JOHN MCCAIN'S RECOVERY & RETURN TO US SENATE REQUIRES LONG SHOT MIRACLE (ARIZONA SPECIAL ELECTION?)

JOHN MCCAIN'S RECOVERY & RETURN TO US SENATE REQUIRES LONG SHOT MIRACLE:

MCCAIN IS NOW BEING COMPARED TO THE LATE US SENATOR TED KENNEDY WHO DIED OF BRAIN CANCER IN 2009.

WILL A SPECIAL ELECTION BE HELD IN ARIZONA TO REPLACE MCCAIN?

WHEN??


Sources: ABC News, Fox News, NY Times, State of the Nation, Youtube


***** Despite cancer diagnosis, McCain says, 'I'll be back soon'


Battling brain cancer, John McCain on Thursday vowed to return to the Senate, leveling fresh criticism at the Trump administration and aiming a good-natured dig at Republican and Democratic colleagues shaken by news of his diagnosis.

"I greatly appreciate the outpouring of support — unfortunately for my sparring partners in Congress, I'll be back soon, so stand-by!" McCain said in a tweet. Showing no signs of stepping back from political and national security battles, he issued a statement slamming the Trump administration over its Syria policy.

The 80-year-old McCain, the GOP's presidential nominee in 2008 and a six-term Arizona lawmaker, was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive type of brain cancer, according to doctors at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, who had removed a blood clot above his left eye last Friday.

They also managed to remove all of the tumor that was visible on brain scans.

The senator and his family are considering further treatment, including chemotherapy and radiation, as he recuperates at his home in Arizona. President Donald Trump called the senator on Thursday, said a White House official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private talks.

In a blistering statement through his office, McCain criticized the administration over reports that it was ending a program to assist Syrian opposition forces fighting the government of Bashar Assad.

"If these reports are true, the administration is playing right into the hands of Vladimir Putin," said McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. "Making any concession to Russia, absent a broader strategy for Syria, is irresponsible and short-sighted."

Battling brain cancer, John McCain on Thursday vowed to return to the Senate, leveling fresh criticism at the Trump administration and aiming a good-natured dig at Republican and Democratic colleagues shaken by news of his diagnosis.

"I greatly appreciate the outpouring of support — unfortunately for my sparring partners in Congress, I'll be back soon, so stand-by!" McCain said in a tweet. Showing no signs of stepping back from political and national security battles, he issued a statement slamming the Trump administration over its Syria policy.

The 80-year-old McCain, the GOP's presidential nominee in 2008 and a six-term Arizona lawmaker, was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive type of brain cancer, according to doctors at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, who had removed a blood clot above his left eye last Friday. They also managed to remove all of the tumor that was visible on brain scans.

The senator and his family are considering further treatment, including chemotherapy and radiation, as he recuperates at his home in Arizona. President Donald Trump called the senator on Thursday, said a White House official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private talks.

In a blistering statement through his office, McCain criticized the administration over reports that it was ending a program to assist Syrian opposition forces fighting the government of Bashar Assad.

"If these reports are true, the administration is playing right into the hands of Vladimir Putin," said McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. "Making any concession to Russia, absent a broader strategy for Syria, is irresponsible and short-sighted."

More significantly, McCain's absence complicated Republican leader Mitch McConnell's plans for a Senate vote on a GOP health care bill to erase much of Barack Obama's law. A vote is possible as early as Tuesday, but Republican defections plus McCain's likely absence could sink any chance even to get started.

McCain's closest friend in the Senate, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, said that they had spoken by telephone Wednesday night and that the diagnosis had been a shock to McCain. But Graham said "woe is me" is not in McCain's DNA. "One thing John has never been afraid of is death," said Graham, who said he expects McCain to be back at the Capitol.

Prior to a Thursday news conference on immigration legislation, Graham said McCain called him three times.

"He is yelling at me to buck up, I'm so going to buck up," Graham said.

It was unclear how long McCain might be out. Earlier this year, Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., missed several weeks after undergoing back surgery. Former Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., was out for nearly a year after suffering a stroke in 2012.

