Midday Roundup: Illness ends writing, teaching career of J.I. Packer

End of an era. Theologian J.I. Packer has had to cancel planned speaking and writing engagements after developing macular degeneration, an age-related condition that causes poor vision. Packer, who will turn 90 this year, shared his perspective on the situation with Ivan Mesa of The Gospel Coalition: “God knows what He’s up to. And I’ve had enough experiences of His goodness in all sorts of ways not to have any doubt about the present circumstances.”

Collision course. Two Marine helicopters collided off the Hawaiian island of Oahu on Thursday night. The Coast Guard is searching a debris field for the 12 people who were on board the two aircraft. A Coast Guard spokesperson said search conditions were challenging because of darkness and 10- to 15-foot waves. There was no immediate word on what caused the collision or whether any survivors have been found.

Emptying the cells. The Obama administration quietly released another 10 detainees from the prison at Guantanamo Bay on Thursday—this time to Oman. Critics say the move is especially dangerous because it puts the detainees near al-Qaeda’s strongest terror branch on the Arabian Peninsula. Already, at least three released Gitmo prisoners have become al-Qaeda leaders in Yemen. The transfer brings the number of remaining Gitmo detainees to fewer than 100, many of whom the Obama administration plans to bring to American soil.

Ongoing outbreak. Samples taken from the body of a 22-year-old woman who died this week in Sierra Leone tested positive for the Ebola virus—one day after the epidemic was declared over. Authorities are tracing her contacts and have dispatched teams to the area to investigate how she might have contracted the disease and whether she might have infected others. WHO declared the Ebola outbreak over after no new cases emerged in Liberia. Sierra Leone was first declared Ebola-free on Nov. 7, after nearly 4,000 people died from the virus there. The three countries were most affected by the epidemic that began two years ago. “This outbreak is in a critical phase right now where we are moving from case management to management of risk,” WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic said. This Ebola outbreak has killed more than 11,300 people, mostly in West Africa, since it emerged at the end of 2013.

Made in China. A Chinese company is buying General Electric Co.’s appliance business for $5.4 billion. Haier Group, the world’s largest home appliance maker, wants to transform itself into a premium brand, while GE is shifting emphasis from traditional businesses such as appliances to higher-technology areas such as medical equipment and clean energy. The purchase is the third in a string of multibillion-dollar foreign acquisitions this week by Chinese buyers.

WORLD Radio’s Christina Darnell and The Associated Press contributed to this report.