National News

Word of Life Christian Church
Six individuals were arrested for the death of 19-year-old Lucas Leonard, who was assaulted at a church meeting until he stopped breathing and passed away. His 17-year-old brother Christopher was hospitalized in serious condition. Two subjects were charged with first degree manslaughter while the other four were charged with second degree assault. The crimes happened at the Word of Life Christian Church, where officials secured several children to Child Protective Services. The boys had been beaten until they confessed their “sins” and asked for forgiveness. cnn.com

Sex Trafficking Bust
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, in partnership with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), arrested more than 150 “pimps” and rescued 149 children in 135 cities from sex traffickers in the ninth annual “Operation Cross Country.” The Innocence Lost program has resulted in the identification of 4,800 sexually exploited children and has obtained more than 2,000 convictions of pimps and their associates. At least 15 of these cases have resulted in life sentences. This was the ninth and largest enforcement operation to date. fbi.gov

Geoffrey Marcy Resignation from Berkeley
The UC Berkeley astronomy professor is to resign after a sexual harassment hearing. The university ruled that Marcy, who has been on faculty staff for 16 years, is guilty of violating sexual harassment policies by allegedly groping, kissing, touching or massaging students. Marcy was initially placed on probation over summer. Berkeley’s Chancellor Nicholas B. Dirks gave an announcement in an email in which he deemed Marcy’s behavior “contemptible” and “inexcusable.” nytimes.com

International Spotlight

Obama Deploys Troops in Cameroon
President Obama announced up to 300 troops will be deployed to Cameroon to conduct airborne intelligence and surveillance and fight against Boko Haram, a Nigerian group of Islamist militants. In his letter to Congress, Obama stated that an advance force of 90 troops began deploying to West Africa on Monday and will remain there until “no longer needed.” This is the first U.S. deployment that will potentially engage in combat with Boko Haram. bbc.com

Banging Noise Heard from ‘El Chapo’s’ Cell
Newly released surveillance footage reveals a loud banging noise in the cell of Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán minutes before he escaped from prison. The recording shared by Televisa is the first time the audio has been released from the July 11 escape. The timestamp of when the banging was first heard was at 20:46:36 and continued at least half a dozen times for about 40 minutes. Around two minutes after the last bang, Guzman disappeared underneath his bed and it wasn’t until 20:17:07 (about 25 minutes after Guzman escaped) that guards were sent to his cell to investigate. abcnews.go.com

Australian Police Investigating 12-Year-Old Suspected Terrorist
Australian security agencies are investigating a 12-year-old boy for suspected terrorist activity. According to Australian Federal Police Commissioner Andrew Colvin, terrorist threats have evolved and become younger over the last year. On Oct. 2, police accountant Curtis Cheng was shot and murdered by 15-year-old, Iranian-born Farhad Jabar, who was later shot dead by police. Of the 18 suspected extremists named in March, the 12-year-old was the youngest, and his name has not been published. abcnews.go.com

A version of this story appeared on p. 9 of the Oct. 15, 2015 edition of the Daily Nexus.

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