Meantime, prayers and words of encouragement flowed in Thursday from presidents and Senate colleagues past and present.

"I called Senator John McCain this morning to wish him well and encourage him in his fight.

Instead, he encouraged me," said former President George W. Bush, who prevailed over McCain for the GOP presidential nomination in 2000. "I was impressed by his spirit and determination."

Former Sen. Bob Dole of Kansas said: "Having known John for many decades, I am certain that he is as tough as they come — if anyone can defeat this, it's him. John is a true American hero."

According to the American Brain Tumor Association, more than 12,000 people a year are diagnosed with glioblastoma, the same type of tumor that struck McCain's Democratic colleague in legislative battles, the late Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts.

The American Cancer Society puts the five-year survival rate for patients over 55 at about 4 percent.

McCain, a former combat pilot, has a lifetime of near-death experiences — surviving a July 1967 fire and explosion on the USS Forrestal that killed 134 sailors, flying into power lines in Spain, being shot down in October 1967 and falling into Truc Bach Lake in Hanoi, and going through 5 1/2 years in a North Vietnamese prison.

"The Hanoi Hilton couldn't break John McCain's spirit many years ago, so Barbara and I know — with confidence — he and his family will meet this latest battle in his singular life of service with courage and determination," said former President George H.W. Bush.

Commenting on both McCain and the response, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said, "The outpouring of bipartisan respect and love for John McCain as he faces this cancer battle reminds us that after all the meanness there is a human side to politicians. Count this Democrat in John McCain's corner."

In the past, McCain had been treated for melanoma, but this primary tumor is unrelated. Doctors said McCain is recovering from his surgery "amazingly well" and his underlying health is excellent.

JAHI MCMATH: JESUS Can Raise Up JAHI Just Like JAIRUS' Daughter (Man Is Not GOD!)

#RightToLIFE


JAHI MCMATH'S RIGHT TO LIFE:


SCOTUS Justices are Not GOD.

They are only Human Beings created by GOD.


Members of CONGRESS are Not GOD.

They are only Human Beings created by GOD.


Pres OBAMA is Not GOD.

He is only a MAN created by GOD.


The POPE is Not GOD.

He is only a MAN created by GOD.


JEFFREY TOOBIN is Not GOD.

He is only a MAN created by GOD.


SANJAY GUPTA is Not GOD.

He is only a MAN created by GOD.


SAM SINGER is Not GOD.

He is only a MAN created by GOD.


ANDERSON COOPER is Not GOD.

He is only a MAN created by GOD.


DON LEMON is Not GOD.

He is only a MAN created by GOD.


PIERS MORGAN is Not GOD.

He is only a MAN created by GOD.


With GOD All Things Are Possible If You BELIEVE.


Only GOD Can Perform MIRACLES.


Only GOD Can Heal & Raise up JAHI MCMATH.


Only GOD Has The LEGAL & SPIRITUAL Authority To Determine When Human Beings Should DIE Not Man.

JAHI MCMATH DESERVES THE RIGHT TO LIVE & NOT BE MURDERED.



-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

JESUS CAN RAISE UP JAHI MCMATH THE SAME WAY HE RAISED UP JAIRUS' DAUGHTER

MARK 5:21-43

"A Girl Restored to Life and a Woman Healed"

"Now when Jesus had crossed over again by boat to the other side, a great multitude gathered to Him; and He was by the sea.

And behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue came.

His name was JAIRUS.

And when he saw Him, he fell at His feet and begged Him earnestly, saying:

“My little daughter lies at the point of death.

Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live.”

So Jesus went with him, and a great multitude followed Him and thronged Him.

Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years,
and had suffered many things from many physicians.

She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse.

When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment.

For she said:

“If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.”

Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction.

And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said:

“Who touched My clothes?”

But His disciples said to Him:

“You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’”

And He looked around to see her who had done this thing.

But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth.

And He said to her:

“Daughter, your faith has made you well.

Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.”

While He was still speaking, some came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house who said, “Your daughter is dead.

Why trouble the Teacher any further?”

