Ritual may explain dumping of dead babies in Chinese river
BEIJING (AP) — Rural traditions of abandoning dead infants because they’re considered bad luck may have played a role in the case of 21 babies’ bodies found along a river in eastern China, apparently dumped by hospital mortuary workers.The little bodies were found floating and strewn along the bank of a river on the outskirts of Jining city in Shandong province last weekend.Police detained two mortuary workers at a hospital who were paid by the babies’ families to dispose of the bodies.
Alleged neo-Nazis register for Peruvian elections
LIMA, Peru (AP) — An organization led by a man who criticizes Jews and sometimes wears a Nazi-style brown-shirt uniform has been allowed to register for elections in Peru.
1963 letter indicates former pope may have known of abuse
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The head of a Roman Catholic order that specialized in the treatment of pedophile priests visited with then-Pope Paul VI nearly 50 years ago and followed up with a letter recommending the removal of pedophile priests from ministry, according to a copy of the letter released Wednesday.In the Aug. 27, 1963 letter, the head of the New Mexico-based Servants of the Holy Paraclete tells the pope he recommends removing pedophile priests from active ministry and strongly urges defrocking repeat offenders.The letter, written by the Rev. Gerald M.C. Fitzgerald, appears to have been drafted at the request of the pope and summarizes Fitzgerald’s thoughts on problem priests after his Vatican visit.A message left with the Paraclete order at one of their two existing facilities in Missouri was not returned. A number for the second facility was disconnected. The offices of the Vatican spokesman were closed late Wednesday.Tod Tamberg, spokesman for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, defended the church and said it was unlikely Paul VI ever saw the letter.
Witness: Crowd shot by drive-by shooter had been to funeral
WASHINGTON (AP) — The crowd of people targeted in a drive-by shooting that killed four and wounded five others had just returned from the funeral of a victim of another recent shooting nearby, a witness said Wednesday.Two men were arrested and are being charged for Tuesday night’s shooting along with a 14-year-old boy police said was driving the minivan involved. The shooting is the worst in D.C. in at least 16 years. The minivan pulled up to the crowd of people in front of an apartment building and stopped briefly. Shots were fired, then the van sped off, police said. Authorities haven’t said whether the drive-by was related to another shooting about a mile and a half away March 22.
Judges overturn sex offender rule, man doesn’t have to register for life
(AP) — An appellate court has ruled that the state cannot require a man to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life or carry a special driver’s license and identification card.The ruling by a three-judge panel of Louisiana’s 1st Circuit Court of Appeal overturns a state judge’s ruling against Jimmy L. Smith. Smith was convicted of indecent behavior with a juvenile and carnal knowledge of a juvenile when he was 19.Smith’s attorney said he served his sentence for the 1995 convictions, completed his probation and complied with post-release registration requirements for a 10-year period after he was released from prison.The opinion issued Friday says Smith fulfilled his duty to register as a sex offender for the period of time that was applicable when he was convicted.
Louisiana oyster harvest area closes Tuesday after outbreak
(AP) — For the third time in a week, the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals has closed an oyster harvesting area because of an outbreak of illness.”Area 13,” west of the Mississippi river in southern Jefferson and Lafourche parishes, was closed late Tuesday.
Judge: Inmate has right to recieve religious newspaper
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A Louisiana state prison can’t censor or restrict an inmate’s access to copies of The Final Call newspaper published by the Nation of Islam, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.U.S. District Judge Donald Walter in Shreveport ordered the David Wade Correctional Center to deliver future issues of the newspaper to inmate Henry Leonard, who claims the Homer prison violated his right to free exercise of religion.