Here is a news article: The Boy Scouts organization has told a Seattle-area church that it can no longer host a troop because the church has vowed to keep a gay man on as troop leader.

 The Boy Scouts of America said Sunday that it was contacting leaders and parents of the children in Troop 98 and its affiliated Cub Scout pack to tell them that Rainier Beach United Methodist Church is no longer authorized to be a charter partner.

 Boy Scout troops must have a charter partner, which often offers a place to meet and financial support. The scouting organization bans gay adults from membership, and an openly gay man, Geoff McGrath, runs the troop at Rainier Beach.

 “Because the church no longer agrees to the terms of the BSA chartered organization agreement, which includes following BSA policies, it is no longer authorized to offer the Scouting program,” Deron Smith, a Boy Scouts spokesman, told NBC News in an email. He added that the organization was “saddened by this development.”

 The BSA’s top leader in Seattle has told parents that a local community center has offered to take over the pack and troop.

 Rev. Monica Corsaro of the church outside Seattle said the move was expected, but she said that her congregation’s anti-discrimination beliefs were not being respected.

 She also called it a “unilateral decision” by the BSA and said that the church was not consulted. (The BSA said it called Corsaro; she said she could not talk last week during the busy Christian Holy Week holidays.)

 “Breaking us up like this seems to go against everything the Boy Scouts is about,” Corsaro told NBC News. “It seems to me that when you are in a dispute with a partner you try to work it out with the partner. It’s very clear we’re not viewed as an equal partner.”

 Corsaro said the church would still offer a youth program but had not had a chance to discuss what that would be. About 15 boys participate in either the troop or the pack.

 NBC News was reporting on Troop 98 and its Scoutmaster, McGrath, in late March when the Boy Scouts revoked McGrath’s membership as an adult leader. The BSA said because McGrath was openly gay, he could not participate in the organization. Corsaro said at the time that her church would keep McGrath on in his role as Scoutmaster.

 The Boy Scouts has grappled with its controversial membership policy barring gays in recent years. In an historic ballot last May, its 1,400-member National Council voted to allow gay youth — but not adults — to join Scouting beginning last Jan. 1.

 Troop 98 got its start not long after that contentious ballot. Clergy in McGrath’s Seattle neighborhood wanted to start a youth program because there were few in the area, Corsaro said. The clergy reached out to McGrath, a member of the Methodist Church, to ask whether he could lead a Boy Scout unit.

 McGrath, a married Eagle Scout, hesitated because he worried that his sexual orientation would sink the effort. He said he didn't hide his sexual orientation from Scouting leaders, but Seattle’s top BSA official told NBC News that she never knew he was gay.

 McGrath is believed to be the first gay adult to be booted from the Boy Scouts of America since last May’s vote. He said Sunday that he was “shocked” by the BSA decision.

 “It’s just so astounding to me that they would take this tiny, small issue and dissolve two units over it without having a proper conversation with the pastor,” he told NBC News by phone.

 The gay fathers of a child who joined Troop 98 after NBC's article said they had received a letter from the BSA’s top leader in Seattle with the offer to transfer to a troop at a local community center. One of the fathers, Kevin Reed, said they had no plans to go elsewhere.

 Their son, Adrian Benitez, 14, said: “I don’t feel too good about it because it’s really offensive to my dads and Geoff.” ||||| Photo Advertisement Continue reading the main story

 SEATTLE — The Boy Scouts of America, which voted last year to allow gay scouts but not openly gay scout leaders, has revoked the charter of a church-sponsored troop here for refusing to fire its adult gay scoutmaster.

 The decision, which one gay rights organization said was a first since the policy change last year, essentially bars the Rainier Beach United Methodist Church and its 15 scouts from using logos, uniforms or names associated with the Boy Scouts as long as the scoutmaster and Eagle Scout Geoffrey McGrath, 49, remains in charge.

 The church’s pastor, the Rev. Dr. Monica K. Corsaro, said Monday that Mr. McGrath was there to stay, and so was the youth group he leads, though perhaps without the familiar uniforms and the Scout oath.

 “We’re going to stand firm,” she said. “Geoffrey attends our church, and this is a way to support our youth in the neighborhood.”

 This month, the Boy Scouts ordered the dismissal of Mr. McGrath, a software engineer who is married to his longtime partner, after he spoke about his sexual orientation in a news article profiling the troop, which was formed last year in a south Seattle neighborhood heavily populated by immigrants and lower-income families. The decision to disenfranchise the organization, sent in a letter on Friday, came after church officials said they would continue to support Mr. McGrath and had no intention of following the order.

 “Because the church no longer agrees to the terms of the B.S.A.-chartered organization agreement, which includes following B.S.A. policies, it is no longer authorized to offer the scouting program,” a spokesman for the Boy Scouts, Deron Smith, said in an emailed statement on Monday. “We are saddened by this development.”

 The debate over whether to allow gays in scouting has been a grim one for the Boy Scouts, which has prided itself for generations on its assertions that scouting builds character and integrity, even as revelations in recent years about sexual predators in the ranks have exploded in court cases and news coverage. The scandals have made the organization sensitive about choosing leaders, many people involved in scouting said, especially as scout numbers have declined. Last year’s policy shift, to allow gay youths, sharply divided the religious community in particular.

 Mr. McGrath, who is on vacation in Italy, said in a telephone interview that discussions were already beginning about what might come next for the youth organization at Rainier Beach. However, Mr. Smith, the Boy Scouts spokesman, said in his statement, “We have already identified a new chartered organization to sponsor the units and are contacting the parents and leaders of the units to inform them of the change.”

 Mr. McGrath described his church’s youth group as diverse. He said there were boys from immigrant families, including from Asia and Africa, as well as two boys with gay fathers.

 “We’ll have to figure out a new name,” he said. |||||
A summary of this is?

– A church-sponsored Boy Scout troop in Washington state has had its charter revoked for refusing to fire its gay scoutmaster. The decision bars the Rainier Beach United Methodist Church from using the Scout name or logo as long as Eagle Scout Geoff McGrath, 49, remains in charge, the New York Times reports. Boy Scouts of America—which voted last year to allow gay scouts but not gay leaders—says it is "saddened by this development," but the church is no longer allowed to offer the scouting program because it is not following BSA policies. BSA lawyers say the church's 15 scouts will have the opportunity to transfer to another troop. The church's Rev. Monica Corsaro says the organization never consulted the church about the move. "Breaking us up like this seems to go against everything the Boy Scouts is about," she tells NBC. "It seems to me that when you are in a dispute with a partner you try to work it out with the partner. It’s very clear we’re not viewed as an equal partner." She says the church plans to stand by McGrath, who is married to his partner of 20 years, and the youth program will continue under a different name. "We’re going to stand firm," she says. "Geoffrey attends our church, and this is a way to support our youth in the neighborhood."


Article:

Both exercises show that each side is training with the other side’s capabilities and most likely war plans in mind. Whilst spokespeople may maintain that these operations are targeted against hypothetical opponents, the nature and scale of them indicate otherwise: Russia is preparing for a conflict with NATO, and NATO is preparing for a possible confrontation with Russia.

 We do not suggest that the leadership of either side has made a decision to go to war or that a military conflict between the two is inevitable, but that the changed profile of exercises is a fact and it does play a role in sustaining the current climate of tensions in Europe. These tensions are further aggravated and elevated into a sense of unpredictability when the exercises are not pre-notified or publicly announced beforehand, as is apparently the case with a number of Russian exercises.

 In our view, the implementation of the following four recommendations could help to defuse or at least minimize the tensions connected with the increased frequency and scale of the military exercises now taking place: ||||| Intensified military exercises by Russia and NATO are fueling tensions in Europe that have already been heightened by the conflict in Ukraine, a research group said.

 While Russia and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization call the drills defensive, they may treat each other’s actions “as provocative and deliberate aggravation,” worsening mistrust, according to a report Wednesday by the London-based European Leadership Network. The two sides are readying in case of confrontation, it said.

 The former Cold War foes have stepped up military activity, especially near the Baltic region, after Russia’s annexation of Crimea last year. The war in Ukraine has prompted NATO to create command units across eastern Europe, while Russia has recalibrated its military goals toward the transatlantic alliance, which it accuses of approaching its borders.

 “We don’t suggest that the leadership of either side has made a decision to go to war or that a military conflict between the two is inevitable,” the ELN said. Even so, “the changed profile of exercises is a fact and it does play a role in sustaining the current climate of tensions in Europe.”

 NATO and Russia should communicate better on plans to hold military drills to lessen the risk of incidents, according to the ELN. It recommended limiting exercises in border areas.

 Neither Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov nor his deputy Andrei Bobrun replied to phone calls made by Bloomberg.

 ‘Well Ahead’

 The ELN report “misleadingly puts NATO and Russian exercises on par,” Carmen Romero, the military alliance’s deputy spokeswoman, said by e-mail.

 The authorities in Moscow have announced more than 4,000 drills this year, more than 10-fold NATO’s plans, and Russian exercises have also involved nuclear and nuclear-capable forces, according to Romero. NATO is “well ahead” of the ELN’s recommendations, she said.

 “The scale and scope of Russia’s exercises are far beyond anything the alliance is doing and they are increasing tensions across the region,” Romero said. “Russia is deliberately avoiding military transparency and predictability.”

 President Vladimir Putin last month approved Russia’s new naval doctrine that puts greater focus on the Atlantic and the Arctic to counter NATO’s activity near its borders.

 Wargames Might Help Russia Sell Some Tanks

 Read this next:

 The U.S.-led alliance has tried to calm nerves of late. Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said last month that he doesn’t see an immediate threat to the alliance’s members. NATO plans to reduce by half the number of aircraft deployed for air patrols in the Baltic region, whose skies have seen a surge in Russian activity. ||||| This post has been updated to include a response to the report from NATO.

