total of 56 companies were involved in the land-clearing activities that led to the fires.

A Denver man who spent 28 years in prison after being convicted of a rape he says he didn’t commit was released on bond Tuesday after a judge threw out the guilty verdict in the case. Clarence Moses-El was convicted in 1988 of rape and assault charges after the victim identified Mr. Moses-El, who was her neighbor, as her assailant, telling police his face came to her in a dream.

Newly-elected Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin (R) did what his predecessor could not or would not do. He used an executive order – one of five he issued Tuesday – to remove the name of the county clerk from marriage licenses, thereby protecting Apostolic Christian Kim Davis from appearing to sanction same-sex marriage while continuing work in her elected post. The former governor, Steve Beshear (D), had told Ms. Davis to do her job or resign, deferring to the state legislature when the county clerk requested relief and eventually went to jail over the issue. The 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals had denied her request for a stay on a judge's order to issue the marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

A 12-year-old student at Irving Middle School in Pocatello, Idaho, told a cafeteria worker she was hungry but had no money to pay for lunch. The worker, Dalene Bowden, quickly handed the student a tray full of food. Bowden's supervisor witnessed the free lunch change hands, and the school district has now fired her. Bowden has used social media to share the letter telling her she was fired for "theft of school district property and inaccurate transactions when ordering, receiving and serving food." A fellow resident of Pocatello started an online petition for Bowden's rehiring, and Bowden's GoFundMe page to hire a lawyer has received more than $4,000 at the time of this posting. Many who hear about it have expressed outrage at her firing and say the school should not have penalized her for helping the student.

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