CHRISTIAN NEWS FROM RAY – TOP FIVE STORIES AT 11:59 p.m. March 27, 2014

CHRISTIAN NEWS FROM RAY

A free service of Jesus Christ is Lord Ministries

News selected and edited by Ray Mossholder

CHRISTIAN NEWS FROM RAY – TOP FIVE STORIES AT 11:59 pm CT

March 27, 2014

1. ONE IN EVERY 68 AMERICAN CHILDREN ARE BORN WITH AUTISM

(CNN) – One in 68 U.S. children has an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a 30% increase from 1 in 88 two years ago, according to a new report released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

 This newest estimate is based on the CDC’s evaluation of health and educational records of all 8-year-old children in 11 states: Alabama, Wisconsin, Colorado, Missouri, Georgia, Arkansas, Arizona, Maryland, North Carolina, Utah and New Jersey.

 The incidence of autism ranged from a low of 1 in 175 children in Alabama to a high of 1 in 45 in New Jersey, according to the CDC.

Children with autism continue to be overwhelmingly male. According to the new report, the CDC estimates 1 in 42 boys has autism, 4.5 times as many as girls (1 in 189.)

“We look at all of the characteristics of autism,” says Coleen Boyle, the director of the CDC’s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities. “So we look at the age in which they’re identified. We look at their earliest diagnosis. We look at co-occuring conditions that these children might have, other developmental disabilities, whether or not they have intellectual disability, so essentially their IQ.”

The largest increase was seen in children who have average or above-average intellectual ability, according to the CDC. The study found nearly half of children with an autism spectrum disorder have average or above-average intellectual ability — an IQ above 85 — compared with one-third of children a decade ago.

The report is not designed to say why more children are being diagnosed with autism, Boyle says. But she believes increased awareness in identifying and more than 5,300 children are represented in the data contained in the new report.

“We comb through records. We accumulate all that information and then each one of those records is reviewed by a specialist to make sure that that child meets our autism case definition,” says Boyle. The definition of autism is unchanged from the 2012 report.

One thing that hasn’t changed over the years is that children are still being diagnosed late. According to the report, the average age of diagnosis is still over age 4, even though autism can be diagnosed by age 2. The earlier a child is diagnosed with autism, the better their chances of overcoming the difficulties that come with the disorder. “It’s not a cure, but it changes the trajectory,” says Dr. Gary Goldstein, president and CEO of the Kennedy Krieger Institute and professor of neurology at Johns Hopkins University.

The study warns of higher risk of autism for kids born two men over the age of 45. The doctors still don’t know why.

 “We need to continue our efforts to educate the health care community and general public to recognize the developmental problems associated with ASD and other developmental disorders at earliest age possible, so that intervention can be initiated, bad habits can be avoided and families will know why their child is acting like they are,” says Dr. Max Wiznitzer, a pediatric neurologist at Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital in Cleveland who diagnoses and treats children with autism.

 Since 2000, the CDC has based its autism estimates on surveillance reports from its Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network. Every two years, researchers count how many 8-year-olds have autism in about a dozen communities across the nation. (The number of sites had ranged from six to 14 over the years, depending on the available funding in a given year.)

 

 In 2000 and 2002, the autism estimate was about 1 in 150 children. Two years later 1 in 125 8-year-olds were believed to have autism. In 2006, the number grew to 1 in 110, and then the number went up to 1 in 88 based on 2008 data.

Boyle acknowledges these statistics are not necessarily representative of the entire United States because the information is drawn from 11 states, not a national cross-section. But she adds that the 11 areas represent 9% of all 8-year old children in the United States in 2010, which Boyle says gives the CDC a “good picture of what’s going on in those communities with regards to autism.”

 However, experts such as Wiznitzer and Goldstein are concerned that the new CDC report is not describing the same autism that was present and diagnosed 20 years ago, when the numbers first shot up. “Twenty years ago we thought of autism as an intellectual disability. We never looked at children who had normal intelligence” — doctors never considered that high-functioning children had autism too, says Goldstein. Wiznitzer believes written reports can’t definitively determine whether a child has autism. You need to see the child to complete a diagnosis, which the CDC experts did not have the opportunity to do.