 MOSCOW – The Russian military exercises in March spanned the nation’s vast territory – from the high north, far above the Arctic Circle, all the way to territories near Japan. Massive NATO drills a few months later pulled thousands of troops across Europe. After decades of post-Cold War calm, Europe is again becoming a region of high military drama – and according to some experts, a place with a growing risk of accidental confrontation.

 Russian soldiers woke in early March to unannounced, snap exercises that eventually grew to encompass more than 80,000 service members. Above the Barents Sea, strategic bombers practiced attacks. Near the Latvian border, airborne troops performed landings as attack helicopters and artillery gave them cover. In the Baltic Sea, the Russian Navy practiced with missiles.

 The training was on such a large scale that it could only have been practicing for what would happen during a war with the U.S.-led NATO defense alliance, according to the European Leadership Network, which on Wednesday published a report looking at the increased military exercises on both sides of the Russia-West divide.

 The Russian exercises:

 The Northern Fleet: Conducts mine-sweeping, anti-submarine and air defense operations in the Barents and Norwegian Seas. Strategic bombers practice attacks with fighter support and airborne units simulate helicopter landings in combat areas. Naval fighters simulate interceptions of enemy aircraft. Kola Peninsula and Arctic Islands: Airborne and ground units from the interior are redeployed to the Kola Peninsula. Airborne troops land on Russia’s Arctic Islands. The Baltic Sea fleet: Performed search and destroy simulations, air defense tactics, missile and artillery practice. Naval aviation units conduct night training. Ground units perform nighttime live-fire exercises. Airborne operations: Airborne troops perform landings near the Latvian border while attack helicopters and artillery conduct fire support for ground forces. The Black Sea Fleet: Conducts search and destroy simulations, anti-submarine and mine sweeping operations. Marines practice live-fire exercises. Eastern Front: Ground units conduct simulated combat operations on Sakhalin and Kuril islands.

 NATO has also been practicing in eastern Europe, though on a smaller scale. Its Allied Shield exercises in June brought together 15,000 service members from 19 member nations and three partners, and it has stepped up exercises in reaction to Russian threats as a way, NATO leaders say, of deterring Kremlin aggression.

 But with communications links between the two sides frayed, intentions can quickly be misread, raising the risk of accidental confrontation, the European Leadership Network argues. And with tensions at their highest since the Cold War – but without Cold-War-era lifelines for communication – there is a greater chance for unpleasant surprises. Already, there have been near-misses with Russian military aircraft getting dangerously close to civilian jetliners above the Baltic Sea.

 The NATO exercises:

 BALTOPS 15: Baltic Sea naval exercise focusing on amphibious operations in Sweden and Poland. Consisted of 49 ships, 61 aircraft, 1 submarine and 700 landing troops. Operations were conducted near Russia’s exclave of Kaliningrad. Saber Strike 15: Large-scale armored and airborne live-fire operations with close air support involving 6,000 troops in Lithuania, Latvia, Poland and Estonia. Trident Joust: Exercises focus on coordination large-scale allied operations and the redeployment of NATO headquarters to the area of those operations. Noble Jump: First deployment of NATO’s Very High Readiness Joint Task Force which is to provide a rapid response to infiltration of an allied territory by enemy special forces and irregular personnel. Over 2,100 troops from nine NATO states participated.

 The risk of escalation is high, with each side watching the other train, and concluding that even more military exercises are necessary.

 “The changed profile of these exercises is a fact and plays a role in sustaining the current climate of fear and tension in Europe,” wrote Ian Kearns, one of the report’s authors.

 The group is pushing for more direct links between the two sides, warning each other about the exercises. In the longer run, it says, new arms control efforts would help quell tensions.

 NATO has argued that its exercises are simply a defense deterrent, aimed at communicating the alliance’s determination to fight on behalf of nations such as the Baltics that feel threatened by Russia’s actions in Ukraine.

 Russia’s "exercises are part of a more aggressive Russian military doctrine," said NATO deputy spokeswoman Carmen Romero in a statement in response to the report. "In response, NATO has increased its presence in the eastern part of our alliance, in order to enhance collective defense."

 She added: "Russia has consistently refused all NATO offers for greater military transparency, dating back to well before the current crisis."

 Russian leaders, meanwhile, have long complained of NATO’s expansion to their borders and say that it is a threat to Russia’s own security interests. Russian President Vladimir Putin cited the risk of NATO expansion into Ukraine as one of the reasons last year that he annexed the Crimean Peninsula, home of Russia’s Black Sea fleet. They, too, may be seeking to deter what they see as an increasingly active alliance – although it did not spark back into life in eastern Europe until after the Russian takeover of Crimea.

 The back-and-forth is a "dangerous dynamic," the report’s authors write.

 For now, neither side appears likely to back down.

 Read more:

 Russia’s anti-American fever goes beyond the Soviet era’s

 U.S. military vehicles paraded 300 yards from the Russian border |||||
What is a summary?

– Like a game of Risk, Russia and NATO have not only been suspiciously eying each other in recent months, but also conducting military exercises in border areas that the Washington Post says are making Europe "a region of high military drama." Now a UK-based think tank is warning that these war games could lead to real conflict if they don't start communicating and scaling down their activities, the Guardian reports. The European Leadership Network says that although reps from both sides may insist these training exercises—including a flurry of activity in March for Russia and in June for NATO, per the Post—are against hypothetical opponents, it's clear there are definite foes in mind, and that alleviative measures need to take place ASAP to stave off a possible confrontation. "Russia is preparing for a conflict with NATO, and NATO is preparing for a possible confrontation with Russia," the report asserts, adding that even though this doesn't make a real conflict unavoidable, it helps perpetuate tension in the region—especially thick since the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The organization's recommendation: Tamp down the size and scale of said exercises, start hammering out a new treaty on limiting the types of weapons used along the borders, and publicly announce beforehand when exercises are being held (Russia is pointed out as a prime offender in this regard). But a NATO rep told Bloomberg that the ELN report "misleadingly puts NATO and Russian exercises on par" and that "the scale and scope of Russia's exercises are far beyond anything the alliance is doing. Russia is deliberately avoiding military transparency and predictability." (NATO's got its hands full with ISIS, too.)


Here is a news article: FORT WORTH -- Forrest Sanco and Donna Grant, both 56, are friends from high school who recently reconnected and fell in love.

 Their plan was to fly themselves to the Bahamas, then fly back to Fort Worth as a married couple.

 "They had lots of plans and lots to look forward to, so we're just devastated," says Grant's daughter-in-law Erin Simmons.

 No one has seen or heard from the couple since Sept. 26. Instagram posts that day show them enjoying the Bahamian sunrise. But Simmons told WFAA that Forrest was supposed to fly them to another island, North Eleuthera, later that afternoon -- then to their final destination of Rum Cay, 121 miles away.

 They made it to the first island, but not the second.

 "They landed around 1:30," in North Eleuthera, Simmons says. "They purchased 13 gallons of fuel. Around 2:30 they flew out to Rum Cay, as far as we know was their destination. That's the last we've heard of them."

 Jason Fox is Forrest's long-time friend and a fellow pilot. He knew service would be spotty and didn't think much of it when he stopped hearing from Forrest, who'd been corresponding with him via e-mail the entire trip.

 But no one realized the couple was missing until they didn't return to Fort Worth.

 "My biggest concern is the time and the fact we didn't really know he was missing until too much time had passed," Fox says.

 We now know weather that day called for afternoon storms and repairs had been done to the plane during the trip. We're told Donna and Forrest originally took off from a small airfield in Cresson, southwest of Fort Worth.

 The plane they were flying, a Cessna 150, had recently been purchased by Forrest.

 Family is now relying on GoFundMe donations to hire private search crews. Debris spotted by one of their pilots turned out to be unrelated.

 "We have to try to stay positive as we can and keep going," Simmons says, hoping Donna and Forrest come home soon.

 © 2017 WFAA-TV ||||| By RICARDO WELLS

 Tribune Staff Reporter

 rwells@tribunemedia.net

 AUTHORITIES have ruled out an area of debris near Cat Island which they thought could be remnants of the plane carrying missing American honeymooners Forrest and Donna Sanco.

 Search and rescue documents obtained by The Tribune yesterday indicate debris and a life raft spotted on the eastern side of Cat Island is now “not believed” to be associated with the Sanco investigation. Authorities are working to determine what exactly happened to Forrest and Donna Sanco while en route to Rum Cay on September 26, one day after the pair flew their private aircraft from Houston, Texas; through Florida and then Freeport, Grand Bahama where the couple reportedly cleared customs and spent the night.

 Bahamas Air and Sea Rescue Association (BASRA) Operations Manager Chris Lloyd on Tuesday confirmed that Mr Sanco officially closed his flight plan at 4:58pm on September 26, signalling to air traffic controllers that he was nearing his destination.

 However, according to his family members and caretakers in Rum Cay, the pair never arrived. The Sanco couple were renting a holiday home from Pat and Earl Lambert.

 No reports were made about the missing couple until Friday, October 6 – roughly 10 days after the couple was originally scheduled to turn up.

 The Tribune understands it was at this time reports of the missing couple were disseminated to the United States Coast Guard and the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF).

 United States Coast Guard has stressed the RBDF is leading all efforts on the matter.

 Forrest Sanco’s niece, 23-year-old LeeAnn Burger initially tried to raise $10,000 through a Go Fund Me campaign to hire private crews and pilots to find the couple. That target was passed in just a few days and has so far brought in more than $12,000.

 On the gofundme site last night LeeAnn said: “ Due to lack of resources with the Bahamian government and coast guard we have been forced to hire our own private search crews and pilots. This has been costly and could continue to be as we need to search until we find something.

 “Everything we raise will go to our efforts to bring them home whatever it takes! Whether it be continuing to hire private crews, medical expenses, or costs involved in trying to get them back home to us.

 “If there are any funds left over at the conclusion the funds will be split between a fund for Forrest’s daughter Riley and a donation to the Maritime Search and Rescue fund in the hopes no other family will have to bear this burden.”

