Aftershocks expected on Alaskan island
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Dozens of noticeable aftershocks above magnitude 4.0 are expected in the remote Aleutian Island region off Alaska in the days and weeks following a major 7.0 earthquake, the Alaska state seismologist said Saturday.
A dozen measurable aftershocks have already hit the region since Friday’s quake, including one reaching 6.1 in strength, said seismologist Michael West. There have been more than 30 aftershocks measuring at least magnitude 2.5.
None of the aftershocks are expected to cause a notable tsunami, since the initial quake did not cause one. The site of Friday’s quake is quite active. Significant quakes were felt just to the east and the west of Friday’s earthquake in 1986, 1996 and 2003.
Teen sentenced in New Delhi gang-rape case
NEW DELHI — An Indian juvenile court Saturday handed down the first conviction in the fatal gang rape of a 23-year-old woman on a moving New Delhi bus, convicting a teenager of rape and murder and sentencing him to three years in a reform home, lawyers said.
Indian law forbids the publication of the teen’s name because he was sentenced in a juvenile court.
The attack sparked protests across the country and led to reforms of India’s antiquated sexual violence laws.
Nelson Mandela remains in hospital
JOHANNESBURG — Nelson Mandela remains hospitalized in critical but stable condition, the office of South Africa’s president said Saturday.
The statement from the office of President Jacob Zuma denied reported that Mandela had been released from the hospital.
The update on the 95-year-old anti-apartheid hero’s condition is unchanged from last week, when Zuma said Mandela showed “great resilience.”
Mandela was admitted to a Pretoria hospital on June 8 with what officials said was a recurring lung infection.
Grave excavation begins at Fla. school
MARIANNA, Fla. — University of South Florida researchers began exhuming dozens of graves Saturday at a former Panhandle reform school where horrific beatings that allegedly occurred in the 1940s through 1960s have been reported in hopes of identifying the boys and learning how they died.
The digging and work at the site of the former Dozier Boys School will continue until Tuesday, with researchers hoping to unearth the remains of four to six boys before resuming at a later date, said Erin Kimmerle, the USF anthropologist leading the excavation.
Measles cases put Texas megachurch under scrutiny
NEWARK, Texas — The teachings of televangelist Kenneth Copeland and his family focusing on the virtues of trusting God to keep healthy are under scrutiny after a cluster of measles cases linked to his family’s North Texas megachurch revealed many congregants hadn’t been vaccinated against the highly contagious disease.
Kenneth Copeland Ministries has won supporters worldwide through television programs, crusades, conferences and prayer request networks.
Although church officials were quick to act after the outbreak — including hosting clinics in August where 220 people received immunization shots — and have denied they are against medical care or vaccinations, people familiar with the ministry said there is a pervasive culture that believers should rely on God, not modern medicine, to keep them well.
Health officials say 21 people were sickened with the measles after a person who contracted the virus overseas visited the 1,500-member Eagle Mountain International Church located on the vast grounds of Kenneth Copeland Ministries.
By wire sources