As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue:

“Do not be afraid; only believe.”

And He permitted no one to follow Him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James.

Then He came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and saw a tumult and those who wept and wailed loudly.

When He came in, He said to them, “Why make this commotion and weep?

The child is not dead,
but sleeping.”

And they ridiculed Him.

But when He had put them all outside.

He took the father & the mother of the child, and those who were with Him, and entered where the child was lying.

Then He took the child by the hand......

and said to her, “Talitha, cumi,” which is translated, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.”

Immediately the girl arose and walked, for she was twelve years of age.

And they were overcome with great amazement.

But He commanded them strictly that no one should know it, and said that something should be given her to eat."


Sources: AP, CNN, Facebook, HLN, TIME, Youtube

JAHI MCMATH Is Still Alive! GOD Performed A Miracle!! She Is Being Transferred!! (Please Keep PRAYING)

#JahiMcMath

BREAKING NEWS ABOUT JAHI MCMATH......GOD PERFORMED A MIRACLE TODAY!!

SHE IS STILL ALIVE!!.....A JUDGE GIVES HER FAMILY UNTIL JANUARY 7TH!!

A HOSPITAL IN NEW YORK WILL ACCEPT JAHI MCMATH FOR CONTINUED CARE.



JAHI WAS SUPPOSED TO BE REMOVED FROM LIFE SUPPORT TODAY AT 5:00 PM BUT HER FAMILY FILED AN APPEAL........PLEASE KEEP PRAYING.

ARTICLE: "Brain-Dead Teen To Remain On Life Support Pending Appeal By Family"

With an hour to spare, a judge ordered a stay on the restraining order against the hospital that was scheduled to take the 13-year-old girl rendered brain-dead by elective surgeries in California off life support Monday evening.

Jahi McMath is allowed to remain on life support until Jan. 7, a California judge ruled.

Jahi underwent a tonsillectomy and other operations to alleviate her sleep apnea on Dec. 9. She started bleeding profusely and went into cardiac arrest shortly after.

The young girl’s family has been in a legal battle with Children’s Hospital in Oakland since Doctors at the hospital declared her brain-dead three days later.

The family gained a restraining order preventing doctors from removing Jahi from a ventilator keeping her alive, but Superior Court Judge Evelio Grillo revoked the order Tuesday after hearing testimony from an independent physician who also ruled Jahi met “all criteria for brain death," according to NBC Bay Area.

Grillo said Children’s Hospital would have allowance to remove Jahi from life support at 8 p.m. local time Monday (5 p.m. ET) unless the family filed a formal appeal.

The family filed an appeal just before 4 p.m. (7 p.m. ET) on Monday, according to NBC Bay Area.

Omari Sealey, left, uncle of 13-year-old Jahi McMath, and Sandra Chatman, grandmother of McMath speak to members of the media after a court hearing in Oakland, Calif., on Dec. 24.

"We are hopeful that one of these actions will forestall the hospitals rush to extinguish Jahi's chance at life," said Jahi's uncle, Omari Sealey.

Jahi’s parents have insisted that their daughter is alive, regardless of doctors’ opinions that Jahi’s condition is irreversible.

"I would probably need my child's heart to stop to show me that she was dead. Her heart was still beating, so there's still life there," Jahi's mother, Nailah Winfield said Friday, according to the Associated Press.



In efforts to keep Children’s Hospital from removing Jahi from the machine that was supporting her basic life functions, her family tried to move her to other facilities in California, but doctors at both facilities refused to treat someone who had been declared dead.

An unnamed hospital in New York agreed to take the teenager, but only after she underwent more medical procedures, according to the Associated Press.

David Durand, chief of pediatrics at Children's Hospital said administrators did “not believe that performing surgical procedures on the body of a deceased person is an appropriate medical practice.”

On Friday Winfield wrote on a fundraising page, “My family and I are still striving to find a location that will accept her in her current condition … Let us pray that some one (sic) will have the heart to accept her despite what Children's Hospital says. So that we can get her air lifted away from this place as soon as possible.” On Monday, donors had contributed over $25,000 to Jahi’s cause.