 Meanwhile the search for the Sancos continues. ||||| A Texas couple who took their private plane to go on a trip of a lifetime in the Bahamas — where they also planned to elope — have now been missing for over two weeks.

 On Sept. 26, Forrest Sanco and Donna Grant of Fort Worth, Texas, took off from Fort Pierce, Florida, and landed in Freeport, Bahamas, but they never made it to their final destination in Rum Cay, where they had rented a house and planned to tie the knot.

 The couple, both 56, who went to high school together, reconnected a year ago on Facebook and instantly knew they were meant to be.

 “They had a whirlwind romance,” Sanco’s neice, Lee-Ann Burger, 23, tells PEOPLE. “He told us that he knew she was the one after their first date.”

 “In true Sanco fashion,” says Burger, he bought a Cessna 150, reinstated his pilot’s license and planned the trip. Because the trip was going to be a romantic adventure for the couple, their families didn’t expect to hear from them often, which is why they didn’t expect anything was wrong until a week had gone by and they hadn’t heard from them.

 “My husband got a call from Forrest’s friend asking if he had heard from him,” Burger says. “He was watching his cat and he hadn’t come to pick him up.”

 It was then that they called Sanco’s employer who said he was supposed to return to work days ago. They knew something must be wrong, Burger recalls, but it was only when they found out that Sanco hadn’t talked to his 10-year-old daughter in several days that they began to panic.

 His ex-wife, which whom he shares joint custody, told Burger that they assumed his silence was just because he was enjoying his vacation.

 Forrest Sanco and Donna Grant LeeAnn Burger

 “I immediately went on social media and found a Facebook page for the Rum Cay community,” says Burger. “A guy named Craig responded and said it was his house they were renting but they never showed up.”

 Craig, who also has a plane, discussed Sanco’s flight plan with him — which gave the family clues as to where they could be. Their last known location was in Freeport, Bahamas, and Sanco’s last post to Instagram was on Sept. 26.

 “We found out they cleared customs in Freeport on the 26th and we were able to find fuel receipts in North Eleuthera,” she says, “but after that, we can’t track them anywhere.”

 “We were able to find a couple local guys with airplanes who have basically been conducting searches for us,” says Burger, who says that due to lack of resources with the Bahamian government and coast guard, the family has had to hire their own private search crews and pilots.

 Reports of the missing couple were disseminated to the United States Coast Guard and the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF), according to Burger. United States Coast Guard has stressed the RBDF is leading all efforts on the matter, according to the Bahamas Tribune.

 “We have been faced with nothing but resistance. It’s beyond frustrating,” Burger says.

 The family has created a GoFundMe page to help with the steep costs. Although every lead has resulted in a dead end, they’re determined to continue the search.

 “We’re trying to remain hopeful, but we’re also realistic,” says Burger. “I think at this point we’re searching for answers. The ideal situation would obviously be us finding them roasting marshmallows on a deserted island.” |||||
A summary of this is?

– Family got worried when Forrest Sanco didn't come to pick up his cat. Their worry grew when they learned he hadn't shown up to work. They reported Sanco and his girlfriend, Donna Grant, missing Oct. 6—10 days after the couple had flown to the Bahamas on a private plane to elope, People reports. "They had lots of plans and lots to look forward to," Grant's daughter-in-law, Erin Simmons, tells WFAA. Sanco and Grant, of Forth Worth, Texas, went to high school together and fell in love after reconnecting on Facebook last year. Sanco, who had a pilot's license, flew the couple to the Bahamas for a vacation and to get married, arriving in Freeport on Sept. 26. Sanco's last Instagram post shows a Bahamas sunrise. It's the final message family and friends received from the couple. After spending the night in Freeport, Sanco and Grant were supposed to fly on to Rum Cay, where they had rented a house, the Bahamas Tribune reports. Simmons says they made a planned stop on the island of North Eleuthera, where they purchased fuel, and departed for the 121-mile flight to Rum Cay. The owner of their rental house in Rum Cay says they never arrived. Weather reports had called for storms, and Sanco's plane had received unspecified repairs during the trip. Family hadn't expected to hear much from the couple during their vacation and didn't report them missing until they failed to return home. "We're trying to remain hopeful, but we're also realistic," Sanco's niece, Lee-Ann Burger, tells People. "I think at this point we're searching for answers." She says the family has hired private search crews to look for the couple.


Write an article based on this summary:

– Thousands of inmates will soon be moved out of solitary confinement in California, after years of court battles and hunger strikes against the controversial practice. The state's decision was revealed in a legal settlement filed today—which still must be accepted by the court—with a group of inmates who have been isolated at Pelican Bay State Prison for 10 years or more, the Los Angeles Times reports. The settlement applies to a class-action federal lawsuit covering almost 3,000 inmates, a lawsuit originally filed in 2009 by Todd Ashker and Danny Troxell, two murderers serving sentences in Pelican Bay. California has agreed to stop using solitary confinement as a means of controlling prison gangs; instead, the most dangerous prisoners will be held in a group setting and will have many of the same privileges as other inmates. As the AP notes, California's previously unlimited isolation of gang leaders had been used to keep hundreds of prisoners segregated (often in soundproofed, windowless cells of just 80 square feet, for all but an hour and a half per day, with no access to visitors, communication, or even reading materials) for 10 years or more. Now, California will release many of the affected prisoners back into the general prison population and will limit the amount of time prisoners can spend in isolation. New "restrictive custody units" will be used for inmates who commit new crimes while in prison, refuse to participate in rehab, or who may be in danger from other inmates, but those units will allow prisoners more personal contact and other privileges. The union that represents most prison guards has expressed safety concerns, with the spokesperson noting that the state could "return to the prison environment of the '70s and '80s, when inmate-on-inmate homicides were at the highest levels and staff were killed."

Among the criteria the state has used to isolate prisoners are certain tattoos, possession of artwork with gang symbolism and statements from informants. And until recently, the only way out of solitary was to become an informant, a policy that critics said endangered inmates' lives. ||||| SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California agreed Tuesday to end its unlimited isolation of imprisoned gang leaders, restricting a practice that once kept hundreds of inmates in notorious segregation units for a decade or longer.

 This May 27, 2009, photo provided by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shows Todd Ashker, a validated leader of the Aryan Brotherhood, who has been in the Security Housing Unit... (Associated Press)

 This April 26, 2002 file photo provided by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, shows Todd Ashker, a validated leader of the Aryan Brotherhood, who has been in the Security Housing... (Associated Press)

 No other state keeps so many inmates segregated for so long, according to the Center for Constitutional Rights. The New York City-based nonprofit center represents inmates in a class-action federal lawsuit settled on behalf of nearly 3,000 California inmates held in segregation statewide.

 The state is agreeing to segregate only inmates who commit new crimes behind bars and will no longer lock gang members in soundproofed, windowless cells solely to keep them from directing illegal activities by gang members.

 "It will move California more into the mainstream of what other states are doing while still allowing us the ability to deal with people who are presenting problems within our system, but do so in a way where we rely less on the use of segregation," Corrections and Rehabilitation Secretary Jeffrey Beard told The Associated Press.

 The conditions triggered intermittent hunger strikes by tens of thousands of inmates throughout the prison system in recent years. Years-long segregation also drew criticism this summer from President Barack Obama and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy.

 "I think there is a deepening movement away from solitary confinement in the country and I think this settlement will be a spur to that movement," Jules Lobel, the inmates' lead attorney and president of the Center for Constitutional Rights, said in a telephone interview.

 The lawsuit was initially filed in 2009 by two killers serving time in the security housing unit at Pelican Bay. By 2012, Todd Ashker and Danny Troxell were among 78 prisoners confined in Pelican Bay's isolation unit for more than 20 years, though Troxell has since been moved to another prison.

 More than 500 had been in the unit for more than 10 years, though recent policy changes reduced that to 62 inmates isolated for a decade or longer as of late July.

 The suit contended that isolating inmates in 80-square-foot cells for all but about 90 minutes each day amounts to cruel and unusual punishment.

 About half the nearly 3,000 inmates held in such units are in solitary confinement. Inmates have no physical contact with visitors and are allowed only limited reading materials and communications with the outside world.

 The settlement will limit how long inmates can spend in isolation, while creating restrictive custody units for inmates who refuse to participate in rehabilitation programs or keep breaking prison rules.

 They will also house those who might be in danger if they live with other inmates. For instance, 71-year-old Hugo Pinell was killed by fellow inmates in August just days after he was released from isolation, decades after he became infamous for his role in a failed 1971 San Quentin State Prison escape attempt that killed six.

 Lobel said the new units, by giving high-security inmates more personal contact and privileges, should be an example to other states to move away from isolation policies that he said have proven counterproductive in California.

 Marie Levin, sister of 57-year-old reputed gang leader Ronnie Dewberry, read a statement from her brother, who goes by the name Sitawa Nantambu Jamaa, and other plaintiffs hailing the "monumental victory for prisoners and an important step toward our goal of ending solitary confinement in California and across the country."

 With the pending policy changes, this will be the "first time Marie will be able to hold her brother, touch her brother, for 31 years," Lobel said on a teleconference call with Levin and other advocates.

 Nichol Gomez, a spokeswoman for the union representing most prison guards, said it was disappointing that "the people that actually have to do the work" weren't involved in the negotiations, so she couldn't immediately comment.

 Beard said he will work to ease the unions' previously expressed concerns that guards could face additional danger. He said the settlement expands on recent changes that have reduced the number of segregated inmates statewide from 4,153 in January 2012 to 2,858 currently.

 Until recently, gang members could serve unlimited time in isolation. Under the settlement, they and other inmates can be segregated for up to five years for crimes committed in prison, though gang members can receive another two years in segregation.

 Beard said the segregation system was adopted about 35 years ago after a series of slayings of inmates and guards and wasn't reconsidered until recently because California corrections officials were consumed with other crises, including severe crowding.

 "We probably had too many people locked up too long, because over 70 percent of the people that were reviewed were actually released, and we've had very, very few problems with those releases," Beard said. |||||


SAN FRANCISCO—California secession dreamers can begin collecting signatures to place a nationhood proposal on the November 2018 ballot, after language for the measure was approved this week by the state’s attorney general.