 “This report tells us that there’s a significant number of children in the states where they were assessed that have social differences and a pattern of behaviors that can be represented by ASD, but may also be due to other conditions that superficially can have similar features, such as social anxiety, ADHD with social immaturity and intelligence problems,” he says.

And while the CDC reports it is still seeing a higher prevalence of autism in white children relative to African-American and Hispanic children, “there’s a greater percentage of people of color and in females being diagnosed now,” says Scott Badesch, president and CEO of the Autism Society of America. “We’re also seeing a great increase of diagnosis above the age of 8 in girls.”

 The new statistics raise significant concerns about access to care, because autism is a lifelong disorder and the need for services only begins at diagnosis, says Robert Ring, chief science officer for the advocacy group Autism Speaks. “Behind these numbers are real people,” he says. “Every one of these numbers is a family that’s coming to terms with the implications of the diagnosis for the lifespan of their loved one. We need a plan to respond to these numbers, a national strategy for autism, and leadership has to come from Washington because every congressional district is affected.”

There are still disparities in awareness and access to care among minorities and poorer families, which can have a direct impact on a child’s outcome, he says.

In the end, it’s not so much about the final number. As Goldstein puts it, 1 in 68 or 1 in 70 doesn’t really matter. What matters, he says, is that we now know this is not a rare disorder, and it’s important that each individual gets the help they need to have the best quality of life.

All agree that a comprehensive national strategy that includes the research community, policy makers, educators and caregivers is necessary to find solutions for people who live with autism. One of the biggest problems, in Goldstein’s eyes: “We don’t have enough trained professionals to do this.” He adds, “it’s hard to get paid to do this.”

 In many cases, insurance does not pay, even in states that have passed laws requiring health insurance to cover autism, he says. When poorer parents are told their child has autism, Badesch says, they realize that to get services they must get on a waiting list or get Medicaid. In many states, he says, Medicaid doesn’t cover autism therapy for young children during the most critical developmental period, which is essential to a better outcome.

 Autism is definitely a “have and have-not” disorder, he says, and the new numbers show even more people will need services that are lacking.

2. NINE U.S. AIR FORCE COMMANDERS ARE FIRED IN DISGRACE

(CNN)– Nine Air Force commanders lost their jobs today in the wake of a cheating scandal involving systemic cheating on tests by officers in the U.S. nuclear missile program. The fired officers were in “leadership positions” at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana, Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James said. Though not directly involved in cheating, “they failed to provide adequate oversight of their crew force,” according to James.

In addition, Col. Robert Stanley — head of the 341st Missile Wing and a 25-year veteran — “relinquished command” and submitted his resignation Thursday morning, said Lt. General Stephen Wilson, the commander of the Air Force’s Global Strike Command.

“Leadership’s focus on perfection led commanders to micromanage their people,” said Wilson, pointing to pressure to get 100% scores on monthly proficiency exams when only 90% was necessary to pass. “… Leaders lost sight of the fact that execution in the field is more important than what happens in the classroom.”

Col. Robert Stanley

 James said Thursday that 100 lower-level officers were at one point implicated in the ordeal — having either been accused directly of cheating or having looked the other way. Nine of those have been cleared and will be allowed to return to duty, while others could face punishments ranging from letters of counseling to courts-martial on various charges.

 These disciplinary measures are only part of the response, however. James and Wilson both referred to a number of changes to address this incident as well as far-reaching issues with morale, micromanagement and more among those in the Air Force’s intercontinental ballistic missile program. “The issues that we have before us today are tough, and they didn’t come overnight,” said James. “… While we have progress in certain areas in recent years, there is more work to be done.”

