GAINESVILLE – The leader of a small Florida church that espouses anti-Islam philosophy said he was determined to burn copies of the Quran on September 11, despite pressure from the White House, religious leaders and others to call it off.
Pastor Terry Jones said at a Press conference that he had received a lot of encouragement for his protest, with supporters mailing copies of the Islamic holy text to his Gainesville church of about 50 followers.
The plan is to incinerate the Qurans in a bonfire on Saturday to mark the ninth anniversary of 9/11.
“As of right now, we are not convinced that backing down is the right thing,” said Jones, who took no questions. (AP)
Storm Hermine’s rains swamp Texas
ARLINGTON, Texas – The remnants of Tropical Storm Hermine caused massive flooding in northern Texas, killing at least one person and submerging much of the city of Arlington under water.
Television footage from a Fox affiliate showed firefighters using ladders to reach residents stranded in the upper floors of their homes in a subdivision. Coffee-coloured floodwaters rushed past roller coaster tracks at a Six Flags amusement park. Bewildered residents surprised by the extent of the flooding waded through waist-deep water in the streets.
Two mobile homes and a house were swept away north of Austin, and dozens of people sought emergency shelter after state and local authorities performed numerous high-water rescues from Austin to Dallas.
The storm, downgraded to a tropical depression on Tuesday night, appeared to be moving into southern Oklahoma in satellite images and were forecast to move as far north as Kansas in the coming days.
The National Weather Service issued flash flood warnings for many parts of Oklahoma, and the entire state was under a flash flood watch. (AP)
