Midday Roundup: Obama tweaks the GOP with hints of immigration reform

Immigration reform? The White House is floating a proposal for immigration reforms by executive order, although officials who “leaked” the plans say the details aren’t set in stone. Unnamed Obama administration officials told The New York Times earlier this week President Barack Obama is considering a plan to block deportations for as many as 5 million illegal immigrants. He could issue the order as early as next week when he returns from a trip to Asia. The proposal and its surreptitious announcement could be a shot across the bow of the new Republican-dominated Congress—a reminder Obama will not wait for lawmakers to act on an issue both parties say is important. The president could be trying to see how far he can push the GOP leadership in a confrontation that could involve spending bills and budget showdowns. Soon-to-be Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., told reporters yesterday Republicans were not willing to shut down the government.

Mutual admiration. During his Asia trip, Obama visited Myanmar and opposition leader and pro-democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi at the home where she was confined under house arrest for more than a decade. The meeting illustrated the different approaches the two leaders take toward the repressive nation also known as Burma. Obama reportedly urged Suu Kyi to be more vocal in advocating for the rights of the country’s minorities. She warned the U.S. president not to paint such a rosy picture of the improvements the country has experienced in the last few years.

Blood ban. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has convened a panel to consider lifting the longstanding ban on blood donations from homosexual men. Critics say the ban is discriminatory and doesn’t take into account current, more accurate HIV testing methods. The government issued the ban in 1985 at the start of the AIDS epidemic. It has remained in place because the disease is still more common among gay men than any other demographic. Although new tests are more sensitive to the virus, they’re not 100-percent accurate, the FDA notes on its website. In the “window” of time shortly after a person becomes infected, the viral load in the blood is too low to be detected, but is there nonetheless. The risk of getting blood tainted with HIV comes almost exclusively from donations made during that “window” period, according to the FDA.

Scary diagnosis. Another doctor infected with the Ebola virus is headed to the United States for treatment. Dr. Martin Salia, a native of Sierra Leone who has permanent resident status in America, will be treated at the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. Salia was working at a major hospital in Freetown, but was not treating Ebola patients. His wife, Isatu Salia, who lives in Maryland, said she doesn’t know how he contracted the virus. The couple have two children.

Most valuable. Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw won the National League Most Valuable Player award on Thursday after taking home the Cy Young Award for the third time on Wednesday. He is the first pitcher to with MVP in the National League since Bob Gibson in 1968. Last year, WORLD profiled Kershaw, an outspoken Christian, in a story about the foundation he started to provide basic necessities and the gospel message to kids in the United States and Africa. “When you see that ‘most valuable’ in front of something, to have people think you really mean that much to your team, it really is a huge honor for me,” Kershaw told MLB Network immediately after he won the award. “It’s one of the coolest things ever.”

Here kitty, kitty. French officials are searching for a big cat that has been terrorizing residents of a small town near Paris. They first reported the animal was a tiger, but now say they believe it’s something else, only they’re not exactly sure what. Trackers have spotted footprints, and area residents reported sightings of the elusive cat. A nearby wild-animal preserve insists it’s not missing any residents. Until they catch the animal, police are warning people to drive instead of walk and avoid traipsing around the woods.