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Novelist John Grisham apologized Thursday for saying in an interview that many men imprisoned for child pornography offenses in the U.S. probably just had too much to drink and "pushed the wrong buttons." Grisham told British newspaper The Daily Telegraph that U.S. prisons were "filled with guys my age. Sixty-year-old white men in prison who have never harmed anybody, would never touch a child."

(VIDEO-AT-LINK)Are you on the front lines of Ebola? We'd like to hear your story.A nurse with Ebola may have shown symptoms of the virus as many as four days before authorities once indicated, meaning that she might have been contagious while flying on not just one, but two commercial flights, officials said Thursday. Amber Vinson was hospitalized Tuesday, one day after she took a Frontier flight from Cleveland to Dallas. Tests later found that Vinson -- who was among those who cared for Thomas Eric Duncan, the first person diagnosed with Ebola in the United States, at Dallas' Texas Health...

he political momentum for a travel ban on West African nations continued to swell Thursday, but health and transportation experts were uniform in saying it wouldn’t stem the spread of Ebola — and could do more harm than good. That hasn’t stopped politicians and pundits — ranging from House Speaker John Boehner to former Obama press secretary Jay Carney — from calling for a travel ban. The appeal is obvious: It sounds like a no-brainer to build an infectious-disease moat around the U.S., blocking some flights and barring people who come from the countries suffering the worst Ebola outbreaks. But...

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott on Wednesday called on Houston Mayor Annise Parker and City Attorney David Feldman to relent on subpoenas demanding pastors’ sermons and private communications.

A nightmare scenario of Ebola raging unchecked among millions of slum-dwellers in Africa's largest city has given way to a rare example of a victory over the virus. Amid the gloom surrounding the escalating crisis in West Africa, developments in Lagos show how the right techniques at the right speed can bring about a welcome result. With a population of more than 170 million, Nigeria is Africa's most populous nation and there were fears that Ebola would take hold when a Liberian-American arrived with the disease in July. Instead, along with much smaller Senegal, Nigeria is now on the brink...

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) -- Health officials battling the Ebola outbreak that has killed more than 4,500 people in West Africa have managed to limit its spread on the continent to five countries - and two of them appear to have snuffed out the disease. The developments constitute a modest success in an otherwise bleak situation. Officials credit tighter border controls, good patient-tracking and other medical practices, and just plain luck with keeping Ebola confined mostly to Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea since the outbreak was first identified nearly seven months ago.

A nurse who authorities believe may be infected with Ebola was rushed to a Paris-area hospital on Thursday afternoon for tests and treatment, French paper Le Parisien reported If the woman, who has not been named, is confirmed to be infected with the disease that's killed over 4,000 people in Africa she would be the first person infected in France.Two other suspected cases in Paris in the last seven days, including one involving an American national, turned out to be false alarms. Health authorities believe she could be infected because she treated the Doctors' Without Borders aid worker who arrived...

Houston’s power-mad Mayor Annise Parker has backtracked on those subpoenas that she had the city issue to five city pastors, at taxpayer expense. The mayor made the move as Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott sent a letter to Parker asking that she withdraw the subpoenas “immediately.” Attorney General Greg Abbott Asks Houston City Attorney to Withdraw Subpoenas Seeking Sermons, Other Documents from Houston-area Pastors AUSTIN — Attorney General Abbott today asked that the Houston City Attorney to immediately withdraw the subpoenas sent last month to several Houston-area pastors seeking sermons, notes and other information. In his letter to the city...

Key House Republicans say congressional action on immigration is much more likely if Republicans take control of the Senate. The effort, two Republicans say, would likely involve individual measures rather than a broad, comprehensive bill favored by Democrats. "I actually think it's more likely, if we take the Senate, that we will have immigration reform," said Rep. Raul Labrador. "We will be able to do it on a step-by-step approach like most Republicans have been asking to do and I think the American people want." Labrador, who was a member of the bipartisan House group working on the issue before...

So what would make Barack Obama cancel a fund raiser? ISIS on the move? Nope. Beheadings of Americans? Nope. On the golf course in ten minutes. A first American Ebola victim? Took a few more minutes, but straight to the golf course. A second beheading victim? Nope. So what did it take? A poll. Obama's ratings are sinking faster than the Titanic. President Barack Obama’s approval rating is at the lowest level of his presidency, a new poll says. According to an ABC News/Washington Post poll released Wednesday, 40 percent of Americans approve of Obama’s job performance, the lowest score...

