John Burnett

Controversy Brews Over Church's Hallucinogenic Tea Ritual

John Burnett — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 22:05:00 +0000

A small church in Santa Fe, N.M., has grown up around a unique sacrament. Twice a month, the congregation meets in a ritualized setting to drink Brazilian huasca tea, which has psychoactive properties said to produce a trance-like state.

The Supreme Court confirmed the UDV church's right to exist in 2006. The church doesn't seek new members and prefers to keep a low profile.

Explosion Fails To Divide Texas Community

John Burnett — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 10:00:00 +0000

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

And let's check in on another major story that dominated our attention last week, a fertilizer plant that caught fire and exploded in Texas. We can now say that 14 people were killed and 200 injured.

Two Decades Later, Some Branch Davidians Still Believe

John Burnett — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 09:21:00 +0000

Twenty years ago, federal agents clashed with David Koresh's Branch Davidian community near Waco, Texas. The standoff ended with a raid and fire that killed some 80 people. It's remembered as one of the darkest chapters in American law enforcement history.

Two decades later, some of the Branch Davidians who survived the raid are still believers, while a new church group has moved onto the land.

The Raid

Most people born in an earlier generation know the outlines of the story. David Koresh was the self-appointed prophet of a small religious community.

Search And Rescue Ongoing After Texas Plant Explosion

John Burnett — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 16:08:00 +0000

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

It's MORNING EDITION, from NPR News. Good morning. I'm David Greene.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

And I'm Steve Inskeep.

We're learning more about last night's fire in the Texas town of West. The fire started in a fertilizer plant, and a father in a vehicle nearby was taking video of the flames when the plant exploded.

(SOUNDBITE OF VIDEO)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Are you OK?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Yeah.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: You OK?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Yeah. I can't hear.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Cover your ears.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: I can't hear. Get out of here.

Juarez Priest Finds 'Hand Of God In The Midst Of Mayhem'

John Burnett — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 20:16:00 +0000

Father Kevin Mullins steers his old Chevy pickup up a steep road to a hilltop dominated by a large statue of the virgin. She has a commanding view of this troubled corner of Christendom.

Here, the states of Texas, New Mexico and and Chihuahua, Mexico, intersect amid barren hills freckled with ocotillo plants and greasewood.

Getting out of the truck, the graying Catholic priest with the kind, ruddy face squints north. "From up here you can see across the I-10 there into El Paso. Also, you see the border fence down there.