 Military investigators stumbled into the cheating scandal while looking into alleged drug activity involving airmen. Three of their targets in the drug probe happened to work as missile crew members at Malmstrom, which is how investigators got access to their cell phones — and “found test material on them,” according to Wilson. Authorities have previously said the cheating took place last August and September at the Montana base, with officers using texts and pictures to cheat on their proficiency exams. But Wilson said Thursday that such behavior actually went well beyond that, having occurred as far back as November 2011 and as recently as November 2013.

The whole Malmstrom scheme centered on four individuals, three of whom were being investigated in the drug probe, according to Wilson. “If we would have removed those, then this incident probably would never have happened,” he added.

 About 190 officers oversee the readiness of nuclear weapons systems at the Montana base, meaning the episode tainted a large percentage of that force in some way. James said she found worrisome not just that airmen cheated directly, but that no one — whether or not they were directly involved — spoke up.

 The Air Force officials said investigators didn’t find any indication of similar cheating on other bases tied to the missile program, though they pointed to common issues elsewhere when it comes to the program’s management. To that end, Wilson said he has a list of “400 action items” to possibly address those issues. Some are simple, like grading the monthly proficiency on a simple pass/fail metric. Others are more complicated, though all have a common aim of ensuring the nuclear weapons program is run smartly and effectively by satisfied, capable military personnel with high integrity.

 “Our nation demands and deserves the higher standards of accountability from the force entrusted with the most powerful weapon on the planet,” Wilson said. “We are committed to living up to those standards.”

CNN’s Shirley Henry and Barbara Starr contributed to this report.

3. UKRAINIAN HERO MURDERED AND BURIED

RIVNE, Ukraine (CNN) — Camouflage-clad militiamen hoist AK-47 assault rifles to their shoulders and blast off a 21-shot salute. As the muzzles flash, another squad of ultra-nationalist fighters chants, “Our hero is not dead. Glory to him.”

A few yards away, a Ukrainian Orthodox priest swings an incense burner. A mother and father weep over the coffin of their dead son.

The killing of radical nationalist leader will, also known by his nickname “Sasha the White” was enough to make shaven-headed, hardened paramilitary men cry.

“He was like a brother to me and my comrades. But that bastard Putin murdered him,” said Anatoly Valsyuk, as he choked back tears. Valsyuk served under Muzychko, who was commander in western Ukraine for the “Right Sector,” a recently formed alliance of right-wing and nationalist political parties and militia forces. Ukraine’s Interior Ministry said its special agents killed Muzychko Monday night here in the western city of Rivne as he resisted arrest. The Interior Ministry says he was a gangster.

 But Right Sector leaders are calling for the Interior Minister Arsen Avakov to resign and face murder charges over Muzychko’s death. They say the Avakov is one of Ukraine’s corrupt old-guard politicians and that he and his men may even have been taking orders from Moscow.

 Whatever the true details of his Muzychko’s death, it is a sign that political partners in the new Ukraine may have old scores to settle — divisions that Moscow may be poised to exploit.

 Muzychko and the Right Sector are credited with playing a lead role in this winter’s protests that toppled Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovitch. The nationalist paramilitary militias won admiration from many ordinary Ukrainians for their stiff discipline and determined street-fighting tactics.

 Mourner Svetlana Bilyus, an English-speaking interpreter, had made the three-and-a-half hour drive from the capital to Rivne to be at the funeral Wednesday.

She said she met Muzychko only once, at the barricades around Kiev’s emblematic Independence Square or “Maidan,” the scene of the deadliest clashes between anti-government protestors and Yanukovitch’s security forces in January and February. “He was a national hero. He’s an inspiration for millions of Ukrainian people, especially young people. He’s a local Robin Hood,” Bilyus said

 

Paramilitary units under the umbrella of the Right Sector have sparked the alarm of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin says he fears that these nationalist groups, which he refers to as “fascists,” will hunt down and attack ethnic-Russians living in Ukraine. In the wake of the overthrow of the Yanukovitch regime, no such widespread incidents have been reported. But Putin used this as a pretext to forcibly annex the Ukrainian region of Crimea.

