Midday Roundup: Obama renames Mount McKinley on Alaskan trip

Hello, Denali. President Barack Obama is officially renaming Mount McKinley to its traditional moniker, “Denali,” while on a visit to Alaska. Obama is making the trip to bring attention to climate change, but also will settle a longstanding political feud over the moniker of the highest peak in North America. Gold prospectors began calling it Mount McKinley at the turn of the 20th century as a sign of thanks for President William McKinley’s support of the gold standard. The U.S. government codified the name in 1917. The name Denali has broad support in Alaska, but officials in Ohio, McKinley’s home state, said they were frustrated by the name change. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, both expressed disappointment over the decision.

Senseless. A 30-year-old man with a history of petty crime is in jail today on charges of killing a Harris County, Texas, sheriff’s deputy execution-style while the deputy pumped gas. Sheriff Ron Hickman said Shannon Miles walked up behind Deputy Darrin Goforth at a suburban Houston gas station and shot him repeatedly in the back in an unprovoked ambush. Goforth, 47, died at the scene. He is the 23rd law enforcement officer in the nation killed in the line of duty so far this year. Goforth leaves behind a wife and two young children. Police say they do not know what motivated the killing.

Structural damage. Syrian authorities report an explosion near the city of Palmyra’s most significant historical site, but they say the 2,000-year-old Temple of Bel is still standing. Last week, Islamic State (ISIS) blew up the smaller Temple of Baal Shamin. Maamoun Abdulkarim, head of the Syrian Antiquities and Museums Department, told BBC News, “our information is provisional, but it indicates that any damage done was partial, and the basic structure is still standing.” On top of its brutal executions of those who don’t profess the group’s ideology, ISIS routinely destroys historical artifacts and artwork it deems idolatrous.

Medicine man. Neurologist Oliver Sacks, who chronicled his patient’s unusual disorders for a mainstream audience, died Sunday from cancer. He was 82. Sacks wrote the 1985 bestselling book The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, a collection of stories about his more memorable patients. Discover magazine ranked it among the 25 greatest science books of all time in 2006, declaring, “Legions of neuroscientists now probing the mysteries of the human brain cite this book as their greatest inspiration.” His 1973 book Awakenings, about patients who woke up from a catatonic state, led to a 1990 movie in which Robin Williams portrayed Sacks. It was nominated for three Academy Awards.

At the movies. There’s good news for moviegoers looking for faith-based fare: The religious drama War Room opened in second place in box office sales, grabbing $11 million at the box office. War Room, whose producers made the movies Courageous and Fireproof, explores the power of prayer in a family facing a series of internal and external challenges. The gritty and decidedly R-rated Straight Outta Compton took the top slot for the third week in a row with just over $13 million in ticket sales, and the military action flick No Escape took in just over $8 million.

WORLD Radio’s Jim Henry and The Associated Press contributed to this report.