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Illinois AG probe: Catholic clergy sexual abuse of kids was far more common than church acknowledged

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:57 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois’ attorney general released the results of a sweeping investigation into allegations of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy on Tuesday, saying investigators found that 451 clergy sexually abused nearly 2,000 children since 1950 — far more than the 103 individuals the church had named when the state review began in 2018.At a news conference announcing his office’s findings, Attorney General Kwame Raoul credited accusers for making the review possible. He said state investigators found that 1,997 children across the state were abused by clergy between 1950 and 2019.“It is my hope that this report will shine light both on those who violated their positions of power and trust to abuse innocent children, and on the men in church leadership who covered up that abuse,” Raoul said. “These perpetrators may never be held accountable in a court of law, but by naming them here, the intention is to provide a public accountability and a measure of healing to survivo...

Dolly Parton invites fan in hospice care to Dollywood

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:57 GMT

(TMX) – A Missouri woman in hospice care recently got to visit Dollywood in Tennessee to meet her idol, Dolly Parton.Jackie Carroll is in the early stages of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, and is currently in the care of CoxHealth at Home, “and her world revolves around Dolly Parton,” CoxHealth said in a statement.“Jackie can sing every word to ‘9 to 5’ and ‘Coat of Many Colors,’ and Dolly’s music brings her joy and comfort every day,” CoxHealth said. Last month, Carroll’s medical team posted on Facebook about Jackie’s love for Dolly Parton, and “word spread quickly and reached the queen of country music herself.”Parton invited Carroll and her medical team to visit Dollywood. She made the trip of a lifetime with the help of Parton’s team, CoxHealth Foundation and the Arc of the Ozarks, which supports people with disabilities in Missouri. Carroll got to meet and speak with Parton, and received a few gifts.“Jackie has loved Dolly since she was a little g...

Officials: Correctional officer stabbed 10 times at Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in Shirley

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:57 GMT

A correctional officer at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center is expected to be OK after being stabbed approximately ten times by an inmate, according to officials.The Massachusetts Correction Officers Federated Union said the stabbing happened Monday evening, after correctional officers were called to a fight between inmates. During the response, the inmates reportedly started to attack correctional staff, with one inmate allegedly using a makeshift knife to stab an officer “approximately ten times” in the head and upper back.According to the union, the officer was taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries and has since been released.

Online Lottery Momentum Stalls Out In Senate

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:57 GMT

The Senate on Tuesday rejected a proposal to authorize online Lottery, setting up a closed-doors fight with House negotiators over the latest proposed expansion of gambling. In the first hour of debate on their fiscal year 2024 budget, senators shot down an amendment from Sen. Paul Feeney that would have allowed the Massachusetts Lottery to offer its products online. No one spoke about Feeney’s amendment before the vote. Senate leaders wove the measure alongside 90 other amendments into a bundle that senators rejected with a single voice vote. The House in its budget authorized an “iLottery” system and called for all new revenue from online Lottery sales to be directed toward Commonwealth Cares for Children, or C3, grants to early education and care providers. House Democrats estimate the measure could generate $200 million in revenue for the strained early education and care sector. Feeney’s amendment would have steered revenue from an online Lottery to citi...

State Eyes More Restrictive Student Cellphone Policies

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:57 GMT

The state’s K-12 education department is encouraging districts to restrict or ban students’ cellphone use in schools, possibly moving toward a statewide mandate in the future. Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley announced Tuesday that the department will “likely” create a matching grant of up to $1 million for districts that pilot a cellphone restriction policy. This is “not a mandate at this time,” he said, “but we’re certainly interested in piloting more of this.” Riley invited teachers, administrators and students from schools that have instituted restrictions or bans to speak before the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education at their monthly meeting on Tuesday. Some school representatives discussed their policies requiring students to give up their phones at the start of class. Other schools restrict phone use in hallways as well. One school, the Eliot K-8 Innovation School in Bost...

WATCH: Wranglers capture runaway cow on I-75 in Michigan

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:57 GMT

OAKLAND COUNTY, Michigan (WWJ) — It was an eventful Sunday afternoon on I-75 in Holly as a runaway cow managed to get on the freeway.According to Michigan State Police, troopers responded to a traffic control request around 2:50 p.m. Sunday along I-75 near Belford Road as a group attempted to wrangle a cow that was stuck in a gravel put on Belford Road.A group of wranglers on horses and four-wheelers on the shoulder of I-75 attempted to capture the cow, but the bovine outsmarted them and ran across the northbound lanes of I-75.Troopers shut down the northbound and southbound lanes for safety.The group eventually captured and removed the cow from the freeway.MSP says the cow is now back in the pasture.

Guam residents stock up, batten down as dangerous Super Typhoon Mawar closes in

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:57 GMT

By JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER (Associated Press)HONOLULU (AP) — President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration as an intensifying Super Typhoon Mawar approached Guam, where anyone not living in a concrete house was urged to seek safety elsewhere and emergency shelters began to fill ahead of what could be the most powerful storm to hit the U.S. Pacific territory in two decades.Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero said on social media that the declaration will support the mobilization of resources into Guam, which is “especially crucial given our distance from the continental U.S.” Guerrero ordered residents of coastal, low-lying and flood-prone areas of the territory of over 150,000 people to evacuate to higher elevations.Federal assistance will be needed to save lives and property and “mitigate the effects of this imminent catastrophe,” Guerrero said in a letter to the president requesting a “pre-landfall emergency” for Guam. Officials warned resident...

Trump to make second Stormy Daniels ‘hush money’ court appearance, virtually

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:57 GMT

By Josephine Stratman, New York Daily NewsDonald Trump was set for a virtual Tuesday appearance in a Manhattan courtroom, with a judge expected to warn the former president to abide by new restrictions set in his “hush money” case.Judge Juan Merchan has already imposed a protective order on Trump and his team to block them from talking about evidence or witnesses in the case on social media.He agreed to take the additional step of personally addressing the issue on the restrictions on Trump after Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s team expressed their concerns about the case.Former U.S. President Donald Trump during a round of golf at his Turnberry course on May 2, 2023 in Turnberry, Scotland. (Photo by Robert Perry/Getty Images)Trump could face contempt charges if he uses evidence shared by prosecutors in pre-trial discovery to intimidate witnesses or anyone else involved in the case. The order would also bar Trump or his layers from sharing evidence with third parties or po...

LeBron James noncommittal on future, hints at retirement after loss to Nuggets: ‘I’ve got a lot to think about’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:57 GMT

Could this be the end?LeBron James’ cryptic press conference Monday after the Los Angeles Lakers’ Game 4 loss to the Denver Nuggets raises legitimate questions about his future.The 38-year-old hinted at retirement after being swept out of the Western Conference Finals.“We’ll see what happens going forward,” James said Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. “I don’t know. I don’t know. I’ve got a lot to think about, to be honest. Just for me personally going forward with the game of basketball, I’ve got a lot to think about. …”“It’s all about availability for me and keeping my mind sharp, and things of that nature,” James said. “Being present on the floor, being present in the locker room and bus rides and plane rides, things of that nature. It’s challenging, for sure. It was a very challenging season for me, for our ballclub, and obviously we know whatever went on early on [in the Lakers...

Illinois AG’s investigation finds 451 Catholic clergy sexually abused kids, far more than the 103 the church named

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:57 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois AG’s investigation finds 451 Catholic clergy sexually abused kids, far more than the 103 the church named.