 

 Now, according to the Pentagon, there are an estimated 30,000 Russian troops, armed with heavy artillery and tanks, massing along Ukraine’s eastern border. The Ukrainian government puts the figure even higher. U.S. and NATO officials say the Russians could roll into Ukraine any time, without warning in a bid to annex Russian-speaking areas of eastern Ukraine including Trans-Nistria, a “non– country” in the former Soviet republic of Moldova.

 Ukrainian troops in Crimea opted not to defend their bases in the face of advancing Russian forces. Instead they surrendered naval, air and army facilities one by one or waited until they were overrun. Ukraine’s Defense Ministry estimates up to 75% of the approximately 15,000 troops based there may have defected to the Russians. But in an interview with CNN, the top national leader of Right Sector, Dmitry Yarosh, said fighters under his command would not stand by if Putin ordered the Russian army into other parts of Ukraine.

 “The Right Sector will do its best to launch a partisan, guerrilla war. The land will literally burn under the feet of the invaders. We will not be lambs to the slaughter. We will defend our independence by any means necessary,” he said.

 Despite fears Ukrainian government security forces could target other Right Sector leaders, Yarosh made the trip to Rivne to march alongside Muzychko’s coffin. He was flanked by black-clad bodyguards, one brandishing a Russian-made machine-pistol, the other a high-powered sniper rifle. Yarosh, too, blamed Russian sympathizers within the Interior Ministry for killing Muzychko.

The popularity of Right Sector and Ukraine’s radical nationalist groups was bolstered so significantly in the anti-government protests that Yarosh thinks he has a real chance at winning the presidency in elections in May. But he stresses personal power is not his main ambition. “The presidential post is not the goal in itself. We understand we may win or we may lose. This post offers the possibility to bring quality and systematic changes to the country as well as the possibility to ‘reload’ the power structure so there is the change of elites and not just a change of faces,” Yarosh said.

 But the rise of Right Sector is not only worrying Moscow but also some Western government officials. Some believe Right Sector is a safe haven for right-wing extremists and even Ukrainian neo-Nazis. Such charges stem back partly to the legacy of Ukraine’s nationalist, partisan forces before and during World War II. While it is true that Ukrainian nationalists sought the help of Nazi Germany to drive the Soviets out of Ukrainian territory, some later fell afoul of the Nazis and ended up in German concentration camps.

It’s hard to argue with Yarosh as you meet the stare of his ice-green eyes.

But it’s also easy to worry about Right Sector’s true ideological leanings when you see the red-and-black flags, stylized insignia and other paraphernalia of its militiamen.

As an afternoon drizzle came down on Muzychko’s funeral, tears snaked along the wrinkles of his father Ivan’s face. His mother Olena lowered a loaf of wholemeal bread into the grave — a local tradition to ensure her son would not go hungry in the afterlife. And dozens of men who once marched to Muzychko’s command now filed past his grave, tossing handfuls of damp earth onto his coffin. In unison they vowed — no surrender to the Russia.

4. LONGEST-SERVING DEATH ROW INMATE IS MOST LIKELY NOT GUILTY

(CNN)– Iwao Hakamada holds the most dubious of records: Convicted of a 1966 quadruple murder, he is the world’s longest-serving death row inmate, according to Amnesty International. That record was capped Thursday when, after almost 48 years, a local court reopened Hakamada’s case, Amnesty and Japanese media reported. The Shizuoka District Court suspended his death sentence and released Hakamada after DNA testing indicated key evidence against him may have been fabricated, reported NHK, the Japanese public broadcasting organization. The court said keeping him detained any longer would be unjust, NHK reported

Prosecutors have four days to appeal the court’s ruling, but Amnesty International’s East Asia research director said it would be “most callous and unfair” to challenge the court’s decision.

“Time is running out for Hakamada to receive the fair trial he was denied more than four decades ago,” Roseann Rife said. “If ever there was a case that merits a retrial, this is it. Hakamada was convicted on the basis of a forced confession, and there remain unanswered questions over recent DNA evidence.”

