CNN SHOWCASE
US-Rape-God's-Will -- By Wayne Drash
The pregnant 12-year-old girl was strung out on heroin and looked like a walking skeleton when she arrived at the hospital. The conversation that followed, said Phoenix police chaplain John South, has stuck with him ever since. "Do you know who the father is?" South recalled asking her. "She said, 'Yes, it's my biological father. He's the one who hooked me on heroin so he could continue to rape me whenever he wanted to.' " The Protestant chaplain has consoled about 50 pregnant rape victims -- typically girls raped by their fathers -- in his years working with the Phoenix Police Department. South describes himself as "pro-life," but when it comes to dealing with a girl or woman impregnated by a rapist, he keeps his personal views to himself. "I don't give them a lecture or preach at them," South said. "I've seen crimes beyond comprehension." Republican U.S. Senate candidate Richard Mourdock stirred controversy during a debate in Indiana Tuesday when he said pregnancies from rape are "something that God intended to happen." The instant reaction in political circles was predictable: Democrats decried him, and many conservative Republicans defended his position as steadfastly "pro-life."
INTERNATIONAL
Tropical-Weather-Sandy
Given their geography, Bahamians know a thing or two about hurricanes. As Hurricane Sandy began to blow through the Bahamas after pummeling eastern Cuba, Nassau resident Stephan Rolle wasn't overly worried. It is a "small storm" with "mediocre wind," he said of the Category 2 hurricane with winds of 105 mph. But as the center of the storm churned 125 miles east-southeast of Nassau on Thursday, Rolle and others also knew they had to prepare.
Syria-Civil-War
The guns that have ravaged much of Syria since March 2011 may fall silent Friday, now that Syria's government has agreed to a cease-fire.
Sudan-Factory-Attack
Sudan remained defiant and angry Thursday after a fatal late-night bombing of a weapons factory in that east African country -- a sophisticated attack a Sudanese official continued to blame on Israel.
Pope's-Former-Butler-Heads-to-Jail
If Paolo Gabriele ever does get the pope's pardon, it won't be before he serves some jail time. Gabriele, a former butler to Pope Benedict XVI, will start his 18-month sentence in a Vatican cell Thursday for taking secret papers from the pope's personal apartment and leaking them to an author who included them in a best-selling book, the Vatican said.
Japan-Fukushima
Radiation levels in fish caught near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant remain high long after the 2011 meltdowns there, suggesting contamination from the site might still be seeping into Pacific waters, a U.S. researcher reported Thursday.
North-Korea-power-consolidation
In the famously opaque world of North Korean politics, the ongoing leadership transition is in some ways proving more dagger than cloak with reports of executions and purges of top military officials in recent days.
Danish-Agent-Awlaki
Morten Storm, a Danish double agent who says he worked with the CIA and Danish intelligence to track down American-born al Qaeda cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, says the Danish intelligence agency PET tried to buy his silence after he stopped working for them earlier this year.
Nigeria-Facebook-murder-Cynthia-Osokogu
Cynthia Osokogu had it all: Beauty -- she was a former model -- intelligence and business savvy. She also modeled herself on her idol, Tyra Banks, and was emerging as a successful businesswoman. On July 21 this year, Osokogu traveled to Lagos from the country's capital Abuja, ostensibly, to meet with retailers whom she thought might be able to offer her better prices on clothes and accessories for her fashion boutique. After landing, she called her mother to tell her that she had arrived safely. But Cynthia never made it to the meetings because there weren't any. She was found strangled to death in her hotel room the next morning.
Wikileaks-Assange
Four months holed up in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London has been "a little like living in a space station" but beats prison, fugitive WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said Thursday.
US-Libya-Benghazi (also see COMMENTARY-Maller-CIA-Benghazi)
The often fiercely political debate over who knew what -- and when -- about the September 11 assault on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi has taken another turn with the disclosure of a series of e-mails sent from the State Department on the night of the attack.
UK-Pakistan-Teen-Activist (also see COMMENTARY-Sheppard-malala-schools)