 The notion of a “Calexit”—a highly improbable idea that would require an amendment to the U.S. Constitution—gained popularity on social media following President Donald Trump’s unexpected victory in November,... ||||| Photo: YesCalifornia

 Like the talk of secession in conservative southern states after Barack Obama became president, the idea of a separate California Republic builds on long-standing separatist feelings amplified by a momentous national election. Since Donald Trump became president while securing less than a third of the vote in California, the Yes California campaign — a.k.a. Calexit — has gotten a lot of attention and perhaps even some momentum in getting an initial measure placed on the 2018 general election ballot. An estimated 7,000 volunteers have begun amassing the 585,407 signatures necessary to place a constitutional amendment on the 2018 ballot deleting the state’s adherence to the United States and authorizing a 2019 referendum on independence.

 The arguments for Calexit are pretty simple: The state is drifting ever-further away from the rest of the country in cultural attitudes and public policies, especially with respect to immigration and the environment. California’s size and wealth (its GDP is similar to that of France) make it the one state that might make a go of it alone. It is also a “donor state” when it comes to the relationship of federal taxes collected from Californians to the federal spending conducted there; one recent analysis showed California ranking 46th among the states in relative dependence on Washington.

 But it’s clear the main reason for sudden interest in Calexit is Donald J. Trump, and the possibility a federal Republican regime under his direction would preempt California preferences on a wide range of issues. Even though Governor Jerry Brown and other statewide Democratic elected officials have kept their distance from Calexit, the saber-rattling they have conducted about the state’s willingness to fight Trump and the GOP in court has undoubtedly fed the Calexit sentiment. The latest Trump provocation, threatening sanctuary cities with the cancellation of all federal funds, is being perceived by both his friends and enemies as mainly aimed at the Golden State.

 By some definitions, the entire state of California is a sanctuary state. A law passed in 2014 prohibits local jails from holding immigrants any longer than required by criminal law, with exceptions for violent and other serious crimes. And most counties in the state also prohibit holding immigrants beyond their sentence if federal immigration agents do not have a judicial order. And legislation currently making its way through the Legislature would further expand the law, by prohibiting all state and local law enforcement agencies to respond to requests from immigration authorities.

 Having said all that, the process required to make Calexit a reality is not just daunting: It’s basically impossible. The first part is the easiest: If Yes California can get its initiative onto the 2018 ballot, it needs only 50-percent-plus-one approval to amend the state constitution. But then the 2019 referendum it authorizes is on shaky legal ground, and according to Yes California’s own ground rules, it would only “pass” if 50 percent of registered voters participated and 55 percent voted for independence. The participation standard alone sets a pretty high bar for success in an off-year election; turnout in the last regular midterm election was only 42 percent.

 If a Calexit referendum in California succeeded, of course, it would only take effect if the rest of the country went along with it. That would mean a constitutional amendment requiring two-thirds votes in Congress and ratification by three-fourths of the states, or the first constitutional convention since 1787. The only alternative, unilateral secession, was tried in 1861, as close scholars of history could tell you, and it did not work out well.

 What the whole Calexit movement really represents is a cry of defiance against Trump, and against the temporary national triumph of people who are fine with melting down the polar ice caps to build more strip malls, instituting racial profiling as a cherished national law-enforcement policy, and criminalizing abortion. Any number of developments could take the steam out of Calexit, including the collapse of the Republican Party amid internecine quarreling. In any case, it ain’t happening — but it’s still a convenient lightning rod for real West Coast fury. And interest in the idea will get a boost from contemptuous conservatives who have long regarded the state as a nature preserve for hippies, sodomites, and border-crashers. There’s nothing like the prospect of secession to dramatize Americans’ very real differences. ||||| A group trying to get California to secede from the United States said the results of the presidential election give their cause new momentum.

 Supporters of the campaign for California to secede from the United States can now begin collecting the hundreds of thousands of signatures they need to get a proposed "Calexit" initiative on the ballot.

 If the measure gets on the ballot and gains approval by a majority of voters, it would repeal clauses in the California Constitution stating that the state is an "inseparable part of the United States" and that the U.S. Constitution is the "supreme law of the land," according to the title and summary prepared by the state attorney general's office. |||||
What is a one-paragraph summary of the above article?

– The far-fetched idea of California seceding from the nation took a tiny step forward this week. California's secretary of state agreed to allow a group called Yes California to begin collecting signatures for a ballot measure, reports the Los Angeles Times. If 585,407 are collected by July 25—a high hurdle for the relatively small group—a proposal will land on the 2018 ballot to erase lines in the state Constitution outlining California as "an inseparable part of the United States" and the US Constitution as the "supreme law of the land." If passed, it would set up a 2019 vote on whether California should become "a free, sovereign and independent country." Even if that passed, huge hurdles remain. Secession would require a constitutional amendment, with two-thirds support in both the US House and Senate and ratification by at least 38 states. "It's basically impossible," notes a post at New York. The idea of a "Calexit" has been in the works since 2014, but the Wall Street Journal notes that it got a boost after Donald Trump's election as a mostly jokey way to register opposition. Seems nuts? "I think we'd have the votes today," says a group co-founder, who argues that California gives the federal government more money than it receives and is "culturally" separate from the rest of the country. "America already hates California, and America votes on emotions." Adds a rep for the California National Party, which supports secession in the long-term but not the current effort, "It's certainly as likely as Donald Trump becoming president." (The movement already has a Moscow "embassy".)


News article:

These crawls are part of an effort to archive pages as they are created and archive the pages that they refer to. That way, as the pages that are referenced are changed or taken from the web, a link to the version that was live when the page was written will be preserved.Then the Internet Archive hopes that references to these archived pages will be put in place of a link that would be otherwise be broken, or a companion link to allow people to see what was originally intended by a page's authors.The goal is to fix all broken links on the web . Crawls of supported "No More 404" sites. ||||| Last night, I received the kind of phone call that everyone dreads: a close friend was hurt, and on his way to the hospital. But the news got worse, as I learned that my friend, Dr. Prabhjot Singh, a young Sikh American professor at Columbia University, had been brutally attacked on a public street, the victim of a violent hate crime. My brother and I immediately jumped in a taxi and rushed to the hospital, where we finally saw Prabhjot being wheeled in, bloody and bruised, his face swollen from a fractured jaw. He couldn't speak because many of his teeth had been displaced, but he waved limply to let us know that he was okay.

 We joined Prabhjot in his hospital room and were surprised to find it already filled with officers from the NYPD and its Hate Crime Task Force. As he struggled to give his statement, we came to learn that his assailants had taunted him as they beat him, calling him "Osama" and "terrorist." He described being punched in the face repeatedly until falling to the ground. And then he recalled how the punches to the head continued as he laid on the sidewalk.

 I saw Prabhjot shudder as he realized how much worse it could have been. He had just returned from dinner, dropping his wife and one-year-old son at home before going for a walk. He reached from his hospital bed and grabbed his wife's hand.

 He recounted the scariest moment, seeing a young male put his arm inside his coat, as if reaching for a gun. He also remembered people pulling at his long beard. He couldn't provide any descriptions about his assailants, and it seemed to me that in some way, he didn't want to remember them.

 Prabhjot has dedicated his life to serving the underserved. He is currently the Director of Systems Management at the Earth Institute, and he draws upon his experiences abroad to help improve the health of local communities like Harlem. In addition to serving as an Assistant Professor at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs, he is also a resident physician at Mt. Sinai Hospital. His life's work has been to help the underprivileged access quality and affordable healthcare, and he believes strongly that his countless hours of service are an investment in improving the health of impoverished communities.

 Unfortunately, his assailants did not see Prabhjot Singh, the professor, the community health expert or the local doctor. They saw a man wearing a beard and a turban--his articles of faith--and saw a target. Sadly, for many other Sikh Americans like Prabhjot, this is a story they have heard and experienced before. This past May an elderly Sikh gentleman was brutally beaten with a steel pipe in Fresno, California, and in March a Sikh male was shot while driving just outside of Orlando, Florida. And as we all know, in August 2012 a white supremacist entered a Sikh place of worship (gurdwara) in Oak Creek, Wisconsin and opened fire on the congregation.

 Sikh Americans have repeatedly been targeted in hate violence throughout the country, and we believe that much of this stems from a dangerous combination of hate and ignorance. Many perpetrators of hate violence are unable to see the humanity of their victims.

 It seems that Prabhjot's assailants associated his turban and beard with Osama bin Laden and terrorism. This observation is consistent with a national study released by Stanford University researchers less than two weeks ago, which shows that more than 50 percent of Americans associate the Sikh turban with Osama bin Laden than with any other figure.

 In today's America, so many of us can be perceived as different. Whether it is our religion, our racial or ethnic background, our sexual orientation, or our gender identity, all of us are potentially someone's "other," and can be discriminated, excluded, or even targeted for violence because of it. In light of this incident, and all those that have come before, it is increasingly clear that we, the "others," need to build bridges with one another, and with the community at large. We will make the hate and violence stop. We absolutely have to.

 Kiran Kaur and Justin Collins contributed to this article. ||||| Dr. Prabhjot Singh, a professor in Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs, was walking along 110th Street near Lenox Avenue Saturday night when a group of at least 20 males rode up on bikes and began physically assaulting him while shouting “terrorist” and “get Osama.” Singh, a Sikh who wears a long beard and a turban, had just dropped off his wife and one-year-old son at home before going out for a walk.

 After the attack, he described being punched repeatedly and then falling to the ground, the head punches continuing as he lay on the sidewalk. A friend who met him at the hospital Saturday night reports seeing a bloody and bruised Singh, face swollen from a fractured jaw. The NYPD Hate Crime Task Force also met with Singh at the hospital before he was discharged after midnight on Saturday.

 While refusing to give details on the victim, an NYPD spokesman confirmed to the Columbia Spectator that attackers “made anti-Muslim statements and then they began punching the victim in the face.”

