World/Nation briefs May 4, 2014
First case of MERS virus in US confirmed
NEW YORK - Health officials confirmed the first case of an American infected with a mysterious virus that has sickened hundreds in the Middle East.
The man fell ill after flying to the U.S. late last week from Saudi Arabia where he was a health care worker.
He is hospitalized in good condition in northwest Indiana with Middle East respiratory syndrome, or MERS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Indiana health officials said Friday.
The virus is not highly contagious and this case "represents a very low risk to the broader, general public," Dr. Anne Schuchat told reporters during a CDC briefing.
The federal agency plans to track down passengers he may have been in close contact with during his travels; it was not clear how many may have been exposed to the virus.
So far, it is not known how he was infected, Schuchat said.
Kerry: US ready to help if nations take steps
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia - America's top diplomat said Saturday the U.S. is ready to help increase its ties with Africa, but nations across the continent need to take stronger steps to ensure security and democracy for its people.
In an Africa policy address to members of the Addis Ababa diplomatic corps and the Young Africa leader network, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry highlighted crises in Nigeria, South Sudan, Somalia and the Central African Republic and urged Africans to demand stability and financial development.
He called for an expansion of American investment in Africa and noted that U.S. companies IBM, Microsoft and Google already have spent more than $100 million on projects across the continent.
The Obama administration has sought to expand U.S. private investments in Africa, and last year financed about $1 billion to support American businesses across the continent, including an estimated $650 million in sub-Saharan Africa.
Man fatally shot troopers from behind
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - As two state troopers struggled to arrest his father, a 19-year-old man armed himself with an assault rifle and shot them seven times, killing them outside his home in a remote Alaska village, authorities said in charges filed Saturday.
Nathaniel Lee Kangas appeared in a Fairbanks court two days after Trooper Gabriel "Gabe" Rich and 45-year-old Sgt. Patrick "Scott" Johnson were shot to death. He was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and a count of third-degree assault.
The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported every seat was full and the walls were lined with law enforcement officers of several agencies as Kangas faced his charges.
The slayings of Rich and Johnson on Thursday in the isolated community of Tanana underscored the challenges law enforcement faces in this huge state. Like many troopers assigned to patrol multiple villages, Rich and Johnson were not based in the interior community of 238 people. They worked out of the troopers' four-person rural service unit in Fairbanks 130 miles to the east, and they had to reach Tanana by plane.
- The Associated Press