World News and the Bible - #9: Police Officers Shot Dead in Dallas

Full Transcript of President Obama's Speech at Dallas Police Memorial

By Noah Fitzgerel
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Jul 12, 2016, 5:05 PM ET

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Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty ImagesWATCH Obama Says US 'Not as Divided as We Seem' at Dallas Memorial



President Obama delivered a speech today in Dallas mourning the death of the five police officers killed in action while protecting peaceful protests in the city.

The remarks came days after the shooting in Dallas, where police said a gunman was targeting whites, and the deaths of two black men during police-involved shootings -- events that have left the nation on edge.

Here's a transcript of President Obama's remarks from the White House:

THE PRESIDENT: Mr. President and Mrs. Bush; my friend, the Vice President, and Dr. Biden; Mayor Rawlings; Chief Spiller; clergy; members of Congress; Chief Brown -- I’m so glad I met Michelle first, because she loves Stevie Wonder -- (laughter and applause) -- but most of all, to the families and friends and colleagues and fellow officers:

Scripture tells us that in our sufferings there is glory, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. Sometimes the truths of these words are hard to see. Right now, those words test us. Because the people of Dallas, people across the country, are suffering.

We’re here to honor the memory, and mourn the loss, of five fellow Americans -- to grieve with their loved ones, to support this community, to pray for the wounded, and to try and find some meaning amidst our sorrow.

For the men and women who protect and serve the people of Dallas, last Thursday began like any other day. Like most Americans each day, you get up, probably have too quick a breakfast, kiss your family goodbye, and you head to work. But your work, and the work of police officers across the country, is like no other. For the moment you put on that uniform, you have answered a call that at any moment, even in the briefest interaction, may put your life in harm’s way.

Dallas Shootings: Official Story Predictably Changes to 'Lone Wolf Terror'

Standoff continues after Dallas Police HQ attack

WFAA Staff, WFAA8:30 a.m. CDT June 13, 2015



(Photo: WFAA)


DALLAS — Dallas police were in a standoff Saturday morning after suspects in an armored van opened fire on the department's headquarters before leading officers on a chase to Hutchins, about 10 miles southeast.

At 5:40 a.m., police said the suspects' vehicle had been "disabled" with a .50 caliber rifle, but a standoff continued.

Sources told News 8 that the suspect in the armored van may have been injured in the initial shootout Saturday. Police had not communicated with the suspect for quite some time, as of 8:30 a.m.

Police were using robots to examine the suspect's vehicle.

The South Side on Lamar apartment complex in the 1400 block of South Lamar was evacuated as a precaution after one or more bombs were discovered outside police headquarters.

Just after 6 a.m., Dallas Police Maj. Max Geron said on Twitter that officers were clearing the station.

"Not 'evacuating' but getting officers to clear in service from the station," he said in response to a tweet.

The area around Dallas police headquarters was sealed off after suspicious packages were found following a shootout. (Photo: WFAA)


Dallas police Chief David Brown said four suspicious bags were found outside the building. Two explosive devices were found and detonated, while the other two ended up being trash, according to Maj. Geron.

WFAA

REPLAY: Chief Brown on Dallas police HQ assault

One bag exploded as a bomb squad robot tried to move it. Another explosive, found under a police vehicle, was detonated in a controlled explosion around 5:45 a.m. No officers were injured in the detonations, Geron said.

A suspicious bag found near the Northeast substation was cleared just after 7:30 p.m.



Gunfire was reported just after midnight Saturday outside the Dallas Police Department headquarters. (Photo: Courtesy: @TheStreetFA via Instagram)


Police alerted other law enforcement agencies in the region to search for any suspicious devices. It could still be several hours until residents were able to return home, police said, due to the continued search for additional explosives.

The situation began at 12:30 a.m. Saturday when gunfire was reported outside police headquarters.

"Witnesses observed what they believed to be multiple suspects firing guns at the Dallas Police Department's headquarters," Chief Brown said. "The suspects were parked in front of police headquarters. As police officers arrived, the suspects rammed Dallas police officers' squad cars and began shooting at the officers, striking the squad cars but missing the officers."

Nearby residents reported hearing automatic gunfire and video posted to social media shows what appears to be an armored van with gun ports on its sides ramming Dallas police squad cars and exchanging gunfire with police before fleeing the area.



VIDEO: Evacuated resident speaks to News 8 about Dallas Police HQ attack

Read more: http://www.wfaa.com/story/news/crime/2015/06/13/updates-gunfire-reported-at-dallas-police-headquarters/71165792/

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National Baptist convention draws 40,000 to Dallas, including civil rights leader Jesse Jackson

By Stephanie Embree

sembree@dallasnews.com
2:42 pm on June 18, 2014 | Permalink

The Rev. George W. Waddles Sr. is president of the Congress.

