CP World Report: Missy Franklin, Romney in Israel, Syria, James Holmes
24 year old James Holmes, the man accused of killing 12 people and injuring 58 in a shooting spree during a Batman screening in Colorado has been formally charged. Prosecutors filed 142 charges. including 24 for first degree murder, 116 for attempted murder, one for possession of explosive devices and one sentence enhancer because the attack was a crime of violence. For each person killed, Holmes received two charges: one for acting after deliberation and with intent, the other for acting with malice and having "an extreme indifference to the value of human life." A week has been tentatively set aside in November for a preliminary hearing. For yesterday's hearing Judge William Blair Sylvester barred cameras and all electronic equipment from the courtroom.
The mother of a victim in the shooting who was in court said she wanted to look her daughter's alleged killer in the eye …..
Meanwhile….. funeral services and memorials continue for victims of the mass shooting, including Jessica Ghawi who escaped the Toronto Eaton Center shooting a month earlier, then blogged about the importance of embracing life and loved ones, before she ended up a victim in Colorado.
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U.S. officials have been holding detailed strategy sessions with Syrian rebels and opposition groups over recent weeks. And the White House is advising the Syrian opposition ….not to try to completely dissolve al-Assad's security forces and administration after he is outsted or even killed. Such a mistake has already happened in Iraq which is now in further turmoil. The Syrian army have been attacking the country's most populous city of Aleppo where rebels have made gains.
Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney says the American embassy in Israel should move to Jerusalem. It's currently in Tel Aviv. On a visit to Jerusalem, Romney told C-N-N's Wolf Blitzer the timing of the move should be made in consultation with the Israeli government……
TAG: Israel claims Jerusalem as its capital while Palestinians claim rights to the city as the capital of a future state. A U-S law passed in 1995 designates Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and stipulates the American embassy should move to the city from Tel Aviv.
Romney also had some strong words about Iran. In a foreign policy speech he addressed Iran's nuclear ambitions, saying nothing is off the table in order to stop them.
A number of mainline traditional protestant churches in Brazil are seeing a decline, according to a new census report. But at the same time, Pentecostal churches are experiencing much of the growth explosion being reported among the evangelical community in that country. Among other traditional groups that have kept up their growth is the Baptist Church, with a 17.7 percent increase in attendance. The Adventist Church saw a 29 percent surge over the last decade.
Meanwhile……More than 1 million evangelical Christians participated in the recent annual "March for Jesus" in Brazil. Each year, hundreds of Protestant churches and non-denominational groups take part in the march.
Imagine this in modern day America: An African-American couple attending a predominantly white Baptist church in Jackson, Mississipi nearly had their dream of a church wedding dashed. Why? members of the congregation demanded that their wedding be held elsewhere because of their race. Eventually Reverend Stan Weatherford of First Baptist Church of Crystal Springs decided to perform the ceremony of Charles Wilson and his wife-to-be at a different church. No black couple has ever been married at that church. Recently the Southern Baptist Convention—America's largest Protestant denomination-- elected their first black President: 55 year old Reverend Fred Luter.
Keeping up with the Joneses is having a significant effect on facebook. One in five Facebook and Twitter users admit they constantly compare themselves to other users.Opinion Matters surveyed more than 1,300 people . Almost 30% of them admitted to feeling envious of friends, family , colleagues and neighbours who appear to have more than them. 'keeping up with the Joneses' is affecting ever younger generations. More than half of the 16 to 24-year-olds surveyed admitted they spent much of their time trying to measure up to their Facebook friends.
IN HEALTH NEWS…..
Anyone can be stricken with arthritis, and for kids it's especially tough. Advocacy groups say the hundreds of thousands of children that suffer arthritis, is on the rise. How do they cope?
IN SPORTS NEWS
On the Olympic front…..17-year-old Missy Franklin from Colorado did her country proud . She grabbed the spotlight and won her first individual medal and her first gold of the London Games yesterday, in the 100 meters backstroke.
AND….Canada celebrated after defeating Britain 73-65 in women's basketball.
In Eventing, a challenging, 5.7-kilometre course caused half a dozen Olympic equestrians to fly off their horses yesterday including two Canadians. Canada's Hawley Bennett-Awad from Murray-ville BC was taken to Hospital for further tests. Peter Barry of Dunham, Que., also fell but wasn't hurt.
And..Britain's 100 year wait is over. . Britain's men gymnasts have won a bronze team medal at the Olympics for the first time since 1912, when rope-climbing was part of the event.
