ENTERTAINMENT: Man goes from circus sword swallower to Cuban guerrilla A10
Haley announces flood relief fund to rebuild homes TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2015
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Obama rejects calls for shift in ISIS fight BY JULIE PACE AP White House Correspondent ANTALYA, Turkey — President Obama on Monday firmly rejected calls for a shift in U.S. strategy against the Islamic State after the Paris at-
tacks, saying Republicans who want to send ground troops into the volatile region are “talking as if they’re tough” but fail to understand the potentially grave consequences. “Folks want to pop off and
have opinions about what they think they would do,” Obama said in a news conference wrapping up a two-day summit of world leaders in Turkey. “If they think that somehow their advisers are better than the chairman of
my Joint Chiefs of Staff and the folks who are actually on the ground, I want to meet them. And we can have that debate.” In a stinging rebuke, the president condemned Republicans who have suggested
U.S. assistance to refugees fleeing the Middle East should focus on Christians, not Muslims. GOP presidential candidates Jeb Bush and Ted Cruz have made such suggestions,
SEE ATTACKS, PAGE A8
PHOTOS BY KEITH GEDAMKE / THE SUMTER ITEM
Marchers in the Walk Against Domestic Violence are seen on the Sumter County Courthouse steps Saturday morning after the walk which was organized by the Sumter High School International Baccalaureate program. The group collected household items for and donated money to the Sumter YWCA.
SHS students host 9th walk against domestic violence BY ADRIENNE SARVIS adrienne@theitem.com Sumter High School’s International Baccalaureate program hosted its ninth Walk Against Domestic Violence on Saturday to raise awareness about an issue that has put South Carolina at the top of one of the most unfortunate lists. Before the walk began, the IB program students presented YWCA, an
Walkers in Sumter High School’s International Baccalaureate program’s Walk Against Domestic Violence fill Main Street on Saturday morning as they walk to raise awareness on the subject. The proceeds from the walk were donated to the Sumter YWCA.
organization that provides support services to victims of domestic violence, with a check for $300. Susan Hilton, the IB creativity activity service supervisor, said the students raised the money by selling shirts they created for the event and cause. She said the walk was started by a former SHS student, 2008 graduate
SEE WALK, PAGE A8
National radio host, author to speak at Wilson Hall BY KONSTANTIN VENGEROWSKY konstantin@theitem.com Eric Metaxas, national radio host and author of four New York Times bestselling books, will be the featured speaker at the sixth-annual Wilson Hall Mission Series on Thursday at 7 p.m. at the school’s Nash Student Center, 520 Wilson Hall Road. The event is free to the public, and
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doors will open at 6 p.m. Metaxas is the author of the No. 1 bestseller, “Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, METAXAS Spy,” also named “Book of the Year” by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association, selling more than a million copies in 19 languages. The book tells the story of
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a pastor and author in Nazi Germany who worked to dismantle Adolf Hitler’s Third Reich from the inside. Metaxas discusses Bonhoeffer’s decision to leave the United States to return to Hitler’s Germany to oppose the Nazi regime. The book also portrays his involvement in Operation Valkyrie, which was a failed plot to assassinate Hitler, and Op-
DEATHS, B5 William H. Davis Jr. Velma Shaffer Terralynn W. Brunson Kathryn W. Mitchell Lynn O. Spann Carrie C. Wells Alton Carraway
George G. Barkley Cecil J. Downing Ricky Scott Danny McCray James L. Rogers Frances E. Weatherly Beulah H. Dukes
eration 7, the effort to smuggle Jews into neutral Switzerland. Bonhoeffer was arrested by the Gestapo in 1943 and executed in 1945. “Wilson Hall is interested in bringing Christian faithbased speakers who will impact the Sumter community,” said Fred Moulton, school headmaster. “Metaxas brings a message of depth that older students and
adults would appreciate.” Metaxas was the main speaker at the 2012 National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C. Moulton described him as a “really intelligent man with a quick wit.” Metaxas is the author of the 2014 book “Miracles: What They Are, Why They Happen, and How They Can Change Your Life,” which ranked No.
SEE METAXAS, PAGE A8
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2 SECTIONS, 20 PAGES VOL. 121, NO. 29
Times of clouds and sun; cloudy and mild tonight HIGH 68, LOW 54
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Opinion A11 Television A10