Endangered rhino shot by
poachers, recovering at a zoo
 
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A critically endangered black rhino shot nine times by poachers in South Africa has been moved to a zoo in Johannesburg.
 
Faan Coetzee of the Endangered Wildlife Trust said Monday that 5-year-old Phila will stay at the zoo until she recovers from her wounds, which may take six months.
 
 
 
Bethlehem’s Church of the
Nativity to undergo renovations
 
BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) — The Palestinian government announced Monday it is planning an ambitious restoration project for the ancient church that marks the traditional birthplace of Jesus, an important Christian site that draws millions of visitors.
 
The renovation of Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity is expected to take several years and cost millions of dollars.
 
 
Georgia man finds neighbor’s escaped buffalo in pool
 
CLEVELAND, Ga. (AP) — A north Georgia man said he and his wife found a neighbor’s buffalo in their swimming pool. Chris Nonnemaker said he and his wife noticed two holes in the pool’s cover and went outside to take a look Saturday morning in White County. Nonnemaker said they noticed something moving. When he pulled the pool cover back, Nonnemaker saw a buffalo that had escaped from a neighbor’s home.
 
Nonnemaker called police and videotaped the animal’s rescue, which involved ropes to help coax the buffalo out near the shallow end.
 
 
 
Girl famous for hiccups charged with first-degree murder
 
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — An uncontrollable case of the hiccups brought an odd sort of fame to Jennifer Mee, who was 15 when she appeared on television
morning shows trying to find a cure for her mysterious affliction.
 
Five weeks later they stopped, and the media attention mostly disappeared — until this week, when Mee, now 19, was charged with first-degree murder after police said she met a 22-year-old man online and lured him to a vacant home where two of her friends robbed and shot him.
 
 
Group asks court to lift ban on gays during government appeals
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A gay rights group that successfully sued to overturn the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy said Monday that national security would not be irreparably harmed by allowing gays to serve openly while the federal government appeals the case.
 
The Log Cabin Republicans organization asked the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to let stand an order by a lower court that barred the policy.
 
The move came after a
three-judge panel of the appeals court imposed a temporary stay that in effect reinstated “don’t ask, don’t tell” eight days after U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips issued a worldwide injunction halting its application.
 
The panel is now considering whether to extend the ban during the appeal by the federal government. The Log Cabin group was given until Monday to present arguments.
 
President Barack Obama favors repealing the Clinton-era law but wants it done by Congress. However, lawyers for the Log Cabin group argued that the Obama administration has not proven that allowing gays in uniform would be problematic.
 
“The district court’s injunction requires only one thing: that the government discontinue all investigations and discharge proceedings that have been commenced under the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ statute,” lawyers for the group wrote.
 
 
Officer killed Sunday in front of store by lone gunman
SHREVEPORT (AP) — Sgt. Tim Prunty — a 19-year-veteran of the Shreveport Police Department was shot and killed when a man drove up to the officer and opened fire.
 
Police Chief Willie Shaw says the 44-year-old Prunty was checking on a business before dawn Sunday when he was shot. Prunty was standing outside the store talking to a store clerk when a man drove up and opened fire on the officer, according to police.
 
Prunty returned fire before falling to the ground, police said. The clerk was not injured.
“A lone gunman stepped out of the vehicle unprovoked and opened fire,” Shaw said. “Sgt. Prunty was struck multiple times, and as a result, he died.”
 
Twenty-four-year-old Christopher Cope was charged with one count of first-degree murder.
 
__
Contact The Daily Reveille’s news staff at [email protected]