Nation & World Glance
26 deaths in 3 US convents, as nuns confront the pandemic LIVONIA, Michigan – At a convent near Detroit, 13 nuns have died of COVID-19. The toll is seven at a center for Maryknoll sisters in New York, and six at a Wisconsin convent that serves nuns with fading memories.
Each community perseveres, though strict social-distancing rules have made communal solidarity a challenge as the losses are mourned.
Only small, private funeral services were permitted as the death toll mounted in April and May at the Felician Sisters convent in Livonia, Michigan – a spiritual hardship for the surviving nuns.
“The yearnings, throughout the pandemic, were to be with our dying sisters and hold our traditional services, funeral Mass and burial, to comfort each other,” said Sister Mary Christopher Moore, a leader of the Felician Sisters of North America.
For weeks the Livonia nuns went without Mass and dined in shifts, only one per table.
Chinese researcher charged with US visa fraud is in
custody
SAN FRANCISCO – A Chinese researcher accused of concealing her ties to the Chinese military on a visa application she submitted so she could work in the U.S. was booked Friday into a Northern California jail and was expected to appear in federal court Monday.
Sacramento County jail records show Juan Tang, 37, was being held on behalf of federal authorities after she was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service. It was unclear if she had an attorney who could comment on her behalf.
The Justice Department on Thursday announced charges against Tang and three other scientists living in the U.S., saying they lied about their status as members of China’s People’s Liberation Army. All were charged with visa fraud.
Tang was the last of the four to be arrested, after the justice department accused the Chinese consulate in San Francisco of harboring a known fugitive. The consulate did not immediately respond to email and Facebook messages seeking comment and it was not possible to leave a telephone message.
The Justice Department said Tang lied about her military ties in a visa application last October as she made plans to work at the University of California, Davis and again during an FBI interview months later. Agents found photos of Tang dressed in military uniform and reviewed articles in China identifying her military affiliation.
Hanna expected to hit southern Texas coast as a
hurricane
MIAMI – Tropical Storm Hanna is expected to hit the southern Texas coast as a hurricane on Saturday afternoon or early evening, forecasters said, all while another tropical storm approached the Caribbean.
Hanna was centered about 140 miles east-southeast of Corpus Christi, Texas, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said early Saturday. The storm had maximum sustained winds around 65 mph and was moving west at 8 mph.
A hurricane warning is in effect for Port Mansfield to Mesquite Bay, a span that includes Corpus Christi. A tropical storm warning is in effect from Barra el Mezquital, Mexico, to Port Mansfield, Texas, and from Mesquite Bay to High Island, Texas.
A storm surge warning is in effect for Baffin Bay to Sargent. Storm surge up to 5 feet was forecast for that area.
Forecasters said Hanna could bring 5 to 10 inches of rain through Sunday night – with isolated totals of 15 inches – in addition to coastal swells that could cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.