The week at a glance...United States

last updated 8 January 2015

Las Vegas

Deadly IndyCar crash: Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon died this week in a horrific 15-car crash during the early minutes of the IndyCar World Championships in Las Vegas. Twelve laps into the 200-lap race, Wheldon’s car plowed into a chain-reaction pileup, went airborne, and slammed into the catch fence, bursting into flames. Wheldon, 33, was airlifted to a nearby hospital, where he died. The race was held on a 1.5-mile, banked oval track that drivers feared was too small and too fast for 34 open-wheeled cars traveling 225 miles per hour. Driver Ryan Briscoe, who glided through the fiery debris in the aftermath of the crash, said it “looked like a war scene from Terminator or something. There were just pieces of metal and car everywhere.”

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GOP primary turmoil: Iowa Republican Party officials voted this week to move the state’s caucuses to Jan. 3, 2012, amid a wild scramble by early primary states to go first and thus increase their influence over the Republican race. Last month, Florida upended the schedule by moving its primary from March to Jan. 31, in defiance of Republican Party rules. South Carolina then jumped from February to Jan. 21, and Nevada leapfrogged both states, choosing Jan. 14. New Hampshire, which traditionally holds the nation’s first primary, was locked out of January dates and threatened to move its primary to Dec. 6, 2011. “If Nevada can move back just three days,” said Iowa GOP Chairman Matt Strawn, “we can restore that order that we’ve traditionally had with Iowa, followed by New Hampshire, and then continuing on in the process.”

Kansas City, Mo.

Bishop indicted: For the first time in the 25-year history of reported sexual misconduct by Roman Catholic priests in the U.S., a bishop has been indicted for failing to report abuse by a priest under his supervision. Bishop Robert Finn was charged last week with withholding information from police for months after discovering “hundreds of disturbing images of children” on the laptop computer of Father Shawn Ratigan. After Finn discovered the cache of photos, including nude shots and “upskirt images,” in December 2010, Ratigan was removed from his position as a church pastor. But Finn—who pledged three years ago to report abuses after his diocese paid $10 million to victims of other priests—did not notify the police, Ratigan’s parishioners, or parents of schoolchildren about the photos until May 2011, police say. “Nobody is above the law,” said parishioner Maggie Nurrenbern. “The bishop should go to jail.” Finn pleaded not guilty and promised to fight the charge.

Zanesville, Ohio

Lions, tigers, grizzlies let loose: Schools were closed, streets were cleared, and this tiny city was locked down this week after dozens of tigers, bears, wolves, and other exotic beasts were freed from a private zoo. Terry Thompson, 62, the owner of the Muskingum County Animal Farm, opened cages deliberately and then killed himself with a gun, police said. Thompson was recently released from prison after serving one year on federal weapons charges. Muskingum County deputies shot and killed 48 of the 56 animals; some were still at large the next day. At one point, said Sheriff Matt Lutz, police faced an enraged, 300-pound Bengal tiger. “We got a tranquilizer in it, and this thing just went crazy.’’ Lutz then ordered it shot. “Public safety was my No. 1 concern. We are not talking about your normal everyday house cat or dog.’’

Bergholz, Ohio

Amish hair-cutting attacks: Five men from an isolated Amish splinter group were arrested last week, charged with forcibly cutting the hair of people they deemed to be their enemies. The assaults, Amish leaders say, were meant to humiliate the victims, who believe the Bible instructs women to grow their hair long and men to grow beards once they marry. Sheriffs and Amish bishops from this rural area southeast of Cleveland said a series of attacks emanated from the breakaway Bergholz group, led by Sam Mullett, 66, whose two sons were among those arrested on kidnapping and other charges. In an unusual move for the Amish, who prefer to settle their own affairs, bishops turned to outside authorities to halt the attacks. “They didn’t feel they could get it stopped any other way,” said Sheriff Timothy Zimmerly of Holmes County.

Washington, D.C.

MLK statue dedicated: Some 30,000 spectators gathered on the National Mall this week to celebrate the long-awaited dedication of a carved granite memorial for slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. Under a nearly cloudless blue sky, King’s children, civil rights leaders, performers, and politicians reminded the crowd of his decades of struggle. The dedication, originally scheduled for Aug. 28—the 48th anniversary of the March on Washington and King’s “I Have a Dream” speech—was delayed by Hurricane Irene and the magnitude 5.8 earthquake that struck the capital in August. President Obama used the occasion to address the Wall Street protesters: “Dr. King would want us to challenge the excesses of Wall Street without demonizing those who work there.” After the dedication, civil rights activist and Princeton University professor Cornel West was arrested while protesting corporate influence over the government on the steps of the Supreme Court.

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