NBC Bay area reported that Sealey said that a hospital in New York had agreed to admit Jahi and on Monday, the family was organizing for an air ambulance to transfer the teen across the country.


Sources: AP; CNN; HLN; NBC News; U.S. News

Chilean Miner Historic Rescue Countdown: 24 Up; 9 More To Go

24 Rescued From Chilean Mine, 9 To Go


[Updated at 4:58 p.m. ET, 5:58 p.m. Chile time] Before the capsule carrying José Henriquez, the 24th rescued miner, emerges from the shaft, a crew member calls out, "Do you hear me?"

His muffled response, "Yes, I hear you," elicits claps and cheers.

He climbs out, fists pumping, as his wife rushes towards him and starts to sob as they embrace.

Chile's mines were virtually a second home for Henriquez, who has spent 33
years working in them. Before the explosion, Henriquez warned that something was wrong with the mine. During the period of captivity, he served as a religious leader of shorts for the trapped miners.

[Updated at 4:41 p.m. ET, 5:41 p.m. Chile time] Most of the miners are in good emotional and physical health, Chilean Minister of Health Jaime Manalich said, expressing surprise at how "well they are.”

He also spoke highly of the rescue capsule and the shaft, noting that the miners were coming out dry and with very little dust on them.

"Things are going fantastically well, better than expected," he said in a press conference. "The work at the shaft has been really impeccable."

[Updated 4:32 p.m. ET, 5:30 p.m. Chile time] Carlos Bugueño, 27, reaches the surface, making him the 23rd miner to be rescued. Bugueño helped oversee the packages coming into and leaving the mine during his captivity. He joined the mines with childhood friend Pedro Cortez, who is pected to be the 31st miner to reach the surface.

[Updated 4:30 p.m. ET, 5:30 p.m. Chile time] Miner Dario Segovia, the 20th miner to reach the surface, leaves the triage center and enters the family greeting area. He's traded in his outfit of dusty t-shirt, and green utility pants for what appears to be a teal jumpsuit. But he's still wearing the dark sunglasses to help his sight adjust to daylight as he hugs his relatives.

[Updated 4:20 p.m. ET, 5:20 p.m. Chile time] Miner 
Carlos Bugueño is loaded into rescue capsule and pulled toward the surface.

[Updated 4:05 p.m. ET, 5:05 p.m. Chile time] Samuel Ávalos reaches the surface dressed in the same outfit as his predecessors: dark sunglasses, blue hard hat, beige t-shirt that reads, "Gracias Señor," or "Thanks be to God," atop the star from the Chilean flag.

His wife greets him with a hug, and the two share a long kiss accompanied by some claps and whistles.

[Updated at 3:55 p.m. ET, 4:55 p.m. Chile time] Samuel Ávalos has left the mine in the rescue capsule, bound for Camp Hope.

[Updated at 3:34 p.m. ET, 4:34 p.m. Chile time] Yonni Barrios becomes the 21st miner to be brought to the surface.

Barrios, 50, assumed the role of chief paramedic for the group due to his previous nursing experience. As a child, Barrios was tasked with caring for his diabetic mother. Fellow miners are calling him "Dr. House" after the American TV show, which is popular in Chile. He has been in the mine since 1985 and is married with no children.

[Updated at 3:21 p.m. ET, 4:21 p.m. Chile time] Yonni Barrios, the 21st miner, begins his ascent to Camp Hope.

[Updated at 3:01 p.m. ET, 4:01 p.m. Chile time] Dario Segovia reaches the surface, making him the 20th rescued miner since efforts got underway Tuesday night.

Segovia, 48, is the second generation of his family to be trapped in a mine. His father, who spent a week trapped in a mine, began taking him down in the mines when Rojas was 8.

His wife snaps a picture of him while he is still strapped into the rescue capsule, a red, white and blue cyliner bearing the Chilean flag and its colors. After he exits, he touches the ground and the rescue crew cheers.

After Chilean Mining Minister Laurence Golborne and other officials greet him with hugs, he is loaded onto a stretcher, covered with a blanket and brought to the triage center for medical assessment.