Hunched forward and wearing a yellow, short-sleeved button-down, Hakamada entered a silver van. He was accompanied by his sister, Hideko Hakamada, who earlier attended a rally outside the court in which several dozen supporters broke into emphatic applause when a man unfurled a sign saying, “Retrial granted.” An emotional Hideko told the crowd, “Thank you very much. I am very pleased. I am very thankful with everyone’s support.”

 Iwao Hakamada was convicted in 1966 of killing his boss at a soybean processing company, along with the boss’s wife and two children, Amnesty said. “Hakamada ‘confessed’ after 20 days of interrogation by police. He retracted the confession during the trial and told the court that police had beaten and threatened him,”

 Amnesty said. “According to his lawyers, recent forensic tests show no match between Hakamada’s DNA and samples taken from clothing the prosecution alleges was worn by the murderer.”

 District Court Judge Hiroaki Murayama, who handled the retrial proceeding, said DNA test results indicated blood found on five items of clothing allegedly worn by the culprit was not Hakamada’s, according to Kyodo News.

 Like most death row inmates in Japan, Hakamada was largely held in solitary confinement during his 48 years in prison. His mental health has deteriorated as a result of the decades he spent isolated, Amnesty said.

 Hakamada’s case marks the sixth time a death row inmate in Japan has earned a retrial, and courts overturned death sentences in four of the five previous cases, NHK reported. Hakamada’s case comes just weeks after Louisiana’s longest-serving inmate, Glenn Ford, left the State Penitentiary at Angola after almost 30 years in prison.

CNN’s Aliza Kassim contributed to this report.

5. WIFE FOUND GUILTY OF MURDERING HER NEWLYWED HUSBAND

(CNN) — Less than nine months after she shoved her husband off a steep cliff just days into their marriage, a federal judge sentenced Jordan Linn Graham to 30 years in prison today.

 

Graham, 22, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in December, admitting to luring her new husband, Cody Johnson, to Glacier National Park and pushing him off a cliff. “After providing several false statements to law enforcement officers and impeding the investigation by providing false information, Graham ultimately admitted pushing Cody from behind with both hands,” prosecutors said in a statement today.

 Graham filed a motion to withdraw her guilty plea on Wednesday, arguing that prosecutors had negotiated the plea deal in bad faith by pushing the judge toward a harsher sentence despite agreeing to drop a first-degree murder charge.

Prosecutors denied that claim and argued that Graham was trying to delay sentencing.

 U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy denied Graham’s motion to withdraw her guilty plea at Thursday’s hearing, accepting the plea deal and sentencing her to 365 months in prison. The judge’s ruling came after several members of Johnson’s family asked the judge to sentence Graham to life in prison, CNN affiliate KPAX reported.

 The sentencing comes months after Graham’s surprise guilty plea in the middle of the high-profile murder trial. “It was a reckless act,” Graham told the judge in December. “I just pushed.” When Graham declared her guilt, the victim’s mother in the gallery crumpled in her seat.

Another relative of Johnson, who was 25, threw her head back and cried, whispering “she said guilty.” His friends held hands and appeared satisfied.

When the judge first asked what happened the day her husband was killed, Graham responded, “I wasn’t thinking of where we were.” Then she spoke of a deadly argument at the park and how she had misgivings about the marriage.

“I wasn’t really happy,” she said.

Before her guilty plea, Graham’s defense lawyers had argued that the death plunge was an accident resulting from an argument. Graham initially lied to police, they said, because she was afraid she wouldn’t be allowed to explain what happened on the cliff’s edge.

CNN’s Michael Martinez, Kyung Lah and Catherine E. Shoichet contributed to this article.

******************************

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Hate blows out the candle of the mind.

Ingersoll

****************************

 

CHRISTIAN NEWS FROM RAY – TOP FIVE STORIES AT 11:59 p.m. March 27, 2014