Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/352307
ByRichGreene rgreene@redbluffdailynews. com @richgreenenews on Twitter RED BLUFF The city of Red Bluff is extending a public "thank you" to the Crowley family, who donated $13,500 to keep McGlynn Pool open for an extra month. The City Council formally accepted the donation from Chris and Karra Crowley at its July 15 meeting. "Here,heretotheCrowley family," Councilman Rob Schmid said. McGlynn Pool was scheduled to be closed for the season on July 19, but the donation will fund pool operations through Aug. 16. "It's pretty big and we need to do our part and acknowledge it like we said we would," Councilman Wayne Brown said. City Manager Richard Crabtree issued a press release Thursday extending a public thank you. "The city is very grateful for this generous contribution from the Crowley family," the statement reads. "The donation will allow McGlynn pool to stay open until children return to school." In 2011, the Crowley Family donated $100,000 t ow a rd remo del i n g facilities at the pool and operation costs. The pool, located at 119 Sycamore St., is open from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. MCGLYNN POOL City leaders thank Crowley family for pool donation By Andre Byik abyik@redbluffdailynews.com @andrebyik on Twitter RED BLUFF Gov. Jerry Brown on Thursday an- nounced the appointment of Cheryl Weibling to the 30th District Agricultural Associ- ation, Tehama District Fair board of directors. Weibling, 37, of Red Bluff has been the sales director at Comfort Inn since 2011, according to the announcement. "She held several positions at Travelodge from 2000 to 2011, including manager and night auditor," according to the announcement. "Weibling is a member of the Tehama County E mployer A dv i s or y Council, Toastmasters International, Rotary International and Kiwanis International." Thereisnocompensation for the position. Weibling is a Republi- can. TEHAMA DISTRICT FAIRGROUND Gov. Brown appoints fair board director The Associated Press ROME Pope Francis met privately Thursday with a Sudanese woman who re- fused to recant her Chris- tian faith in the face of a death sentence, blessing the woman as she cradled her infant daughter born just weeks ago in prison. The Vatican character- ized the visit with Meriam Ibrahim, 27, her husband and their two small chil- dren as "very affectionate." The 30-minute encoun- ter took place just hours after the family landed at Rome's Ciampino airport, accompanied by an Italian diplomat who helped nego- tiate her release, and wel- comed by Italy's premier, who hailed it as a "day of celebration." Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi said the pope "thanked her for her faith and courage, and she thanked him for his prayer and solidarity." Francis frequently calls at- tention to the suffering of those persecuted for their religious beliefs. Lombardi said the pres- ence of "their wonderful small children" added to the affectionate tone of the meeting. Video foot- age released by the Vat- ican shows the pope giv- ing the family papal med- als and rosaries. Ibrahim held her sleep- ing infant as she stepped off the plane from Sudan, which had initially blocked her from leaving the coun- try even after the country's highest court overturned her death sentence in June. An Italian diplomat carried her 18-month-old son, while her husband, Daniel Wani, who is dis- abled, joined them on the tarmac in a wheelchairm. Ibrahim and her fam- ily are expected to spend a few days in Rome be- fore heading to the United States, where her husband is a citizen. Ibrahim's hus- band had lived in New Hampshire. Ibrahim, whose father was Muslim but whose mother was an Orthodox Christian from Ethiopia, was sentenced to death over charges of apostasy. She married Wani, a Chris- tian from southern Sudan, in a church ceremony in 2011. As in many Muslim nations, Muslim women in Sudan are prohibited from marrying non-Muslims, though Muslim men can marry outside their faith. The sentence, issued in May, was condemned by the United States, the United Nations and Amnesty International, among others, and both the United States and It- aly — a strong death pen- alty opponent with long ties to the Horn of Africa region — worked to win her release. Sudan's high court threw out her death sen- tence in June, but she was then blocked from leaving the country by authorities who questioned the va- lidity of her travel docu- ments. Lapo Pistelli, an Italian diplomat who accompa- nied the family from Su- dan, said Italy was able to leverage its ties within the region. "We had the pa- tience to speak to everyone in a friendly way. This paid off in the end," he said. VATICAN Pope meets Sudanese woman sentenced to death L'OSSERVATOREROMANO—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Pope