 According to Dr. Singh’s friend Simran Jeet Singh (no relation), Dr. Singh is an important figure in the community:

 Prabhjot has dedicated his life to serving the underserved. He is currently the Director of Systems Management at the Earth Institute, and he draws upon his experiences abroad to help improve the health of local communities like Harlem. In addition to serving as an Assistant Professor at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs, he is also a resident physician at Mt. Sinai Hospital. His life's work has been to help the underprivileged access quality and affordable healthcare, and he believes strongly that his countless hours of service are an investment in improving the health of impoverished communities.

 Just last year, Dr. Singh and Simran Jeet Singh wrote an op-ed in the New York Times that highlighted the importance of tracking and counting anti-Sikh hate crime.

 [Image via SIPA] |||||
What is a shorter version of the above article?

– In what police are investigating as a hate crime, a Columbia University professor was badly beaten on a New York City street Saturday by a mob that apparently believed he was a Muslim. Police say Prabjot Singh, a 31-year-old Sikh, was attacked just blocks from his home by a group of more than 20 young men on bikes who called him a terrorist and shouted "Get Osama!" Singh, who was saved when passersby intervened, was left with injuries including a fractured jaw, reports the Columbia Spectator. Friend Simran Jeet Singh describes the attack in the Huffington Post, noting that the professor had been taking an evening walk after dropping his wife and 1-year-old at home. "He couldn't speak because many of his teeth had been displaced, but he waved limply to let us know that he was OK," he writes of seeing Singh at the hospital. "It’s incredibly sad," Singh himself tells the New York Daily News. "It’s not the neighborhood I know. I work in this community. It’s just not American." Gawker points out that Singh himself noted in a New York Times article on anti-Sikh violence last year that the turbans and long beards of Sikh men have often marked them out as targets for discrimination both in India and overseas. (It's not the only alleged hate crime NYC has suffered in recent weeks.)


Article:

French MP Véronique Massonneau was forced to interrupt her address to the National Assembly in Paris after a conservative rival began to cluck like a hen during her speech.

 Turning to Philippe Le Ray, a conservative MP with Nicholas Sarkozy's UMP party, Massoneau an MP with France's green party Europe Ecology - The Greens (EELV), snapped: "That's enough. Stop that, I'm not a hen!"

 However, as Massonneau resumed her speech on planned pension reform the heckling resumed, prompting Claude Bartolone, the president of the National Assembly, to step in.

 "There are things in this House that I will never accept. That an MP attempts to turn into a bird while another MP is speaking is not acceptable," Bartolone said.

 "I understand that both sides have ideas to defend but that you transform [this House] in a playground, no."

 The incident has caused outrage across the country and led to accusations of sexism in the country's top seat of politics with calls for Le Ray to be officially reprimanded.

 A video of the incident has been posted online but noises made by Le Ray are not audible.

 "He cackled and he cooed" Massonneau later told ITele television accusing Le Ray of being a sexist. "I think he was drunk."

 "This kind of sexism is degrading to the Republic and can't be left unpunished," tweeted Pascal Canafin, the deputy minister for development under the minister of foreign affairs.

 Bartolone has called an extraordinary meeting of party whips in the National Assembly to discuss the incident.

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 This article is copyrighted by IBTimes.co.uk, the business news leader ||||| A French MP has sparked outrage and been fined, after he mocked a female colleague by clucking like a chicken in parliament.

 The incident was widely denounced as sexist in a country where the word chicken is often used as a derogatory term for women.

 Véronique Massonneau was forced to stop her address to the National Assembly in Paris when her conservative rival, Philippe Le Ray, began to make the noises.

 However, as she resumed her speech on planned pension reform the heckling resumed, prompting the president of the National Assembly to step in.

 Emily Thomas reports. |||||
What is a summary?

– French MP Véronique Massonneau was addressing the National Assembly in Paris when she was interrupted by the sound of a colleague clucking like a chicken. Massonneau, a member of the green party Europe Ecology, eventually turned to conservative MP Philippe Le Ray and said, "That's enough. Stop that, I'm not a hen!" according to the International Business Times. But as her speech on pension reform continued, Le Ray kept clucking, and eventually the assembly president had to put a stop to it. The BBC explains that the word "chicken" can be a derogatory term for a female in France. Critics have been railing against the apparent sexism. Le Ray was fined 25% of his monthly salary, and he called Massonneau to apologize, but she did not accept. During the incident, she says, "I think he was drunk."


Write an article based on this summary:

– Sign of the times? Several hundred Pacific walruses began amassing on an island off Alaska’s northwest coast in the first week of August in what wildlife officials say is the earliest date yet for their annual "haulout." The culprit appears to be shrinking Arctic ice. Walruses tend to head ashore two weeks after warm temperatures cause sea ice to recede too far north for them in the Chukchi Sea. This year, it happened earlier than ever. Walruses typically use sea ice for protection and as a home base, particularly for juveniles, while adults dive to the ocean floor for food. But "when that ice retreats to the deeper water, they can't do that," Fish and Wildlife rep Andrea Medeiros tells Alaska Public Media. For the past several years, a barrier island near Point Lay has served as an alternative home base. Last year, thousands of walruses had arrived there by Oct. 7. This year, however, the haulout was observed beginning on Aug. 3—a full two weeks ahead of the next earliest date observed back in 2011, reports Alaska Dispatch News. Medeiros tells the AP that last week some 2,000 walruses were observed on the island, where they're expected to stay until the fall. Hoping to head north to observe the animals? Officials would rather you not. Not only is it illegal to disturb them, the walruses are known to stampede to the water in response to plane and boat activity in the area, which spells bad news for juvenile walruses.

Several hundred Pacific walrus are hauled out on a barrier island near the village of Point Lay, on the Chukchi Sea coast.

 Listen now

 It’s the earliest such haul out since the walrus first started showing up in 2007 — and may be linked to this year’s rapidly retreating Arctic sea ice.

 Andrea Medeiros is a spokesperson with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. She said during this time of year, adult female and young walrus in the region usually haul out on sea ice to rest while feeding.

 “When that ice retreats to the deeper water, they can’t do that,” Medeiros said. “They need a place to rest after they’ve fed, so they will travel to the shore and haul out there to rest in between feeding periods.”

 This year, Medeiros said sea ice in the Chukchi Sea has retreated to the deep water beyond the continental shelf earlier than in the past. The walrus started gathering on the barrier island near Point Lay around August 3.

 As many as 40,000 animals have hauled out on the narrow islands in recent years, putting them at risk for overcrowding. As in the past, Fish and Wildlife and the Village of Point Lay are asking people to stay away from the animals, to avoid causing stampedes.

 Fish and Wildlife is currently deciding whether to list the Pacific walrus under the Endangered Species Act. Environmental groups argue that the loss of sea ice threatens to drive the animals toward extinction.

 Correction: This story previously misspelled Andrea Medeiros’ last name as Madieros. ||||| Several hundred Pacific walruses have started to gather on an island off the northwest coast of Alaska — the earliest the animals have been observed leaving the water for the annual ritual, according to federal wildlife officials.

 The walruses started appearing on a barrier island near the village of Point Lay during the first week of August.

 "This is the earliest date yet for the haulout to form," the Alaska Division of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said in a release.

 Previously, the earliest haulout date on record was Aug. 17, back in 2011, said Fish and Wildlife Service spokeswoman Andrea Medeiros.

 The gathering of the enormous animals near Alaska's Chukchi Sea coastline is the result of retreating sea ice in recent years.

 Walruses typically use floating ice as platforms to rest between dives to forage for food, but summer and fall melt has forced them ashore. The animals haul out about two weeks after the continental sea ice recedes.

 "This year, sea ice has retreated beyond the continental shelf earlier than in previous years," Medeiros said.

 Arctic sea ice extent for July 2017 averaged 3.17 million square miles, the fifth-lowest July in a satellite record spanning nearly four decades, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center.

 "It will be important to monitor August 2017, as weather conditions and storm events during this month have been closely related to the seasonal minimum sea ice extent in the recent years," the data center said in an Aug. 3 report.

 A herd of 6,000 Pacific walruses hauled out on the same barrier island last year, but at a much later-than-average date of Oct. 7.

 But after a weekend there, the herd appeared to have moved on, with officials reporting that the animals were likely headed south to coastal haulouts in Chukotka, Russia.

 The big Point Lay gatherings have happened almost every fall since 2007, a year notable for sea ice retreat.

 As with most recent years, the villagers of Point Lay are expressing concern about the potential disturbance to the animals.

 The Fish and Wildlife Service relayed statements from Leo Ferreira III, the tribal council president of the Native Village of Point Lay, addressing the need to protect the walruses from disturbances by aircraft and boats.

 The village does not have the infrastructure to support tourists, Ferreira said. ||||| ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Hundreds of Pacific walruses came ashore to a barrier island on Alaska's northwest coast, the earliest appearance of the animals in a phenomenon tied to climate warming and diminished Arctic Ocean sea ice.

 The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Wednesday that several hundred walruses were spotted during the first week of August near the village of Point Lay on the Chukchi Sea. Last week, the number had grown to 2,000, said spokeswoman Andrea Medeiros in an email response to questions.

 It's the earliest date for the arrival, known as a "haulout," to form, the agency said. Walruses from now until early fall are expected to use the barrier island and other locations along the coast as resting areas as they move to and from feeding areas.

 Walrus dive hundreds of feet to eat clams on the ocean bottom, but they cannot swim indefinitely. While adult females dive, sea ice gives calves a safe resting place, with plenty of space to see the approach of predators such as polar bears.

 In winter, the southern edge of sea ice is in the Bering Sea. As temperatures warm, ice recedes north all the way through the Bering Strait into the Chukchi Sea. Walruses stay on the edge, and they use the ice as a sort of conveyor belt that continually moves over new ocean bottom.