In the waiting room, cameras capture the jubilant scene as Golborne greets the miners' relatives in a surreal moment that plays out instantly on the television screen behind them.

[Updated at 2:47 p.m. ET, 3:47 p.m. Chile time] Miner Dario Segovia begins his ascent to Camp Hope.

Meanwhile, rescued miner Edison Pena has found out that he has a special invitation to visit Elvis Presley's home in Memphis, Tennessee. Pena, a die-hard Elvis fan, led his fellow trapped miners in Elvis sing-alongs to pass time while waiting for their rescue.

[Updated at 2:30 p.m. ET, 3:30 p.m. Chile time] The rescue capsule is sent back down the mine, where 48-year-old Dario Segovia is expected to be the miner brought to the surface.

[Updated at 2:28 p.m. ET, 3:28 p.m. Chile time] The 19th miner, Pablo Rojas, reaches the surface, where he is greeted by his son, Michael Rojas, in a long embrace.

Rojas, 45, was trapped in the mine with his two cousins, Victor Segovia and Esteban Rojas, who have already reached the surface.

[Updated at 2:15 p.m. ET, 3:15 p.m. Chile time] Pablo Rojas begins his ascent to Camp Hope.

[Updated at 2:00 p.m. ET, 3:00 p.m. Chile time] President Obama praises the rescue workers and the Chilean government for their efforts so far, saying the story has "inspired the world."

Obama said the world watched the rescue of the first miner and his embrace of his family upon reaching the surface.

"The tears they shed after so much time apart expressed not only their own relief, not only their own joy, but the joy of people everywhere," he said.

The president also commended help from the United States and elsewhere in the rescue effort, citing the NASA team that he said designed the rescue vessel and other U.S. support.

[Updated at 1:57 p.m. ET, 2:57 p.m. Chile time] The rescue capsule has been sent back down to the mine. The next miner expected to be brought to the surface is 45-year-old Pablo Rojas, cousin of Estebean Rojas.

[Updated at 1:49 p.m. ET, 2:49 p.m. Chile time] Esteban Rojas has been lifted out of the Chilean mine where he has been trapped for more than two months.

"Esteban, how are you?" the rescuers shouted as he got close to the surface. You could hear him shout through the chamber showing he was okay: "Bien!"

His wife Jessica Yanez grasped onto a religious tapestry with Mary on it as she awaited to see her husband - the 18th man to be lifted from underground.

As soon as he exited the capsule Rojas too knelt down on the ground, clasped his hands in prayer and lifted his hands to the sky to praise God. His wife then wrapped the tapestry around him as they hugged and cried as workers rallied in a Chile chant.

Rojas, 44, was working with supplies sent down to the mine. During his time in the mine he asked his wife of 25 years to renew their vows - and they plan to do so shortly after his rescue at a traditional church this time.

[Updated at 1:27 p.m. ET, 2:27 p.m. Chile time] Esteban Rojas is being put into the rescue capsule and will soon begin his journey to the top of the mine and see his family at Camp Hope.

[Updated at 1:23 p.m. ET, 2:23 p.m. Chile time] Crews worked to rescue 33 trapped miners as if the miners were their children, a posting on the official Twitter page of Chilean President Sebastian Pinera said Wednesday.

"We looked for them like our children. We found them with God's help. We are rescuing them as Chileans," the posting said. "May their example inspire us."

The posting also thanked several heads of state, including the leaders of Brazil, Ecuador and the United Kingdom.



View Larger Map


Sources: CNN, MSNBC, Youtube, Google Maps

Obama Praises Amazing Chilean Miner Rescue Miracle

WH Dispatch: Obama On Chilean Miners



President Obama watched as the first of the trapped Chilean miners were rescued Tuesday night and found the story "inspirational," according to White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.

Gibbs quoted the President as saying the rescue was "a story with a happy ending" and he is "enormously proud" of the efforts of the American companies and federal agencies who assisted the Chilean government in the rescue efforts.