A state magistrate in Pasquotank County could face disciplinary action after refusing to marry two men following the end of North Carolina's gay marriage ban. Magistrate Gary Littleton declined on Monday to perform the couple's civil ceremony, citing his religious views that marriage should be between one man and one woman. Under state law, a magistrate who fails to perform his or her legal duties can face removal or suspension.

Says he kissed nurses who cared for earlier patients at Emory: "It is not like the flu; it is not airborne." WASHINGTON — President Obama said at a cabinet meeting on Ebola today that he is “absolutely confident that we can prevent a serious outbreak of the disease here in the United States.”Just over a week ago, the president said “the chance of an ebola outbreak in the United States is extremely low.”Obama called today’s meeting after a second nurse from the Dallas hospital where Liberian patient Thomas Eric Duncan was treated fell ill with the virus. He had been...

(CNSNews.com) - Dr. Tom Frieden, director for the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said during a telephone press briefing Wednesday that you cannot get Ebola by sitting next to someone on a bus, but that infected or exposed persons should not ride public transportation because they could transmit the disease to someone else. Dr. Frieden also reported that a Dallas health-care worker who has been diagnosed with Ebola had a temperature of 99.5 when she flew from Cleveland to Dallas on Monday. Frieden’s statement came in response to CNSNews.com’s question regarding a video message from President Barack Obama...

Dallas County Commissioners will hold a special meeting Thursday to declare a disaster over "the potential for widespread or severe damage, injury, loss or threat of life resulting from the Ebola virus." The declaration could help officials impose new travel restrictions on health care workers who may have cared for the first Dallas Ebola patient, Thomas Eric Duncan. Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said Dallas County Medical Director Dr. Christopher Perkins will sign a control order that will follow the minimum guidelines outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, blocking those being monitored for Ebola symptoms from using...

Well, Freepers. We have the winners.

Americans' fear of an Ebola outbreak is being fueled by "sanity-resistant" cable TV news coverage and some members of Congress, Jon Stewart said on Tuesday's "Daily Show." News that a Dallas nurse became infected with Ebola after treating a Liberian man stricken with the disease has sparked fears that the virus — which has killed thousands of people in West Africa — could spread to other parts of the United States. "Clearly the news anchors are having trouble drawing the distinction between a person contracting the disease after working in close contact with an Ebola patient," Stewart said, "and the...

The White House scrambled Wednesday to ease concerns over the spread of Ebola after a second Texas hospital worker tested positive for the virus, as lawmakers showed patience wearing thin with the current response and demanded immediate changes. One lawmaker, Rep. Tom Marino, R-Pa., went so far as to call for the resignation of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Tom Frieden. "This Ebola situation is beginning to spiral beyond control," Marino said in a statement, accusing the government of giving a "false sense of security to many of our citizens." He and others urged the Obama administration...

-House speaker wants US airports closed to traffic from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea -35 other House members including three Democrats take the same position -Five Republican senators demand travel bans to contain the Ebola virus -Obama administration insists travel routes must stay open so planes can return to Africa with aid workers and relief supplies -White House won't say why military aircraft can't be used instead The Obama administration should ban all air travel to the United States from the three African countries hardest hit by the Ebola epidemic, say at least 41 members of Congress including three Democratic...

In the case of Amber Vinson, the Dallas nurse who flew commercially as she was becoming ill with Ebola, one health official said "somebody dropped the ball." The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that Vinson called the agency several times before flying, saying that she had a fever with a temperature of 99.5 degrees. But because her fever wasn't 100.4 degrees or higher, she didn't officially fall into the group of "high risk" and was allowed to fly. Officials in the U.S. have been trying to calm fears over the Ebola crisis, but time and again events have...

A few days ago President Obama, in an interview he gave France's Canal+ TV Channel, said that the American people need to be better educated about Islam, since US could and should be regarded as a Muslim country. He said that the number of Muslims residing in the US makes it "one of the biggest Muslim nations". In reality the US has one of the smallest percentages of Muslims of any Western country. The number of Muslims in the US is approximately 4.5 million, 1.5% of the population, one of the smallest minorities in the US. Since there are approximately...