The convention center in downtown Dallas has become home to 40,000 people in town for the National Baptist Congress of Christian Education.

Church leaders, including the Rev. Jesse Jackson, will join Baptists from all 50 states, the Caribbean islands, Germany and Africa for one of the largest African-American meetings this year.

“We are a Christian body, and our overall objective is to follow the biblical direction and make disciples,” said the Rev. George W. Waddles Sr., president of the National Baptist Congress.

Through Saturday, members can attend over 300 morning classes dealing with topics such as Christian doctrine and how to be an effective deacon. In the afternoons, there are youth or children rallies and lectures from leaders who will address issues facing church members.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson will speak tonight. (AP photo)

Waddles said the convention aims to teach church leaders and members how to “be more faithful to the call of Christ,” and how to build a family and community on a foundation of faith.

Jackson, the civil rights leader who worked with Martin Luther King Jr., is speaking at a scholarship banquet where college students will be presented with the Dream Makers Scholarship. The program, a partnership with Office Depot, has distributed over $300,000 in the last four years.

The National Baptist Congress, which represents around 7,000 churches in the U.S. and abroad, chose to hold its convention in Dallas after being invited by local reverends. Waddles said that Dallas has been more welcoming than cities they’ve visited in the past.

“There are two things I want the citizens of Dallas to know,” he said. “The first is that we are a diverse group. There’s no one mold that fits us except that we believe in the Lord. The second is that we come as witnesses of the Lord Jesus Christ. We don’t come to offend anybody or shove it down their throats.”

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Interstate traffic in Dallas area moving slowly after ice problems

Associated Press | March 3, 2014 | Updated: March 3, 2014 8:01pm




Photo By Richard W. Rodriguez/Associated Press
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Traffic backs up on Texas 121 in Hurst, Texas, Sunday, March 2, 2014. The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for North Texas on Sunday as day-time temperatures dip into the 30s. Forecasts call for freezing rain and sleet that could make driving hazardous. (AP Photo/The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Richard W. Rodriguez) MAGS OUT; (FORT WORTH WEEKLY, 360 WEST); INTERNET OUT

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DALLAS — The Texas Department of Public Safety says interstate traffic in North and East Texas is moving slowly after sections were closed because of multiple accidents caused by icy conditions.

DPS Sgt. Lonny Haschel said Monday the concern is the interstates refreezing as temperatures in North Texas are expected to fall into the 20s overnight.

Traffic on Interstate 45 south of Dallas on Sunday night and into Monday was at a virtual standstill for hours as accidents and tractor-trailers unable to climb steep grades blocked other vehicles.

Haschel says the backup on northbound lanes extended for at least 15 miles.

Motorists on Interstate 20 in East Texas also were stuck for hours.

The hazardous driving could extend to the Austin and Houston areas as winter weather advisories have been issued from Monday evening into Tuesday.


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Dallas-area Catholics to answer Pope Francis' call for worldwide Sunday prayer

David Woo/Staff Photographer
The Rev. Stephen Bierschenk of St. Monica Catholic Church will lead a Eucharistic procession for the first time after Mass on Sunday, when Catholics across the globe plan to unite in prayer as part of Pope Francis’ call for an hour of Eucharistic adoration.





By ANDREA GALLO

Staff Writer

agallo@dallasnews.com

Published: 31 May 2013 10:55 PM

Updated: 31 May 2013 11:24 PM



Dallas-area Catholics will unite in prayer with 1 billion other members of their church Sunday as part of Pope Francis’ call for an hour of Eucharistic adoration — worshipping the body of Christ — at the same time all over the world.

This is the first time a pope has assembled the worldwide congregation by asking people to pray in front of the Eucharist, which at each Mass is consecrated into what Catholics believe is the body and physical presence of Jesus Christ.

Many local Catholic churches will participate at various times depending on their Mass schedules. But Pope Francis will hold his hour of prayer at 5 p.m. in Rome — or 10 a.m. Dallas time.

The pontiff declared two prayer intentions for Sunday. One prayer will be for the Catholic Church throughout the world and for the Eucharist as a sign of oneness. The other prayer will be for those who are suffering with a “silent scream” — including slaves, war victims, domestic violence victims, prisoners and the homeless.

“It is unique in the sense that we all come together with one particular intention,” said Bishop Kevin Farrell, who leads the Dallas Diocese. “We’re all part of the same human family, and there has been and is so much suffering. We need to start paying attention to the fact that all of this [suffering] goes on.

“We have to look at the number of people who are suffering from violence,” he said, referring to the large number of women and children who experience domestic violence in North Texas.