Gibbs also said President Obama will likely give remarks at the start of his 1:50 p.m. ET Rose Garden event on Wednesday and hopes to speak with some of the CEO's of those American companies and the Chilean government soon.




Miners In Chile Continue Their Ascensions To Freedom


By Wednesday afternoon, rescuers had winched to the surface more than half of the 33 miners trapped in a northern Chile gold and copper mine, and the world marveled at a "mission incredible."

After 69 harrowing days, the miners ascended to freedom one by one, hoisted through a half-mile of rock in a rescue mission that began in the numbing chill of a desert night and continued under the searing sun of a cloudless day.

As they came out of the earth in a red, white and blue capsule, the miners signaled a thumbs-up. Or waved Chilean flags. One even led the crowd in a chant for Chile. Some dropped to their knees and prayed. Mostly, though, they embraced the families they feared they would never see again.

Chilean President Sebastian Pinera called the mission "magical." U.S. President Barack Obama called it a "tremendously inspirational story."

Florencio Avalos was the first to step out from the "Fenix" capsule, named for the mythical bird that rose from ashes.

He beamed as his feet touched the surface of the Earth that had smothered him. He cradled his son and wife before Pinera bear-hugged him.

The entire night passed before it was Mario Gomez's turn. He is 63 but has been mining since the tender age of 12. He contracted lung disease during his career and lost three fingers in a previous mining accident. He had planned to retire but went back down in the mine August 5 to test drive a new truck.

His wife, Lillian Ramirez, stood by nervously as he emerged before her in a cage no wider than the span of his shoulders.

Gomez, a man who used to tell his wife to quit bugging him to say daily prayers, dropped to his knees to praise God. At that moment, she knew how lucky she was to have him returned to her.

To say there were 33 trapped in the mine is wrong, Ramirez said. There were 33 men -- and God.

Ramirez was just one of the many anxious family members who bit their lips in anticipation and then rejoiced at the appearance of each man at the San Jose Mine in Chile's Atacama Desert. The miners had been trapped in the bowels of the earth since August 5 when the mine caved in.

In the capital, Santiago, hundreds wept and embraced as they watched the rescue on a flickering big screen TV set up in a square. Corks popped and champagne flowed at the Chilean embassy in Washington.

The scene repeated itself as more and more miners arrived. Around the world, strangers sat glued to their television sets.

"I mentioned on Twitter how 41 years ago the world watched men walk on the moon," said Connie Preti of New York. "Today we are seeing men come out from the earth. It's equally striking."

Pinera greeted each man as he came out of the capsule and said he would remain at the site until the last man was out Wednesday evening.

"We had promised to look until we found them," Pinera said. "We can all feel proud to be Chilean."

Health Minister Jaime Manalich said the rescue was proceeding according to plan and "going extraordinarily well so far." He said the miners were generally in good health.

"We have had very, very minor problems," Manalich said.

As the second miner, Mario Sepulveda, exited the rescue hole, he reached into a large yellow bag and handed out what appeared to be rocks to officials and rescue workers.

Sepulveda cracked jokes and led the crowd in a cheer for Chile. As the 40-year-old was hauled away on a stretcher for medical evaluation, he asked his wife, "How's the dog?"

Later, in a video conference, he said his time underground changed him.

"I buried 40 years of my life down there, and I'm going to live a lot longer to be a new person," he said. "I think I have learned a lot of wonderful lessons about taking the good path in life. For those of you able to call your wives, or your husbands, do so."

Avalos, the first man out, appeared strong, walking without help, embracing many of the rescue workers who witnessed his arrival. He was then put on a gurney and wheeled away for an examination by doctors.

The 31-year-old miner became a cameraman during the isolation, filming videos of the miners to be sent up to rescuers and relatives at the surface. His brother, Renan Silva, is also trapped in the mine.

"I'm overwhelmed with emotion because it's been so long since we have seen him," Alfonso Avalos, Florencio's father, told Chile's TVN. "I'm very proud of him. Thanks to God he got out and looks good."

Amid the sea of Chilean flags greeting the emerging miners was a collection of small, handheld Bolivian flags for Carlos Mamani, the lone Bolivian miner.