Francis meets Meriam Ibrahim, from Sudan, with her daughter Maya in her arms, in his Santa Marta residence, at the Vatican on Thursday. The Associated Press WASHINGTON Over Dem- ocratic objections, Republi- cans cleared the way Thurs- day for a House vote on legislation authorizing an election-year lawsuit ac- cusing President Barack Obama of failing to imple- ment the 4-year-old health care law as it was written. The vote in the Rules Committee was 7-4, with all Republicans in favor and all Democrats opposed. Republicans say the law- suit is necessary because Obama is exceeding his au- thority as president by fail- ing to carry out legislation that Congress passed and he signed into law. "The Constitution that we have sworn to uphold provides separate powers for each branch of the fed- eral government, so that no single branch can tram- ple upon the liberties of the American people," said Rep. Pete Sessions, the Texas Re- publican who chairs the panel. "Unfortunately the president has ignored the requirements of the Con- stitution." Democrats swiftly coun- tered that the suit is a po- litical maneuver designed to improve Republican prospects in the Novem- ber elections. In a state- ment released shortly after the vote, the party's House leader, Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, said constitu- tional law experts have said the suit is without merit. "But you don't need to be an expert to see it's noth- ing more than a desperate partisan stunt. Republicans should drop the distrac- tions and join Democrats in addressing the priorities of the American people: creat- ing jobs," she said. Even so, Democrats con- ceded that majority Repub- licans have enough votes to prevail when the measure comes to a scheduled vote in the next few days, shortly before lawmakers begin a five-week vacation. Republicans have long claimed that Obama has selectively enforced the health care law, pointing to a series of executive or- ders he has issued since its enactment. The adminis- tration disputes that view. In his remarks, Sessions expanded the list of allega- tions, saying Obama had unilaterally waived work requirements for welfare recipients, ended account- ability provisions in the education law No Child Left Behind, and refused to inform Congress of the transfer of Taliban prison- ers from the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y., predicted that any suit would be thrown out on procedural grounds. Slaughter said that a fed- eral judge had recently dis- missed a suit by Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., regarding lawmakers and aides and their health care. The alle- gation in the suit was that the administration had in- correctly applied the law, she said, adding that U.S. District Judge William C. Griesbach refused to hear the case. She quoted him as rul- ing: "Under our constitu- tional design, in the ab- sence of a concrete injury to a party that can be re- dressed by the courts, dis- putes between the ex- ecutive and legislative branches over the exercise of their respective powers are to be resolved through the political process, not by decisions issued by federal judges." The legislation cleared by the committee on Thursday allows the House to sue any executive branch officials, including the president, for failing to carry out their du- ties under the Constitution in connection with imple- mentation of the law. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, has vo- ciferously disputed charges that the legal move is polit- ically motivated, or that it is designed to tamp down sentiment among tea party supporters for impeach- ment proceedings against Obama. For their part, Demo- crats have used the possi- bility of a lawsuit to raise campaign contributions in advance of the November elections. WASHINGTON Panel clears way for vote on lawsuit The Associated Press CHEYENNE, WYO. For the first time in three decades, scientists are about to re- visit one of North Ameri- ca's most remarkable troves of ancient fossils: the bones of tens of thousands of an- imals piled at least 30 feet deep at the bottom of a sinkhole-type cave. Natural Trap Cave in north-central Wyoming is 85 feet deep and almost im- possible to see until you're standing right next to it. Over tens of thousands of years, many, many animals — including now-extinct mammoths, short-faced bears, American lions and Americancheetahs—shared the misfortune of not notic- ing the 15-foot-wide opening until they were plunging to their deaths. Now, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management is pre- paring to reopen a metal grate over the opening to offer scientists what may be their best look yet at the va- riety of critters that roamed the foothills of the Big- horn Mountains during the