Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/130651
4B Daily News – Thursday, May 16, 2013 WORLD BRIEFING Fenner dismissed one count alleging the bishop and diocese aided and abetted Ratigan in his possession of child pornography. The judge said federal law stipulates that to be guilty of aiding and abetting, a party must have done so before or during the commission of a crime. He said the diocese and bishop didn't know about hundreds of lewd photos on Ratigan's laptop computer until after he had committed the crime. Ratigan pleaded guilty in August to taking pornographic photos of the girl, known as Jane Doe 173 in the litigation, in May 2006 at a church in Buchanan County. He awaits sentencing and initially was a party to the civil lawsuit but failed to respond. GOP, Dems aggressively question Holder over subpoenas WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional Republicans and Democrats on Wednesday challenged Attorney General Eric Holder over the Justice Department's handling of the investigation of national security leaks and its failure to talk to The Associated Press before issuing subpoenas for the news service's telephone records. In exchanges that often turned testy, Holder defended the inquiry while pointing out that he had removed himself from any decision on subpoenas. The attorney general explained that he had been interviewed about what he knew of national security developments that prompted the probe. The investigation follows congressional demands into whether Obama administration officials leaked secret information to the media last year to enhance the president's national security credentials in an election year. ''It's an ongoing matter and an ongoing matter in which I know nothing,'' Holder told the House Judiciary Committee. The Justice Department secretly obtained two months of telephone records of reporters and editors for the AP, seizing the records for more than 20 separate telephone lines assigned to the AP and its journalists in April and May 2012. Holder: Justice probe of IRS could include civil rights violations WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI is investigating potential civil rights violations at the Internal Revenue Service after the agency acknowledged the agency had singled out conservative groups for extra scrutiny, Attorney General Eric Holder said Wednesday. Other potential crimes include making false statements to authorities and violating the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from engaging in some partisan political activities, Holder said. ''I can assure you and the American people that we will take a dispassionate view of this,'' Holder told the House Judiciary Committee at a hearing Wednesday. ''This will not be about parties, this will not be about ideological persuasions. Anybody who has broken the law will be held accountable.'' But, Holder said, it will take time to determine if there was criminal wrongdoing. Holder announced a day earlier that the Justice department had opened a criminal investigation, joining three committees in Congress that are looking into the matter. As the investigation widened, House Speaker John Boehner told reporters he had this question: ''Who's going to jail over this scandal?'' Attorney says civil suit against KC diocese reaches settlement KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A lawsuit filed against the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph and Bishop Robert Finn by a girl who was 2 years old when Kansas City priest Shawn Ratigan took pornographic photos of her has tentatively been settled for $600,000, a Minnesota attorney representing the girl said Wednesday. Gregg Meyers of the St. Paul, Minn., law firm Jeff Anderson and Associates told The Associated Press about the deal before it had been officially announced. He said it was reached after a full day of mediation between the parties Tuesday, soon after U.S. District Judge Gary Fenner in Kansas City dismissed one of two counts in the suit. involved in similar accusations — the Pentagon said Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is working on a written directive to spell out steps aimed at resolving the escalating problem. But President Barack Obama, fuming at a news conference last week, warned that he wanted swift and sure action, not ''just more speeches or awareness programs or training.'' Sexual offenders need to be ''prosecuted, stripped of their position, court-martialed, fired, dishonorably discharged. Period,'' he said. Back to the Pentagon Papers, leaks lead to clashes Pentagon faces outrage over string of sexual assault cases WASHINGTON (AP) — Government information leaks and collisions with the media date back decades and decades. Think back to the Pentagon Papers. In the early 1970s, the Justice Department went to court to prevent further publication in The New York Times of portions of a topsecret study, dubbed the Pentagon Papers, which was packed with damaging details about America's conduct of the Vietnam War. It led to a landmark First Amendment case before the Supreme Court, which sided with the media. It also drew the ire of President Richard Nixon and resulted in a break-in at the psychiatrist's office of Daniel Ellsberg, the leaker of the papers. Fast-forward to the disclosure this week of the secret seizure by the Justice Department of two months of phone records for more than 20 telephone lines used by reporters and editors at The Associated Press. Investigators are trying to find out who may have leaked information contained in an AP story last year about a CIA operation in Yemen that stopped an alQaida plot to detonate a bomb on a U.S.-bound airplane. The seizure of phone records has been described WASHINGTON (AP) — One after another, the charges have tumbled out — allegations of sexual assaults in the military that have triggered outrage, from local commanders to Capitol Hill and the Oval Office. But for a Pentagon under fire, there seem to be few clear solutions beyond improved training and possible adjustments in how the military prosecutes such crimes. Changing the culture of a male-dominated, change-resistant military that for years has tolerated sexism and sexist behavior is proving to be a challenging task. ''Members of the Hill, people in the department and the American people have the right to be outraged,'' Pentagon press secretary George Little said Wednesday, adding that the military ''must hold ourselves to a higher standard.'' As new sexual assault allegations emerged this week involving an Army soldier who was assigned to prevent such crimes — the second military member An Independently owned and operated Member of Coldwell Banker Residential Affiliates. The busiest local information website in Tehama County! OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK C & C PROPERTIES 741 Main Street, Suite #2, Red Bluff 1-800-287-2187 • (530) 527-2187 www.northstatehomes.com OJ Simpson testifies in Las Vegas LAS VEGAS (AP) — His leg shackles rattling as he shuffled to the witness stand, a grayer, bulkier O.J. Simpson made his case for a new trial on armed robbery charges Wednesday, saying he was relying on the advice of his trusted attorney when he tried to reclaim mementos from his football glory days. 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