 With global warming, however, sea ice in recent years has melted much farther north, beyond the shallow continental shelf, over water more than 10,000 feet (3,050 meters) deep. That's far too deep for walruses to reach the ocean bottom.

 Instead of staying on sea ice over the deep water, walruses have come to shore, sometimes gathering in herds of more than 35,000.

 Walruses packed shoulder to shoulder in large numbers face the threat of a stampede. If a herd is startled by a polar bear, hunter, airplane or boat, the animals rush to the safety of the ocean, often crushing smaller walruses.

 Observers from Point Lay told the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service they already have seen three to five dead animals.

 "It was kind of heartbreaking to see that these animals were being wasted this way, in this manner," said Leo Ferreira III, tribal president, in an interview taped by the agency. "We're trying to protect the walruses from disturbance by aircraft, boat, and ship activity in our area."

 The village and the agency actively discourage people flying to the village to photograph the walruses.

 Pacific walruses are hunted for food by residents of Point Lay and other villages. |||||


Article:

NORTH ROYALTON, Ohio - The man investigators identified as a suspect in five homicides contacted a local television reporter shortly before he was arrested at the end of a Brunswick standoff, police said.

 George Brinkman, 45, exchanged Facebook messages with a WOIO-Channel 19 reporter in the hours before and during the nine-hour standoff, Brunswick Lt. Robert Safran said.

 The news station notified the police department, and investigators asked her to stop talking to Brinkman, Safran said. The conversation ended at that time, he said.

 "We got the impression that [Brinkman] wanted to get his story out there before we released any more information," Safran said Tuesday afternoon.

 WOIO-Channel 19 reporter Lacey Crisp reached out to Brinkman on Monday because he is friends on Facebook with three women found dead Sunday in North Royalton, according to a story posted on the news channel's website. Investigators on Tuesday identified Brinkman as a suspect in the homicides.

 "She saw him as a family friend, so she reached out to him on Facebook," WOIO-Channel 19 news director Fred D'Ambrosi said Tuesday in a phone interview.

 Brinkman initially agreed to an on-camera interview to discuss the three women and his relationship to them. But he later revealed he was at the standoff scene in Brunswick, D'Ambrosi said.

 The news channel contacted the police department because it was unclear at the time if others might be in the house with Brinkman, and possibly in danger, D'Ambrosi said.

 "We made the ethical decision that we needed to let the police know," he said.

 Crisp asked Brinkman to surrender, but Brinkman later accused her of working with police and said she "stabbed [him] in the back," the news channel's story says.

 Brinkman also denied any involvement in the homicides and said he broke his hand days earlier at work, the story says.

 Brinkman is charged with murder in the deaths of Lake Township residents Rogell Eugene John, 71, and his wife Roberta Ray John, 64, the Stark County Sheriff's Office said. The sheriff's office secured a warrant for Brinkman's arrest but he remains in custody at the North Royalton Police Department, officials said.

 The North Canton couple was found dead Monday afternoon in their home on Mt. Pleasant Street NE in North Canton. They died from gunshot wounds, the Stark County Coroner's Office said.

 Brinkman has not been charged in connection with the deaths of North Royalton resident Suzanne Taylor, 45, and her daughters Taylor Pifer, 21, and Kylie Pifer, 18, police said. The three women likely died Saturday at their home on Ridge Road in North Royalton, police said.

 Taylor was stabbed at least once, but investigators have not determined how she or her daughters died. Investigators did not recover a knife at the crime scene.

 Investigators learned Monday that Brinkman was at a woman's home on Valley Forge Drive in Brunswick. A SWAT team surrounded the house just after 9:30 p.m., and officers took him into custody early Tuesday, police said. The woman left the home unharmed.

 Officers entered the home just before 5:30 a.m. and used a stun gun on Brinkman, who was holding a gun, Safran said.

 Brinkman's criminal history includes misdemeanor convictions for passing bad checks, criminal mischief and disorderly conduct, records show.

 Brinkman was a squatter who was house-sitting for Rogell and Roberta John before they were killed, the Stark County Sheriff's Office said in a news release. Brinkman previously was in a relationship with the couple's daughter, sheriff's deputies said.

 Several neighbors said Tuesday that they did not know the couple well, apart from friendly waves as they passed by on the street.

 Neighbors near Brinkman's last known address on Norriton Circle in North Canton said he moved out approximately two years ago, and that they did not know him well.

 If you'd like to comment on this story, visit Tuesday's crime and courts comments section.

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 NORTH ROYALTON, Ohio - The man suspected of killing a North Royalton mother and her two daughters as well as a Lake Township couple is in police custody facing murder charges.

 George C. Brinkman, Jr., 45, of Brunswick was being held by North Royalton Police Tuesday afternoon. Brinkman was taken into custody after a nearly 9 hour standoff in Brunswick that ended around 5:30 a.m.

 North Royalton Police Detective Dave Loeding said Brinkman is suspected in the murders of Suzanne Taylor, 45, and her daughters Taylor Pifer, 21, and Kylie Pifer, 18, whose bodies were discovered in their Ridge Road home Sunday.

 Stark County Sheriff George Maier said Brinkman is facing murder charges in the shooting deaths of Rogell Eugene John II, 71, and his wife, Roberta Ray John, 64, discovered at a home on Mt. Pleasant NE in Lake Township Monday afternoon.

 Loeding said the three women killed in North Royalton were found on a bed, and Taylor's throat had been cut with a knife. He said there were no outward signs of a cause of death of her daughters.

 "I'm just devastated. I don't understand it. I don't understand why somebody would do something like this," said Marcia Taylor, mother of Suzanne Taylor.

 Relatives told Fox 8 News that Brinkman and Taylor both graduated from Valley Forge High School and were longtime friends but were not romantically involved.

 "Suzy thought he was actually really a friend. We had meals together, he spent holidays here, I mean, he was a friend, so I don't know what made him so angry," Taylor said.

 Taylor's brother, Ken Taylor, said Brinkman may have become jealous because he wanted the relationship to be more than friendly.

 "He always wanted more from my sister, and she was just trying to be nice to him," he said. Police confirmed Brinkman knew the victims but could not elaborate on the relationship, motive or evidence found at the crime scene.

 "Motive is very difficult. Sometimes it's hard to establish what the motive is. You're asking me to know what went on in his mind and why. I do not know. We'll come to know that hopefully," Loeding said.

 Maier said Brinkman was employed at the Johns's business and had recently been house sitting for them while they were on vacation. He was the ex-boyfriend of their daughter, Maier said. The murders in Stark County happened after the murders in North Royalton, according to Maier.

 Brunswick Police said a U.S. Marshal's Office task force tracked Brinkman to a friend's home in Brunswick Monday night. Police officers entered the home Tuesday morning, using a taser on Brinkman who was taken to a hospital for evaluation before being transported to the North Royalton Police Department.

 In 1999, Brinkman was convicted of several charges including receiving stolen property and unauthorized access to a computer. He served time in prison for violating the terms of community control in that case.

 A vigil for the North Royalton victims is planned for 8:30 p.m. Wednesday in front of North Royalton High School. |||||
What is a summary?

– The suspect in a triple homicide in northern Ohio is actually believed to have killed a total of five people in a 24-hour period. After allegedly killing a mother and her two daughters in a North Royalton home, police believe 45-year-old George Brinkman Jr. murdered a Lake Township couple he'd been house-sitting for, per the Canton Repository. Stark County Sheriff George Maier says Brinkman's vehicle was seen in the driveway of Rogell and Roberta John's home after they returned from a vacation on Sunday. The next day around 4pm, Rogell John's son called 911 to report that he'd found his father, 71, and stepmother, 64, dead under blankets in their bedroom, their luggage "still by the stairs." Police say they'd been shot to death. Their deaths followed those of Suzanne Taylor, 45, and her daughters Taylor Pifer, 21, and Kylie Pifer, 18, who were found dead in bed on Sunday, though police believe they died Saturday. It isn't clear how her daughters died, but Taylor's throat had been cut, reports Fox 8. Relatives tell the station that Taylor and Brinkman were longtime friends who went to high school together. Brinkman was taken into custody for the triple homicide Tuesday after a standoff with police. Before his arrest, he briefly exchanged Facebook messages with a reporter, denying any involvement in the women's murders, per Cleveland.com. Stark County authorities later described Brinkman as a former boyfriend of the Johns' daughter who worked for a family business.


– Since the story of baby Gammy went viral several days ago, the Australian government has announced that it is looking into whether it can intervene in a case described by the Australian immigration minister as "very, very murky," particularly because it took place in another country, reports the Telegraph. The baby, now 7 months old, was allegedly abandoned by his Australian parents, who paid a 21-year-old Thai woman to be a surrogate mother following an IVF procedure that ultimately resulted in twins. But the Australian couple says they were never told about the second baby, though surrogate Pattaramon Chanbua, a street vendor with two young children of her own, thinks they're lying about that. She says she was asked to abort Gammy but refused due to religious beliefs, and she's now raising him—and she wants to raise his twin sister as well after new allegations arose against the couple who took her and left Gammy behind. Sources tell Australia's 9 News that the father is a pedophile who was jailed in the 1990s on child sex convictions; his wife says she's aware of those convictions but that her husband is a changed man. The AP also spoke to a police officer who says the man is a convicted sex offender. Child protective services is reportedly looking into the father's suitability now, and Chanbua says she'd take the baby girl she carried back. As for whether she'd turn Gammy over to the couple at this point, she says, "Never. Not in any way." He's currently in the hospital with a serious lung infection and will need surgery for a heart problem, reports the Guardian. A GoFundMe campaign started by a charity has raised more than $230,000 for Gammy's care, and some have argued that Gammy should be able to access Australia's health care. Click for more on the baby's story.

Expand this summary.

Focused crawls are collections of frequently-updated webcrawl data from narrow (as opposed to broad or wide) web crawls, often focused on a single domain or subdomain. ||||| SRI RACHA, Thailand (AP) — A Thai surrogate mother left with a Down syndrome baby who was abandoned by his Australian biological parents said Tuesday she would be happy to have the baby's healthy twin returned, especially because of concern over reports the father is a convicted sex offender.

