3rd U.S. aid worker contracts Ebola
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The third U.S. aid worker sickened with Ebola is a Boston-area doctor who decided to return to Liberia after two others fell ill with the deadly virus, the president of his missionary group said Wednesday.
Dr. Rick Sacra went back to Liberia about a month ago and was not caring for Ebola patients, instead delivering babies at the missionary group’s hospital in Liberia, SIM President Bruce Johnson said at a news conference.
When a fellow SIM worker and another missionary doctor became sick, Sacra called and said, “I’m ready to go,” Johnson said.
SIM needed doctors to take care of patients not infected with Ebola, said Will Elthick, director of SIM’s operations in Liberia. Sacra followed all protocols to protect himself, Elthick said, and he’s in good spirits and able to email.
Tesla selects Nevada for battery plant
RENO, Nev. – Tesla Motors has chosen Nevada as the site for a massive, $5 billion factory that will pump out car batteries for a new generation of less-expensive electric vehicles, a person familiar with the company’s plans said Wednesday.
The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because no official announcement was made, said work soon will resume at an industrial park outside Reno. Nevada still must approve a package of incentives Tesla negotiated.
Four other states – California, Texas, Arizona and New Mexico – were vying for the project and the estimated 6,500 jobs it will bring.
Tesla needs what it calls the “gigafactory” to make cheaper batteries for its Model 3, a mass-market electric car the company hopes to sell by 2017 for around $35,000. Currently, Tesla offers only the Model S sedan, which starts at $70,000.
Slain journalist was also an Israeli citizen
JERUSALEM – Israel confirmed that slain American journalist Steven Sotloff was also an Israeli citizen, while President Barack Obama vowed to build a coalition to “degrade and destroy” the extremist group that carried out the videotaped beheading.
Sotloff’s Jewish faith and Israeli citizenship were not widely known before his death and his killers may not have known about his background, either, because they made no mention of Jews or Israel in the footage released Tuesday.
Sotloff, a 31-year-old from suburban Miami who freelanced for Time and Foreign Policy magazines before he was captured in Syria a year ago, became the second American newsman to be beheaded by Islamic State militants in two weeks, killed in retribution for U.S. airstrikes against the group.
The video horrified Americans and journalists around the world and touched a nerve in Israel, where news that Sotloff had connections to the country dominated newscasts and brought condolences from Israelis who knew the Miami-area native.
Associated Press