His family back home was restrained in their emotions for much of the morning while watching the rescue on TV. But they jumped up and clapped when they saw him kneel on the ground.

Next up was the youngest of the lot: Jimmy Sanchez, an 18-year-old who worked as an environmental assistant -- and the father of a newborn girl.

The 12th miner to be rescued, Edison Pena, was no longer "All Shook Up," as the Elvis Presley song goes. An Elvis fanatic who led the trapped miners in sing-alongs, Pena, 34, looked fit and exuberant. He waved and shook hands and hugged colleagues, loved ones and dignitaries.

And so it went Wednesday, and so it will go throughout the day.

The trapped miners put on green coveralls made of moisture-resistant material and personalized with their names.

Each climbed into a claustrophobic capsule equipped with communications equipment and a supply of oxygen. Each wore special $450 Oakley goggles to protect their eyes -- which had become accustomed to the vampiric darkness of the caved-in mine -- from the lights up above.

Then they awaited the order to hoist to begin their journey.

The first miners to come to the surface were deemed the most fit, but also possessed the most technical know-how so that they could advise the rescue teams.

The next five were the physically weakest, a term perhaps not appropriate for anyone who has survived more than two months in the bowels of the earth. But one of the miners has diabetes; another has black lung.

The last to come out will be Luis Alberto Iribarren, 54. Like the captain of a sinking ship, the shift supervisor volunteered to stay behind until all his men were safe.

All of the men are going through two hours of health checks at a field hospital set up at the mine. They will then be flown by helicopter to a hospital in the town of Copiapo -- approximately a 15-minute flight.

"It's extremely exciting for us. ... It's a very emotional moment for us," said Jeff Hart, one of the lead drillers who assisted with the rescue efforts. "We worked real long and hard on that, and to actually see the capsule come through the first time through the hole that we drilled was just unbelievable."

For the 33 men, the only contact with the outside world since August 5 was through a small bore hole through which they were sent food, water and other supplies. A letter sent by one of them said they would take a vow of silence, to never to fully reveal the details of their underground misery.

High above the miners, family members and 1,500 journalists from 39 nations held their collective breath as the rescue mission continued throughout the day.

And as each trapped man emerged safe, they exhaled.


View Larger Map


Sources: CNN, Google Maps

Chilean Miners Receive Rescue Miracle From God! 18 Up Thus Far!

Rescued Miner Says He Saw God & Devil During Captivity


Having spent 69 days trapped inside the San Jose mine in Chile before being rescued, Mario Sepulveda says, he is a changed man.

"I buried 40 years of my life down there, and I'm going to live a lot longer to be a new person," he said in a video conference hours after surfacing from half a mile underground.

Sepulveda, the second miner extracted from the mine, has advice for those who take undue risks in their lives.

"I think I have learned a lot of wonderful lessons about taking the good path in life," he said. "For those of you able to call your wives or your husbands, do so."

During the time he was trapped inside the mine, Sepulveda said, he saw both good and evil.

"I was with God, and I was with the devil. They fought, and God won," he said. Sepulveda said he grabbed God's hand and never doubted that he would be rescued.

Sepulveda praised the efforts of the rescue crews but argued for reforms in the mining industry.

"I think this country has to understand once and for all that we can make change. In the area of labor, we have make many changes," he said. "I think the owner has to give the tools so that the middle managers can bring changes in terms of labor. The middle managers cannot carry on like they have."

The rescued miner had high praise for the doctors and psychologists who aided the miners via videoconference.

"They gave us our lives back. It's incredible that with 700 meters between us, and not seeing us face-to-face, they revived us," he said.

With the world watching and the media attention at the mine intense, Sepulveda said he hoped to maintain a low-key profile now that they are being rescued.

"The only thing I ask personally is that you please not treat us like celebrities or journalists. I want to continue being treated like Mario Antonio Sepulveda Espinace, the worker, the miner. I love that, and I think that, in some shape, way or form, I want to continue working," he said.

Sepulveda was flanked by family members as he spoke.

"I'm very happy for all the beautiful things that were done for us," he said. "I'm very excited to be up here again."





