First Slice 8/14/14: Tyler Perry donated $12,600 to Deal's reelection campaign

Madea goes to the smoke-filled room. Known for fundraising for President Obama and donating to Democrats Mayor Kasim Reed and Michelle Nunn, Tyler Perry and his company donated $12,600 to Gov. Nathan Deal's reelection campaign in May. Deal's team denies any connection to the much-hyped premiere of Tyler Perry's Fort McPherson.

The situation in Ferguson, Mo. continues to escalate. Jelani Cobb of the The New Yorker captured the scene last night.

"What transpired in the streets appeared to be a kind of municipal version of shock and awe; the first wave of flash grenades and tear gas had played as a prelude to the appearance of an unusually large armored vehicle, carrying a military-style rifle mounted on a tripod. The message of all of this was something beyond the mere maintenance of law and order: it's difficult to imagine how armored officers with what looked like a mobile military sniper's nest could quell the anxieties of a community outraged by allegations regarding the excessive use of force. It revealed itself as a raw matter of public intimidation."?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now has 50 staffers in West Africa to deal with the Ebola outbreak. The group stepped up its original timetable and departed two weeks ahead of schedule in an effort to thoroughly address the crisis.

The American Humanist Association says it will sue Chestatee High School in Hall County if the team does not cease staff lead prayers with their players and remove Bible quotes from workout sheets and a banner hoisted by cheerleaders. The AHA maintains that the practice is unconstitutional. Chestatee's record was only 9-3 last season so for at least a quarter of the time, God must have been distracted with smiting sinners or floods or locusts or whatever a deity does rather than guiding the War Eagles' Hail Mary. Since prayer doesn't seem to be doing the trick all the time, maybe a sacrifice would help?

According to bird experts at Zoo Atlanta, the escaped barn owl that went AWOL on Aug. 10 is not likely to return. Looks like Soren is soaring elsewhere. We wish him the best.