ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, March 9, 1997 TAG: 9703100107
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-3 EDITION: METRO
Confederate flag issue up to S.C. voters
COLUMBIA, S.C. - A proposal to take the Confederate flag off the Statehouse dome and move it elsewhere on the Capitol grounds probably won't succeed this year, Gov. David Beasley acknowledges.
``We'd like to see it resolved, but at this point in time it is doubtful,'' the first-term Republican governor said.
The Republican-led House voted 72-45 in January to defeat Beasley's proposal, instead sending the issue to a statewide vote in November.
The legislature raised the flag in 1962 to honor the Civil War's centennial, and then never took it down. Critics call it a symbol of slavery; supporters say it honors Civil War dead.
Beasley probably would have found support if he had presented his plan differently, said state Rep. Dan Tripp. ``He framed it as a racist symbol. I don't agree with that. It's a historical symbol,'' Tripp said.
-ASSOCIATED PRESS
Black Jesus gets show of support
UNION CITY, N.J. - When Desi Arnaz Giles, a black actor, appeared as the devil in a local gospel musical, few people in this racially diverse community paid much attention. But after Giles was cast last month as Jesus in the Park Theater Performing Arts Center's annual Passion play, passions were inflamed.
People called in death threats to the theater company, and some church groups canceled tickets, but expressions of bigotry have been drowned out by voices of support since the story spread through the media.
Last week, the theater received hundreds of calls from as far away as Hawaii and South America supporting the decision to use Giles, 34, in the role. Religious and cultural leaders from a number of Baptist churches, the Greek Orthodox Church, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People have registered their solidarity.
``The response has been so supportive that our whole operation has ground to a halt,'' said Father Kevin Ashe, the director of the play, noting that ticket sales have jumped 20 percent in the past week at the 1,400-seat theater. ``The answering machine was so filled up last night you couldn't record a message. When I went to check it, there were 119 messages - and they were all positive.''
Park Theater has been producing the play, which traces Christ's last days, since 1915. This is the first time a black man has played Jesus in the production. Giles alternates in the role with a white actor.
-THE BOSTON GLOBE
Misdiagnosed embryo causes defect in child
CHICAGO - A researcher from a program accused of misusing federal funds for human embryo research apparently misdiagnosed an embryo which developed into a child with cystic fibrosis, a newspaper reported.
The research assistant worked with Dr. Mark R. Hughes of Georgetown University, whose program is under investigation for violating a federal ban on experimenting with human embryos.
The assistant examined DNA from an embryo created by in-vitro fertilization and mistakenly concluded that the resulting child would be free of the disease, the Chicago Tribune reported today.
``The misdiagnosed embryo was implanted; and the resulting child is now being treated for cystic fibrosis,'' the National Institutes of Health said in a report on Hughes.
The technique of testing embryos before they are implanted has the potential of significantly reducing the number of babies born with such incurable genetic diseases as cystic fibrosis. The disorder is characterized by a thick mucus that causes a chronic lung infection and can cause death.
-ASSOCIATED PRESS
LENGTH: Medium: 71 linesby CNB