Eighteenth Chile Miners Rescued, 15 To Go


[Updated at 1:49 p.m. ET, 2:49 p.m. Chile time] Esteban Rojas has been lifted out of the Chilean mine where he has been trapped for more than two months.

"Esteban, how are you?" the rescuers shouted as he got close to the surface. You could hear him shout through the chamber showing he was okay: "Bien!"

His wife Jessica Yanez grasped onto a religious tapestry with Mary on it as she awaited to see her husband.

As soon as he exited the capsule Rojas too knelt down on the ground, clasped his hands in prayer and lifted his hands to the sky to praise God. His wife then wrapped the tapestry around him as they hugged and cried as workers rallied in a Chile chant.

Rojas, 44, was working with supplies sent down to the mine. During his time in the mine he asked his wife of 25 years to renew their vows - and they plan to do so shortly after his rescue at a traditional church this time.

[Updated at 1:27 p.m. ET, 2:27 p.m. Chile time] Esteban Rojas is being put into the rescue capsule and will soon begin his journey to the top of the mine and see his family at Camp Hope.

[Updated at 1:23 p.m. ET, 2:23 p.m. Chile time] Crews worked to rescue 33 trapped miners as if the miners were their children, a posting on the official Twitter page of Chilean President Sebastian Pinera said Wednesday.

"We looked for them like our children. We found them with God's help. We are rescuing them as Chileans," the posting said. "May their example inspire us."

The posting also thanked several heads of state, including the leaders of Brazil, Ecuador and the United Kingdom.


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Evan Muncie Found Alive 4 Weeks Later In Haitian Rubble; Miracles!

Haitian Man May Have Survived 4 weeks In Rubble


A man pulled alive from the rubble of a building in Haiti's capital Monday may have been trapped since the January 12 quake that leveled much of the city, doctors reported.

The 28-year-old man, identified as Evan Muncie, was found in the wreckage of a market where he sold rice, his family told staff at a University of Miami field hospital. He suffered from extreme dehydration and malnutrition, but did not appear to have significant crushing injuries, the doctors said.

"He was emaciated. He hadn't had anything in quite some time. He had open wounds that were festering on both of his feet," said Dr. Mike Connelly, of the university's Project Medishare.

The people who brought him to the hospital said they found the man while digging out the marketplace, Connelly said.

iReporter Michael Andrew brought Muncie's story to light while working with the 82nd Canadian Naval unit.

The man told doctors that someone was bringing him water while he was trapped, but doctors told CNN that he sounded confused and at times appeared to believe he was still under the rubble. Connelly said the man must have had some water during the past month to have survived, but Connelly wasn't sure how he would have had access to it.

"Initially, I'm sure he had his senses with him, so maybe he was able to find some kind of resources," Connelly told CNN.

The discovery came nearly a month after the magnitude-7.0 earthquake that devastated Port-au-Prince on January 12. More than 200,000 deaths have been blamed on the quake.

Haiti's government declared search-and-rescue efforts over on January 23, but survivors still were being unearthed as late as January 27.


Sources: CNN

Dr. Oral Roberts, Televangelist Is Dead At 91...R.I.P.

Television Evangelist Dr. Oral Roberts dies



Evangelist Oral Roberts, who rose from tent revivals to found a multimillion-dollar organization and an Oklahoma university bearing his name, has died. He was 91.

His spokesman A. Larry Ross said by phone from Carrollton, Texas, that Roberts died Tuesday of complications from pneumonia in Newport Beach, Calif.

Roberts was hospitalized after a fall on Saturday. He had survived two heart attacks in the 1990s and a broken hip in 2006.

Roberts overcame tuberculosis at age 17, and credited that triumph with leading him to become one of the country's most famous ministers.

By the 1960s and '70s, the Oklahoma-born Roberts was reaching millions around the world through broadcasting, publications and personal appearances. Oral Roberts University, chartered in 1963, became a Tulsa landmark.

Roberts was preceded in death by his wife of more than 66 years, Evelyn.



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Sources: MSNBC, Youtube, Google Maps