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Earlier this week, members of Congress and their staffs were greeted by a makeshift golf expo set up on the Rayburn House Office Building.

The event included golf shot simulators, certified golf instructors and a putting challenge between Democrats and Republicans. It was all part of National Golf Day, an annual event organized by the industry that promotes the economic and health benefits of the sport.

American politicians have had an affinity with golf dating back at least as far as William Howard Taft, the first-known president to hit the links. Since then, Democrats and Republicans alike have enjoyed game. But as hyperpartisan politics have become more commonplace in Washington, bipartisan golf outings have disappeared like a shanked tee shot into a water hazard

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South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn talks with PGA professional Bob Dolan Jr. at the National Golf Day event on Capitol Hill. Clyburn is an avid golfer, and the Democrat says that earlier on in his career, he learned a lot about bipartisanship on the golf course. Emily Jan/NPR hide caption

itoggle caption Emily Jan/NPR

South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn talks with PGA professional Bob Dolan Jr. at the National Golf Day event on Capitol Hill. Clyburn is an avid golfer, and the Democrat says that earlier on in his career, he learned a lot about bipartisanship on the golf course.

Emily Jan/NPR

Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., the third ranking Democrat in House leadership, said that when he first came to Washington in the early 1990s, golf was something political rivals did together regularly.

"I really learned bipartisanship up here on the golf course, and it allowed me to develop relationships across the aisle. And sometimes I'd be the only Democrat there — often the only African-American — but it taught me a lot. And I hope the experience taught some of them a lot," he said.

Clyburn, who took part in the event's putting challenge, admits that as years have passed, golf has stopped being used to chip away at bipartisan divides.

One needs to look no further than the closely watched relationship between President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner. Shortly after Republicans regained control of the House following the 2010 midterm elections, many wondered if the two would get together for a round of golf to iron out their differences.

It finally happened in June 2011. According to reports at the time, it was a cordial outing — Boehner clapped when the President sank a putt, and Obama put his hand on Boehner's shoulder as they were exiting a green.

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President Obama points to Vice President Biden's putt as they and House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, golf at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., in June 2011. Charles Dharapak/AP hide caption

itoggle caption Charles Dharapak/AP

President Obama points to Vice President Biden's putt as they and House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, golf at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., in June 2011.

Charles Dharapak/AP

But a month after that golf outing, the negotiations between the two on raising the nation's debt ceiling collapsed.

Sweetness And Light

Golf May Be Too Polite A Sport For Presidential Politics

Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, is an avid golfer, and still has a lot of power in his swing for an 81-year-old. Like Clyburn, he believes the decline in across-the-aisle golf outings has led to missed opportunities.

"It's still one of the best ways to communicate with one another and solve a problem — on the golf course," Young said.

Young admits there are still some bipartisan outings, but far fewer than there used to be. He said one reason is that members don't stick around Washington on weekends, when Congress isn't in session.

Former Republican Rep. Michael Oxley, who represented Ohio's 4th Congressional District for a quarter-century, said he played golf with many Democrats before his retirement in 2007, including former Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill.

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A staffer participates in the annual Democrats vs. Republicans putting challenge. Emily Jan/NPR hide caption

itoggle caption Emily Jan/NPR

A staffer participates in the annual Democrats vs. Republicans putting challenge.

Emily Jan/NPR

"When I ran for Congress, of course, Tip was the boogeyman among Republicans," Oxley said.

Oxley said the two golfed together and hit it off. He even remembers O'Neill's odd device at the handle end of his putter — a suction cup, so O'Neill didn't have to bend down to pick his ball up out of the hole. He admits there wasn't a whole lot of good golf played, but says it wasn't about that — it was about laying the groundwork for a good working relationship.

"I can't remember one time when I've cut a deal specifically on a specific piece of legislation on the golf course, because it's just generally frowned upon," Oxley said. "But the prearranged relationship that you've developed over time on a golf course gives you that avenue to make deals at a later date."

Any chance current members of Congress can learn something from their predecessors?

Rep. Clyburn will golf in Hilton Head, S.C., this weekend, and his trip suggests the lack of links bipartisanship will persist a bit longer: The list of House colleagues who will join him is all Democrats.

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Eric Werwa, left, Deputy Chief of Staff for Rep. Mike Honda, D-Calif., gets some tips on his swing from a PGA professional at the National Golf Day event on Capitol Hill. Emily Jan/NPR hide caption

itoggle caption Emily Jan/NPR

Eric Werwa, left, Deputy Chief of Staff for Rep. Mike Honda, D-Calif., gets some tips on his swing from a PGA professional at the National Golf Day event on Capitol Hill.

Emily Jan/NPR

Rep. Don Young

House Speaker John Boehner

bipartisanship

House of Representatives

golf

President Obama

James Clyburn

West Africa is about to receive a hefty infusion of cash. This Friday the World Bank unveiled a major aid package for the three West African countries at the center of this past year's Ebola epidemic.

Over the next 18 months, the bank plans to provide Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea $650 million in recovery assistance, mostly in the form of grants. The African Development Bank followed suit Friday with a pledge of about $300 million in similar funding.

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Sierra Leone health officials check people passing through the border with Liberia in Jendema last month. For the last two weeks, Sierra Leone has recorded only nine cases. Zoom Dosso/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

itoggle caption Zoom Dosso/AFP/Getty Images

Sierra Leone health officials check people passing through the border with Liberia in Jendema last month. For the last two weeks, Sierra Leone has recorded only nine cases.