planet's last glacial period around 25,000 years ago. Des Moines University pa- leontologist Julie Meachen said she has been getting ready to lead the interna- tional team of a dozen re- searchers and assistants by hitting the climbing gym. "I'm pretty terrified," Meachen admitted Wednes- day. She hasn't done any real climbing before, she said, and the only way in is to rap- pel down. The only way out is an eight-story, single-rope climb all the way back up. The cave is perpetually cold and clammy, with tem- peratures in themid-40s and humidity around 98 percent. Even Bureau of Land Man- agement regional paleontol- ogist Brent Breithaupt, who isn't one to get the willies from lots of animal bones, describes it as a tad creepy. "One can only hope that, as a researcher, you're able to leave," said Breithaupt, who visited the cave as a college student the last time it was open to scientists. "It's an im- posing hole in the ground. But one that actually has very important scientific value." Some mammal remains from the cave could be over 100,000 years old, Bre- ithaupt said. The remote site is excep- tionally well preserved. It's far too challenging and dan- gerous to have been tram- meled in by casual spelunk- ers. The Bureau of Land Management installed the grate to keep people and an- imals out in the 1970s. A mound of dirt and rock containing layer upon layer of animal bones rises from the floor of the 120-foot- wide, bell-shaped chamber. Meachen hopes the remains are sufficiently preserved in the cold, sheltered environ- ment to contain snippets of genetic information. Alan Cooper with the Australian Centre for An- cient DNA at the University of Adelaide will attempt to retrieve fragments of mi- tochondrial DNA from the bones, Meachen said. Such analysis wasn't possible the last time sci- entists dug in the cave and could shed light on how the animals were related to their modern counter- parts and each other. "It's so cold all year long, that it has got just the perfect conditions for preserving DNA, in multiple species, in large numbers of individuals," Meachen said. "Which is not really found any- where except Siberia and the Arctic." Starting Monday, sci- entists plan to re-explore the cavern, dig and ex- tract as many fossils over a two-week period as pos- sible. The researchers will dig by lights powered by a generator at the surface. A National Science Foundation grant will en- able additional excava- tions in 2015 and 2016. One goal is to learn more about the Pleisto- cene extinction, which wiped out dozens of spe- cies. Proposed causes in- clude climate change and hunting by humans, who are thought to have ar- rived in northern North America sometime after 17,000 years ago. SCIENCE Wyoming cave with fossil secrets to be excavated BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Bureau of Land Management cave specialist Bryan McKenzie rappels into Natural Trap Cave in north-central Wyoming during a cleanup expedition. By Jason Straziuso The Associated Press NAIROBI, KENYA The Peace Corps is suspending its programs in Kenya be- cause of security concerns and is pulling more than 50 volunteers out of the country until threat levels decrease, the Peace Corps and State Department said Thursday. A statement to The Associated Press from the State Department said that the Peace Corps "has been closely monitoring the security environment in Kenya ... and has decided to officially suspend the program in Kenya." The Peace Corps will monitor the security situation and determine when volunteers can return, it said. The decision comes amid a tightening of security by the U.S. Embassy in Kenya, which has seen dozens of grenade and gunfire attacks the last two years. Earlier this year the U.S. increased the number of security personnel at the embassy and put armed Marines behind sandbag bunkers on the embassy roof. The State Department also reduced the number of U.S. personnel here by moving a regional USAID office out of the country. The decision to suspend the Peace Corps program has been in the works for a while but was not announced publicly. U.S. warnings about the high risk of terror attacks in Kenya always ruffle the feathers of Kenyan leaders, and the State Department and Peace Corps statements underscored the long U.S.- Kenya relationship and the hundreds of millions of dollars the U.S. pours into Kenya every year. But it was clear that given the grenade and gunfire assaults, as well as the massive attack on Westgate Mall last year that killed at least 67 people, the government felt that its Peace Corps volunteers — who live in far-flung villages with little security protection — were vulnerable. AFRICA US pulls Peace Corps volunteers from Kenya FRIDAY, JULY 25, 2014 REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM | NEWS | 9 A