 Pattaramon Chanbua, 21, the surrogate mother to a baby boy born with Down syndrome who was abandoned by his Australian biological parents, waits for an elevator at a hospital in Sri Racha, Thailand, Tuesday,... (Associated Press)

 Pattaramon Chanbua, 21, the surrogate mother to a baby boy born with Down syndrome who was abandoned by his Australian biological parents, listens to questions from the media at a hospital in Sri Racha,... (Associated Press)

 Pattaramon Chanbua, 21, right, the surrogate mother to a baby boy born with Down syndrome who was abandoned by his Australian biological parents, sits next to an unidentified hospital representative at... (Associated Press)

 Pattaramon Chanbua, a 21-year-old food vendor who has two young children of her own, has been bringing up baby boy Gammy as her own since he was born in December.

 She said the father rejected Gammy, while taking his healthy twin sister home to Western Australia state.

 Australia's Nine Network television reported Tuesday that the father was a convicted pedophile. A police officer told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, because he was not authorized to speak to the media, that the father was a convicted sex offender.

 The case has caused intense public interest in Thailand and Australia, and Pattaramon made her views known at a news conference in her hometown. While she had previously said she was happy to have the twin girl stay with the Australian parents, the reports about the father's past have raised doubts in her mind.

 "Personally, when I heard the news I was shocked but I can't say anything much right now," she said, adding that she would "leave it to the law" to see if she can get the girl back. The process appeared to have been carried out legally under contract in Thailand and Western Australia, though other states in Australia do not allow it.

 Surrogacy involves a woman carrying the implanted embryo, or fertilized egg, of another woman in her womb in order to give birth, often because health issues make it impossible for the biological mother to do so. Legal doctrine on the rights of all parties involved is inconsistent and still evolving, especially when different nationalities are involved.

 Countries such as India, Ukraine and Thailand have fairly lenient regulations and are popular for couples in developed countries looking for lower-cost surrogate mothers.

 Pattaramon expressed sentimental attachment to the child, saying: "I want her back because she is my baby. She was in my womb."

 However, she said she was inclined to leave the resolution of the issue up to "fate" and what was best for the baby girl.

 "If she is happy, then I, as a mother, am also happy. I don't want to bring her back to suffer or anything. A mother would never want her child in trouble," she said. "But if she really cannot go on living there, then I'm very happy to have her back in my arms."

 She said she will never hand over to the Australian couple seven-month-old Gammy, who was born with a congenital heart condition as well as Down Syndrome: "Never. Not in any way."

 The case had already caused a stir because of the idea that the Australian couple had abdicated their responsibility by not taking home both children. They have not come out publicly to speak about the case, though the Australian broadcaster, ABC, reported that Gammy's biological father has denied intentionally abandoning his son in Thailand, saying he did not know that his daughter had a twin.

 Pattaramon has said she did not receive the full payment she was promised for serving as a surrogate mother.

 An online campaign by the Australian charity organization Hands Across the Water to help Gammy has raised more than $215,000 since July 22.

 ---------------------------

 Associated Press writer Rod McGuirk in Canberra, Australia contributed to this report. ||||| Surrogate mother says twin boy was abandoned by Australian parents but alleged father says he did not know of boy

 Conflicting reports have emerged over a baby with Down’s syndrome allegedly abandoned by its Australian parents in Thailand after being born to a surrogate mother.

 The boy, named Gammy, is currently in hospital being treated for a life-threatening lung infection and will need operations for a heart condition. His surrogate mother, Pattharamon Chanbua, has told journalists he was abandoned when his Australian parents took his sister home but left him. She said they had asked her to abort him.

 The Australian couple have not been named but have reportedly denied leaving Gammy in Thailand. Channel Nine and ABC both say they have spoken with them. More than $200,000 has been raised for Gammy through a viral online campaign but the people behind it have refused to reveal their identity because of their “position of work”.

 Gammy’s alleged Australian father told the ABC the clinic’s doctor only told them about a girl and he had been told the surrogacy agency no longer existed. The couple told Channel 9 they had a daughter of similar age to Gammy, born through surrogacy, but she did not have a twin. They described their experience with the surrogacy agency as “traumatising”.

 Chanbua told Fairfax the couple stayed in Thailand for a month when the twins were born, as the girl was in hospital along with Gammy. She said the father would not look at Gammy and did not carry him during the month.

 A GoFundMe page has raised more than $200,000 for Gammy since the story of his alleged abandonment was first reported last week but the administrators of the page do not want to be identified. The fundraisers have asked the charity Hands Across the Water to handle the money and Hands Across the Water founder Peter Baines said it would not be writing a cheque to Gammy’s family.

 “We will meet the immediate needs of his treatment in hospital now and then develop a long-term strategy over the next couple of weeks,” Baines told Guardian Australia.

 Baines will meet Gammy’s family when he travels to Thailand, on a pre-arranged trip, this month and they will discuss Gammy’s future medical and schooling needs.

 He said it was likely a trust account would be set up to fund Gammy’s expenses over the years.

 “Is it appropriate to hand them [the Thai parents] a cheque for $10,000? I suspect not,” Baines said.

 He said he knew who was behind the fundraising page but would not reveal their identity.

 “Because of their position of work they wish to remain anonymous,” he said. “When they started off they raised $6,000 in Thailand and then asked us to take up the project.”

 Baines said the $200,000 was more than was ever expected and the curators of the page posted a message saying they had reached their “goal” with the six-figure amount on Monday.

 “This has been a heartwarming project for our team and we look forward to seeing what the final donations amount to … this is people power at its best!” the message posted on the GoFundMe page said.

 “We do not view this as a short-term project, it is our vision by working together we can work to make Gammy’s life meaningful and his challenges dealt with with respect, love and care.”

 Baines said he was not aware of reports from the Australian couple that they did not know about Gammy.

 “From our perspective it’s almost a side issue. It’s not something we would seek out,” he said.

 Baines said the focus of the charity was on distributing the funds responsibly and appropriately. He said a sub-committee would be established, involving the fundraisers and representatives from Down’s syndrome groups, to advise on how the money should be spent.

 Chanbua said she was going to report the surrogacy agency to police on Monday but had so far not made contact with police, saying she was seeking further legal advice. ||||| GoFundMe has verified that the funds raised will go directly to the intended recipient.

 What does verified mean? |||||


– George Zimmerman is making headlines again, and these ones aren't good, either. A man in Lake Mary, Fla., says Zimmerman threatened to shoot him in a road rage confrontation, then showed up two days later near the man's work site, reports the Orlando Sentinel. Though he called police, who arrived and confirmed that it was indeed Zimmerman, the other man declined to press charges and Zimmerman wasn't arrested. Officers briefly confiscated a handgun from Zimmerman, who was acquitted last year in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, but returned it to him, shook hands, and sent him on his way. The incident began Tuesday morning, when 35-year-old Matthew Apperson made a U-turn on Lake Mary Boulevard and a truck soon pulled up alongside. He recognized the driver as Zimmerman, who reportedly said, "Do you know who I am? I will kill you," reports AP. When Apperson pulled off at a gas to phone police, Zimmerman followed but left before officers arrived. Two days later, Apperson called 911 again when he spotted Zimmerman in his truck, near Apperson's place of work. Zimmerman told officers he had a doctor's appointment nearby.

Expand this summary.

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A driver says George Zimmerman threatened to kill him, asking 'Do you know who I am?' during a road confrontation in their vehicles, a police spokeswoman said Friday.

 The driver, whose name hasn't been released, told Lake Mary police officers that a truck pulled up to his car Tuesday, and the driver yelled, "Why are you pointing a finger at me?"

 The truck's driver then asked the man, "Do you know who I am? I will kill you," the man told police officers, said Officer Bianca Gillett, a police spokeswoman.

 The man said he recognized the truck's driver as George Zimmerman. The man pulled into a nearby gas station and called police officers, but the truck was gone by the time they arrived, Gillett said.

 Two days later, the man said that he saw Zimmerman in his truck outside his work.

 "He was in fear of having encountered the vehicle a second time," Gillett said.

 The man called police, and officers who arrived confirmed the truck driver was Zimmerman, the police spokeswoman said.

 The man declined to press charges, Gillett said.

 Zimmerman's divorce attorney, Howard Iken, didn't return an Associated Press phone call Friday.

 Zimmerman was acquitted last year of second-degree murder for fatally shooting 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. Zimmerman, who was a neighborhood watch volunteer, said he shot the unarmed, black teenager in self-defense during a confrontation in February 2012 inside a gated community in Sanford, just outside Orlando.

 Relatives of Martin accused Zimmerman, who identifies himself as Hispanic, of racially profiling the teen and instigating the fight. The case triggered a national debate about race and an examination of self-defense laws.

 Since his acquittal, Zimmerman has had several brushes with the law:

 — Last year, he was arrested on charges of aggravated assault, battery and criminal mischief after his then-girlfriend said he pointed a gun at her face during an argument, smashed her coffee table and pushed her out of the house they shared. Samantha Scheibe decided not to cooperate with detectives and prosecutors didn't pursue the case.

 — Earlier that year, Zimmerman was accused by his estranged wife of smashing an iPad during an argument at the home they had shared. Shellie Zimmerman initially told a dispatcher her husband had a gun, though she later said he was unarmed. No charges were ever filed because of a lack of evidence. The dispute occurred days after Shellie Zimmerman filed divorce papers.

 — Zimmerman has also been pulled over three times for traffic violations since his acquittal. ||||| A driver called Lake Mary police earlier this week, accusing former Neighborhood Watch volunteer George Zimmerman of threatening to shoot him during a road-rage incident.

 Zimmerman, 30, was not arrested.

 Lake Mary Police Chief Steve Bracknell said the man, 35-year-old Matthew Apperson of Winter Springs, did not want to press charges, so there would be no arrest.

