Los Angeles
Catholic cover-up: The former archbishop of Los Angeles, Cardinal Roger M. Mahony, and other senior clergymen conspired to protect pedophile priests from prosecution throughout the 1980s, previously confidential church documents have revealed. The records, released as part of a pending civil suit against the archdiocese, show that rather than defrocking priests and contacting the police, the archdiocese sent abusive clergy to treatment facilities out of state—largely because therapists in California were legally obligated to report evidence of child molestation to the police. In one 1987 case, Mahony’s adviser, Monsignor Thomas Curry, suggested that they send a predator priest to “a lawyer who is also a psychiatrist,” to put reports “under the protection of privilege.” Mahony, who retired in 2011, apologized and said he had been naïve about the “full and lasting impact these horrible acts” would have on victims. A victims’ group called for Mahony to be criminally prosecuted.
Albuquerque
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A grisly family shooting: A New Mexico teenager is expected to face murder charges after allegedly gunning down five family members with his parents’ rifles. Nehemiah Griego, 15, is accused of using a .22 caliber rifle to shoot his mother while she slept and then kill his siblings—ages 9, 5, and 2—when they awoke. He then allegedly grabbed an assault rifle and waited downstairs to ambush his father, who had taught him to use the guns. All five victims had gunshot wounds to the head. Bernalillo County Sheriff Dan Houston said Griego loaded the guns into a van, intending to drive to Walmart to shoot people at random, but instead confessed at a local church and was arrested. “The motive, as articulated by the suspect, was that he was frustrated with his mother,” Houston said. Griego has no history of mental illness, but reportedly spent much of his free time playing violent video games, including Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto.
Wichita
Clinic to reopen: The abortion clinic that closed after its medical director was murdered in 2009 will reopen in March, setting the stage for new clashes between abortion advocates and opponents. The clinic has been shut ever since its owner, George Tiller—one of the few doctors in the U.S. to carry out late-term abortions—was shot at a Wichita church by anti-abortion activist Scott Roeder. Trust Women Foundation, an abortion rights group, bought the clinic from Tiller’s family and now plans to reopen it in the spring. Abortion opponents have pledged to stop the renovation, mounting campaigns to have construction permits revoked and persuade contractors not to work there. “We can’t stop an abortion clinic,” said Mark Gietzen of Kansas Coalition for Life, “but we can stop it from going in there.”
New Orleans
Ex-mayor indicted: A grand jury indicted former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin last week on 21 federal corruption charges. Nagin, the city’s mayor from 2002 to 2010, is accused of taking bribes and favors from contractors while overseeing rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina. He allegedly awarded a series of lucrative contracts to private contractors from 2005 to 2008 in exchange for over $200,000 in kickbacks and luxury trips to Hawaii, Las Vegas, and Jamaica. If convicted of all charges, he could serve over 15 years in prison. Despite severe criticism of his post-Katrina leadership, Nagin won a second term as mayor in 2006 with strong support from black voters. He is the first mayor in the city’s 295-year history to be indicted on federal corruption charges. “Public corruption cannot and will not be tolerated,” said current Mayor Mitch Landrieu.
Washington, D.C.
Debt ceiling raised: House Republicans voted overwhelmingly to raise the debt ceiling for a three-month period this week, taking the threat of a government default off the table until at least May. The bill was agreed upon at a House GOP retreat last week, when the caucus agreed not to use the debt ceiling as leverage for spending cuts. Instead, House Republicans intend to use the automatic “sequestration” cuts due in March as impetus for more-considered spending reforms. The debt-ceiling bill also states that if Senate Democrats fail to pass a budget before April 15—something Republicans say they haven’t done in several years—Senate lawmakers will not get paid. Democrats complained that would violate the 27th Amendment, which keeps lawmakers from changing their own salaries midterm, but the GOP said its bill would only freeze pay, not alter it.
Washington, D.C.
Clinton grilled: In long-awaited testimony before Congress, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton this week angrily denied Republican charges that the public was misled about the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya. Questioned by a Senate committee as to why the Obama administration initially said the attack grew out of protests, rather than being a planned attack by Islamist extremists, Clinton said intelligence reports were unclear, and shot back, “What difference at this point does it make? We had four dead Americans.’’ Clinton choked up as she recalled seeing the coffins of Ambassador Christopher Stevens and the three other Americans. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said Clinton should have been fired over the poor security at the consulate, but Clinton said she had since taken steps to improve diplomats’ safety and make sure that Benghazi “doesn’t happen again.’’
