World/Nation February 19, 2015
Obama says U.S. at war with those who pervert Islam
WASHINGTON - Muslims in the U.S. and around the world have a responsibility to fight a misconception that terrorist groups like the Islamic State speak for them, President Barack Obama said Wednesday in his most direct remarks yet about any link between Islam and terrorism.
For weeks, the White House has sidestepped the question of whether deadly terror attacks in Paris and other Western cities amount to "Islamic extremism," wary of offending a major world religion or lending credibility to the "war on terror" that Obama's predecessor waged. But as he hosted a White House summit on countering violent extremism, the president said some in Muslim communities have bought into the notion that Islam is incompatible with tolerance and modern life.
"We are not at war with Islam," Obama said. "We are at war with people who have perverted Islam."
While putting the blame on IS and similar groups - Obama said the militants masquerade as religious leaders but are really terrorists - the president also appealed directly to prominent Muslims to do more to distance themselves from brutal ideologies. He said all have a duty to "speak up very clearly" in opposition to violence against innocent people.
"Just as leaders like myself reject the notion that terrorists like ISIL genuinely represent Islam, Muslim leaders need to do more to discredit the notion that our nations are determined to suppress Islam," Obama said.
Jeb Bush: U.S. must 'tighten the noose' vs ISIS
CHICAGO - Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said Wednesday there can be no diplomacy with Islamic State militants, but only a U.S.-led coalition of Middle Eastern countries committed to "tightening the noose and taking them out."
In a wide-ranging speech outlining his vision of America's place in the world, part of the Republican's run-up toward a likely campaign for president in 2016, Bush laid the rise of the Islamic State group at the feet of President Barack Obama. He also made his most overt criticisms to date of his brother's administration, telling the audience of several hundred people, "I am my own man."
"My views are shaped by my own thinking and own experiences," Bush said at an event hosted by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. "Each president learns from those who came before - their principles, their adjustments."
"There were mistakes made in Iraq, for sure," during President George W. Bush's administration, Bush said during a question-and-answer session that followed his 20-minute speech. He said intelligence about Saddam Hussein's possession of weapons of mass destruction was not accurate and the U.S. initially failed to create an environment of security in the country after removing the Iraqi leader from power.
But Bush praised his older brother's decision to "surge" troops into Iraq in 2007, which added roughly 20,000 troops to the American forces in the country in an effort to improve security. He called it "one of the most heroic acts of courage politically" of any president, given the weak support for that strategy in Congress.
Dozens possibly exposed to 'superbug'
LOS ANGELES - A potentially deadly "superbug" resistant to antibiotics infected seven patients, including two who died, and more than 100 others were exposed at a Southern California hospital through contaminated medical instruments, UCLA reported Wednesday.
Patients at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center were exposed to CRE during endoscopic procedures between October and January, the University of California, Los Angeles said in a statement.
It may have been a "contributing factor" in the deaths of two patients, the university said.
Similar outbreaks of Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) have been reported around the nation. They are difficult to treat because some varieties are resistant to most known antibiotics. By one estimate, CRE can contribute to death in up to half of seriously infected patients, according to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Dentist charged in death of patient
HARTFORD, Conn. - A dentist has been charged in the death of a patient who became unresponsive while having 20 teeth pulled and several implants installed.
Rashmi Patel turned himself in Tuesday at the Enfield Police Department and was charged with a misdemeanor count of criminally negligent homicide and a felony count of tampering with evidence, police said. Patel has offices in Enfield and Torrington.
The charges came a year after Patel's patient Judith Gan died at a hospital on Feb. 17, 2014. State dental regulators concluded that Patel failed to adequately respond when Gan's oxygen levels dropped dangerously low as she was consciously sedated in the middle of the tooth extraction and implant procedures in his Enfield office that day.
Patel, who posted $25,000 bail, has denied any wrongdoing in his treatment of Gan.
"Dr. Patel disputes the charges and urges that the charges be dropped," his attorney Paul Knag said in a statement Wednesday.
Couple accused of letting son starve to death
GRANTS PASS, Ore. - An Oregon couple involved in online pornography was arraigned Wednesday on murder by abuse charges alleging they let their baby starve to death.
Stephen Michael Williams Jr., 26, and Amanda Marie Hancock, 21, of the small timber town of Glendale, are accused of causing the death of their 7-week-old son through neglect and maltreatment.
The two were ordered held without bail when they appeared in Douglas County Circuit Court in Roseburg, Deputy District Attorney Shannon Sullivan said.
No pleas were entered. Judge Stephen Tiktin authorized a court-appointed attorney, but the public defender's office has not named the attorney yet, Sullivan added.
The charging document says the couple showed extreme indifference to human life in causing Data Toria Hancock's death by failing to provide him adequate food and medical care.
- The Associated Press