 Apperson told a 911 dispatcher Tuesday morning that he was driving his Honda Accord on Lake Mary Boulevard, made a U-turn and headed west-bound when a Honda Ridgeline truck pulled alongside and someone inside rolled down his window.

 "George Zimmerman was the driver, and they were threatening to kick my ___ and to shoot me," Apperson told the dispatcher.

 Apperson said he pulled into a Circle K to find a phone so he could call for help when the Ridgeline made a maneuver to block him and "almost hit my car."

 George Zimmerman is on trial in Sanford, Fla., on charges of second-degree murder in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. Here are some of the items introduced into evidence.

 Zimmerman "said he was going to shoot me dead," Apperson told the dispatcher.

 According to a police report, a store surveillance video showed that as Apperson was walking into the store, the Ridgeline left.

 Apperson said he did not see any weapons in Zimmerman's truck, but police discovered that Apperson was carrying a gun. He has a concealed weapons permit, according to the report.

 Two days later, Apperson called Lake Mary police again to report that he believed Zimmerman had followed him and was watching his movements.

 Police investigated, found Zimmerman in his Ridgeline nearby, pulled him over and questioned him. He told them he had a doctor's appointment in a nearby building.

 They took a handgun from him but returned it near the end of their eight-minute exchange, according to an officer's body video camera and patrol car dash camera.

 Zimmerman appeared relaxed and at ease, especially shortly before departing. He shook hands with the two officers before climbing back into his truck, the video shows.

 Bracknell said Apperson did not want to press charges the second time either.

 Zimmerman was acquitted last year of murdering Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black 17-year-old, whom he fatally shot Feb. 26, 2012, in a Sanford neighborhood.

 Since then, he's had several run-ins with police. He spent two days in the Seminole County Jail in November after his then-girlfriend accused him of threatening her with a shotgun, pushing her out the door of their home and locking it.

 She later recanted, and prosecutors dropped the case.

 Two months earlier, his estranged wife, Shellie, and her father accused Zimmerman of threatening them with a gun as the couple tried to divide up their personal belongings. However, neither Shellie Zimmerman nor her father said they ever saw a gun - only that Zimmerman acted as if he had one and appeared to move his hand toward it.

 He was handcuffed that day but released.

 Sentinel staffer Stephen Hudak contributed to this report. rstutzman@tribune.com or 407-650-65394 |||||


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FILE - In this Monday, March 4, 2013 file photo, Argentine Cardinal Leonardo Sandri arrives for a meeting, at the Vatican. A 2006 letter from Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, a top Vatican official confirms... (Associated Press)

 FILE - In this Monday, March 4, 2013 file photo, Argentine Cardinal Leonardo Sandri arrives for a meeting, at the Vatican. A 2006 letter from Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, a top Vatican official confirms that the Holy See received information in 2000 about the sexual misconduct of now-resigned U.S. Cardinal... (Associated Press)

 VATICAN CITY (AP) — A 2006 letter from a top Vatican official confirms that the Holy See received information in 2000 about the sexual misconduct of now-resigned U.S. cardinal, lending credibility to bombshell accusations of a cover-up at the highest echelons of the Roman Catholic Church.

 Catholic News Service, the news agency of the U.S. bishops' conference, published the letter Friday from then-Archbishop Leonardo Sandri to the Rev. Boniface Ramsay, a New York priest who made the initial allegation.

 Ramsay informed the Vatican in a November 2000 letter about then Cardinal Theodore McCarrick's misconduct with seminarians from Seton Hall University's Immaculate Conception Seminary. Ramsay, who in 2000 was on the faculty at the seminary, has said he sent the letter at the request of the then-Vatican ambassador because he had heard so many complaints from seminarians that McCarrick would invite them to his beach house and into his bed.

 Sandri, now a top-ranked Vatican cardinal who was the No. 3 in the Vatican's secretariat of state at the time, wrote Ramsay on Oct. 11, 2006, seeking his recommendation for a former seminarian for a Vatican job.

 In it, he referred to Ramsay's 2000 letter, saying: "I ask with particular reference to the serious matters involving some of the students of the Immaculate Conception Seminary, which in November 2000 you were good enough to bring confidentially to the attention of the then-Apostolic Nuncio in the United States, the late Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo."

 Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, at the center of a storm rocking Pope Francis' papacy, cited Ramsay's 2000 letter in his own expose of a cover-up about the McCarrick affair. He named Sandri among a long list of Vatican officials who knew about McCarrick's penchant for seminarians. Vigano also accused Francis of knowing in 2013 of McCarrick's misconduct but of rehabilitating him from sanctions purportedly imposed by Pope Benedict XVI.

 Sandri's letter is significant because it corroborates Ramsay's story as well as Vigano's claims. It shows the Vatican knew about allegations against McCarrick in 2000, a year before St. John Paul II made him a cardinal. And it further implicates the Benedict's papacy for failing to take action against McCarrick for years even as more allegations against him arrived.

 Vigano says Benedict eventually imposed some form of sanction on McCarrick in 2009 or 2010, nearly a decade after Ramsay's letter arrived. The fact that Sandri cited it so readily suggests it wasn't lost in a pile of unread mail somewhere, but was relevant even for a simple job reference.

 Significantly, Sandri appeared more concerned about the sexual purity of the seminarian-candidate than that McCarrick might have sexually abused or harassed him, or abused his power over him.

 McCarrick resigned as a cardinal in July after a U.S. church investigation determined an accusation that he groped a teen-age altar boy in the 1970s was credible. Since then several seminarians have come forward to say he routinely bedded them, or harassed them when they refused.

 His lawyer has said the accusations are serious and that McCarrick looks forward to invoking his right to due process at the right time. ||||| VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A top official from the Vatican Secretariat of State acknowledged allegations made by a New York priest in 2000 concerning Archbishop Theodore E. McCarrick, according to a letter obtained by Catholic News Service.

 Father Boniface Ramsey, pastor of St. Joseph's Church Yorkville in New York City, told CNS Sept. 7 that he received the letter dated Oct. 11, 2006, from then-Archbishop Leonardo Sandri, the former Vatican substitute for general affairs, asking for information regarding a priest of the Archdiocese of Newark who studied at Immaculate Conception Seminary and was being vetted for a post at a Vatican office. He made the letter available to CNS.

 Then-Archbishop Sandri wrote to Father Ramsey, "I ask with particular reference to the serious matters involving some of the students of the Immaculate Conception Seminary, which in November 2000 you were good enough to bring confidentially to the attention of the then Apostolic Nuncio in the United States, the late Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo."

 Father Ramsey had been on the faculty of the seminary from 1986 to 1996 and had sent a letter in 2000 to Archbishop Montalvo informing him of complaints he heard from seminarians studying at the seminary, located in South Orange, New Jersey.

 In the letter, Father Ramsey told CNS, "I complained about McCarrick's relationships with seminarians and the whole business with sleeping with seminarians and all of that; the whole business that everyone knows about," Father Ramsey said.

 Father Ramsey said he assumed the reason the letter from then-Archbishop Sandri, who is now a cardinal and prefect of the Congregation for Eastern Churches, only mentioned "serious matters involving " seminarians and not Archbishop McCarrick's behavior was because accusations against the former cardinal were "too sensitive."

 "My letter November 22, 2000, was about McCarrick and it wasn't accusing seminarians of anything; it was accusing McCarrick."

 While Father Ramsey has said he never received a formal response to the letter he sent in 2000, he told CNS he was certain the letter had been received because of the note he got from then-Archbishop Sandri in 2006 acknowledging the allegations he had raised in 2000.

 The 2006 letter not only confirms past remarks made by Father Ramsey, but also elements of a document written by Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, who served as nuncio to the United States from 2011 to 2016.

 In an 11-page statement, published Aug. 26, Archbishop Vigano accused church officials, including Pope Francis, of failing to act on accusations of sexual abuse, as well as abuse of conscience and power by now-Archbishop McCarrick.

 Archbishop Vigano stated that the Vatican was informed as early as 2000 -- when he was an official at the Secretariat of State -- of allegations that Archbishop McCarrick "shared his bed with seminarians." Archbishop Vigano said the Vatican heard the allegation from the U.S. nuncios at the time: Archbishop Montalvo, who served from 1998 to 2005 and Archbishop Pietro Sambi, who served from 2005 to 2011.

 In late June, then-Cardinal McCarrick, the 88-year-old retired archbishop of Washington, said he would no longer exercise any public ministry "in obedience" to the Vatican after an allegation he abused a teenager 47 years ago in the Archdiocese of New York was found credible. The then-cardinal has said he is innocent.

 Since then, several former seminarians have claimed that the then-cardinal would invite groups of them to a beach house and insist individual members of the group share a bed with him. |||||

– A 2006 letter from a top Vatican official confirms that the Holy See received information in 2000 about the sexual misconduct of now-resigned US cardinal, lending credibility to bombshell accusations of a cover-up at the highest echelons of the Roman Catholic Church, the AP reports. Catholic News Service published the letter Friday from then-Archbishop Leonardo Sandri to the Rev. Boniface Ramsay, a New York priest who made the initial allegation. Ramsay informed the Vatican in a November 2000 letter about then Cardinal Theodore McCarrick's misconduct with seminarians from Seton Hall University's Immaculate Conception Seminary. Ramsay says he sent the letter at the request of the then-Vatican ambassador because he had heard so many complaints from seminarians that McCarrick would invite them to his beach house and into his bed. Sandri, now a top-ranked Vatican cardinal who was the No. 3 in the Vatican's secretariat of state at the time, wrote Ramsay on Oct. 11, 2006, seeking his recommendation for a former seminarian for a Vatican job. In it, he referred to Ramsay's 2000 letter, saying: "I ask with particular reference to the serious matters involving some of the students of the Immaculate Conception Seminary, which in November 2000 you were good enough to bring confidentially to the attention of the then-Apostolic Nuncio in the United States, the late Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo." Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, at the center of a storm rocking Pope Francis' papacy, cited Ramsay's 2000 letter in his own expose of a cover-up about the McCarrick affair.