Zoom Dosso/AFP/Getty Images

Combined with additional new promises by other international organizations and governments, the three affected countries will be getting more than $1 billion. Those additions boost the total international commitment to Ebola recovery since the outbreak began by about a third, the advocacy group One Campaign reports.

The aid comes amid recent steady declines in the number of new cases in the region. Weekly tallies are now down to fewer than 40 cases — their lowest level since last May, when the outbreak was just beginning to gather steam.

Still, the economic and social repercussions of the epidemic continue to reverberate.

In Sierra Leone, the Ebola crisis coincided with a plunge in the price of one of the country's major exports, iron ore. The economy there could end up contracting by more than 20 percent in 2015, the World Bank estimates.

Guinea's economy is stagnating. Liberia is projected to see growth rates of about 3 percent, but that's still well below the pre-Ebola estimates of 6.8 percent.

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Back in July, the streets of Kailahun, Sierra Leone, were empty because of the Ebola crisis. Local shops and restaurants suffered from the lack of business. Tommy Trenchard for NPR hide caption

itoggle caption Tommy Trenchard for NPR

Back in July, the streets of Kailahun, Sierra Leone, were empty because of the Ebola crisis. Local shops and restaurants suffered from the lack of business.

Tommy Trenchard for NPR

At the same time, all three countries are plagued with poor infrastructure and fragile health systems — which are still reeling from the loss of dozens of health workers to Ebola.

Meanwhile, the effort to bring cases down to zero continues to grind forward. Liberia has not had a single new case since late March. Sierra Leone is in sight of that goal as well, said the World Health Organization's Bruce Aylward at a news conference Thursday. He noted that for the last two weeks there have been only nine new cases confirmed there.

"They [Sierra Leone] are down to numbers where they can drive this to zero," Aylward said.

Another hopeful sign is that a large share of new infections — nearly 70 percent — are occurring in people whom health officials had already been tracking because they were known to have been in contact with an Ebola patient. That's important because it suggests health officials are doing a good job of identifying potential transmission chains.

But Aylward also warned that the campaign to end Ebola in Guinea is proving more "bumpy" than it is in Liberia and Sierra Leone. And he's worried that the progress across West Africa has created a false impression that the battle to stop Ebola has been won. "This is not done," he said. "Success is not assured," he added.

Recently, the U.S.'s effort in Liberia has come under fire. The multi-million dollar effort to build Ebola treatment units was completed too late to be of much use, The New York Times reported Sunday. The U.S. deployed almost 3,000 military troops at a cost of hundreds of millions to erect 11 treatment facilities. But by the time they were ready, the caseload in Liberia had already fallen precipitously. Only 28 Ebola patients were treated at a unit built by U.S. forces.

Nonetheless, Aylward said, the U.S.'s promise to build these centers provided an important morale boost for Liberians at the height of the crisis. The U.S. also gave material support and air transport, which was instrumental in getting health worker teams to hard-to-reach hotspots, he said.

Finally, Aylward noted that when the U.S. committed to building the treatment units, statistical models were suggesting infections would continue to rise exponentially in the coming weeks and months.

"The key to any large scale crisis is no regrets," Aylward said. "You have to go in big and heavy if you want to deal with it."

West Africa

ebola

World Bank

Global Health

Violence against immigrants in South Africa has killed at least five people, resulted in attacks on businesses owned by foreigners and sent thousands to take refuge at temporary shelters.

A massive rally against xenophobia was held Thursday in Durban, the coastal city that has been the scene of much of the unrest. Migrants from Africa and South Asia have been the target of the violence, which was condemned by President Jacob Zuma.

The fighting in Durban killed five people – two immigrants and three South Africans, CNN reported.

The charity Gift of the Givers told CNN that about "8,500 people fled to refugee centers or police stations this week because of the violence."

In Johannesburg Thursday, foreign-owned shops were attacked and looted, the BBC reported, prompting some 200 people to take refuge at a police station.

The BBC adds: "Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the looters and arrested 12 people. ,.. Police used rubber bullets to disperse a group of migrants in Johannesburg who had armed themselves with machetes for protection."

The unemployment rate in South Africa is 24 percent, and many in the country accuse foreigners of taking jobs. The violence, which has been widely condemned in South Africa, has been attributed to comments made by Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini who was quoted as saying foreigners should "go back to their countries." He says his remarks were misrepresented.

South African officials have apologized to their African counterparts for the violence.

Anti-immigrant violence in 2008 killed more than 60 people.

South Africa

Immigration

Pope Francis, who plans to visit the United States in September, might tack onto his itinerary a side trip to Cuba, the Vatican says, but it cautions the talks with Havana are at an early stage.

The Catholic Heraldquotes Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi as saying Francis is "considering the idea of a Cuba leg."

The Herald notes:

"In what will be the Pope's first trip to the US, the Pontiff will travel to Washington DC, New York and Philadelphia in September. He will join a session in Congress and be hosted by President Obama in the White House.

"A visit to Cuba would be a historic addition to this itinerary. Pope Francis has already played a major role in the re-opening of diplomatic relations between Cuba and the US, last summer writing letters to both Barack Obama and Raul Castro that eventually led to the release of US prisoner, Alan Gross."

Francis is credited with helping broker a breakthrough in relations between Washington and Havana following a decades-long Cold War freeze. Both of his predecessors, Pope Benedict XVI and Pope John Paul II, have also visited the predominately Catholic island-nation.

Pope Francis

Cuba