Farrell will host adoration after the 3 p.m. Sunday Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe in downtown Dallas.

Catholics approach adoration in many different ways. Some say specific prayers, while others read Bible passages. Many prefer to sit in silence and bask in the stillness of God.

From 11 p.m. to midnight every evening, Margie Giangiulio, a parishioner at St. Monica Catholic Church, has been praying in adoration for 15 years. “You know how some people run every day? Well, doing adoration every day gives me so much more energy,” she said. “It’s my favorite, favorite thing to do. … When we saw the pope’s request to the world, we said, ‘Oh, my gosh. This is really stupendous.’”

Giangiulio plans to attend St. Monica Catholic Church’s all-night vigil starting at 9 p.m. Saturday and ending before the 8 a.m. Sunday Mass. People from the church’s different programs will take turns lighting candles and asking for blessings.

After Mass, the Rev. Stephen Bierschenk will lead a Eucharistic procession for the first time at St. Monica, which is located on Midway Road. He hopes to turn that into a tradition. “It’s more personal, remembering that you have the opportunity to be physically present with the Lord,” he said.

Bierschenk’s procession will mirror one occurring in Rome, as well. Sunday’s hour of prayer has special significance because it will occur on the Church’s Feast of Corpus Christi, which celebrates the belief in Jesus’ real presence in the Eucharist.

Patty Daniel, a member of St. Rita Catholic Church on Inwood Road, said praying in adoration on the feast of Corpus Christi emphasizes Eucharistic miracles, such as the Miracle of Lanciano. That’s when a Catholic parish witnessed the bread and wine transform into flesh and blood around the year 700 in Italy. “It’s just a beautiful feast to be publicly aware of Christ’s presence,” Daniel said.

Holy Trinity Catholic Church, located on Oak Lawn Avenue, will hold its prayer hour at 10 a.m. to coincide with Rome. “It’s all across the world, so you’re talking about a little island in the Pacific to the Basilica in Rome all the way maybe to a Marine station in Afghanistan,” said Benny Ruiz, parish liturgist at Holy Trinity.

Farrell encouraged people to read Chapter 25 of the Bible’s book of Matthew in adoration Sunday — in particular, verses 31-46, when Jesus talks about caring for those most in need. He proclaims: “Whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.”

“That should be enough for all of us,” Farrell said. “Whether we’re lifelong Catholics or lukewarm Catholics or Catholics on Christmas and Easter, when you read that 25th chapter in St. Matthew’s Gospel, you have to be impressed.”

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Tornadoes reported near Dallas-Fort Worth area

April 3, 2012 02:33 PM EST |

BURLESON, Texas — The National Weather Service says tornadoes have touched down in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and there is at least one report of damage.

Weather service advisories issued Tuesday said storm spotters and radar revealed separate tornadoes south of Dallas and Fort Worth. The weather service says the tornado south of Fort Worth caused "considerable damage" near Cleburne.

Local television footage shows a large funnel cloud on the ground near Interstate 35 south of Dallas. The weather service says the "large and extremely dangerous" tornado was near Lancaster about 20 miles south of Dallas and moving north.

The weather service is also reporting other developing tornadoes as a band of severe storms moves through the area.

A tornado watch is in effect for most of the counties in north Texas.

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Father, son shot by gunman in Dallas

Suspect in critical condition after shootout with police

updated 1 hour, 44 minutes ago


DALLAS - A father and son were wounded Monday after a gunman walked into a Dallas financial office and opened fire, police said.

The gunman, who later got into a shootout with police, also was in critical condition after shooting himself, said Dallas police spokesman, Sr. Cpl. Lt. Kevin Janse.

The shootings happened just before 11 a.m. in the 15-story Four Forest high-rise office building, which houses the United Texas Bank and other businesses near the intersection of U.S. 75 and Interstate 635.

The gunman walked into a financial services office on the third floor and opened fire on the father and his son, who apparently had an ongoing dispute with the suspect, Janse said.

After three police officers arrived on the scene, the man came out of the office and pointed his gun at them, Janse said. Police fired several shots without hitting him, and the man went back into the office where he shot himself, he said. He was in critical condition at the nearby Medical City Dallas hospital.

The 63-year-old man was shot in the legs and his 39-year-old son was shot in the neck, and both were in stable condition at Medical City Dallas, Janse said.

During the shootings, the building was on lockdown and about 16 people took refuge in the vaults in the bank on the building’s first floor.

“The building has announced we should stay in here until they let us know otherwise,” bank employee Linda Farley told WFAA-TV of Dallas and Fort Worth by telephone from the vault. “Everybody is a little scared.”

Police did not immediately release more information including the identities of the alleged gunman and the father and son.

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Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35765225/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/

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