NATION/WORLD BRIEFING
Australian archbishop convicted of child sex abuse cover-up
CANBERRA, Australia – An Australian archbishop on Tuesday became the most senior Roman Catholic cleric in the world convicted of covering up child sex abuse.
Magistrate Robert Stone handed down the verdict against Archbishop of Adelaide Philip Wilson in Newcastle Local Court, north of Sydney. Wilson, 67, had pleaded not guilty to concealing a serious crime committed by another person – the sexual abuse of children by priest James Fletcher in the 1970s.
He had made four attempts in the past three years to have the charge struck out without a trial.
The conviction is another step toward holding the church to account for a global abuse crisis that has also engulfed Pope Francis’ financial minister, Australian Cardinal George Pell.
An Australian inquiry into child abuse recommended in December that the Catholic Church lift its demand of celibacy from clergy and that priests be prosecuted for failing to report evidence of pedophilia heard in the confessional.
U.S., China work on proposal to rescue ZTE
WASHINGTON – The United States and China are working toward an agreement that would ease U.S. sanctions that were imposed on ZTE Corp. and let the Chinese telecommunications giant stay in business.
President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the deal might require ZTE to revamp its board and to pay a fine of $1 billion or more.
The ZTE talks occur after the U.S. and China over the weekend suspended plans to impose tariffs on as much as $200 billion in each other’s goods, pulling back from the brink of a trade war.
Judge orders teen to pay $37 million for starting wildfire
HOOD RIVER, Ore. – A teenager who started a wildfire in the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon has been ordered to pay restitution for at least the next decade, though it’s unlikely he will ever cover his nearly $37 million bill.
The Oregonian reports that Hood River County Circuit Judge John A. Olson issued the opinion Monday, awarding restitution totaling $36,618,330.24 to cover the costs of firefighting, repair and restoration to the gorge and damage to homes.
The 15-year-old from Vancouver, Washington, admitted setting off two fireworks in Eagle Creek Canyon on Sept. 2, sparking the blaze.
2 Mississippi officers fired after man makes police brutality clams
LAUREL, Miss. – Two Mississippi police officers have been fired after a man said they repeatedly kicked him in the face when they arrested him.
WDAM-TV reported Monday that Laurel police Capt. Tommy Cox said it became apparent that there was a problem with the way the arrest occurred, and the officers were fired. Police said the department has been in contact with the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation to consider charges against the officers.
James Barnett, 36, told the TV station the officers pursued and arrested him after he turned around from a police checkpoint May 16. Barnett said he left his vehicle, lay down on the ground and was continuously kicked. He was charged with resisting arrest.
Fight ends in gunfire; 1 dead, 3 wounded, Chicago police say
CHICAGO – Chicago police say a fight between two groups of people at a gas station escalated into gunfire, leaving a man dead and three people wounded.
The shooting happened before dawn Tuesday in the Avondale neighborhood. Police said a 25-year-old man who was shot several times was pronounced dead at a hospital.
Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said that two groups of people were in different vehicles when they arrived at the gas station and the fight began. He said detectives were reviewing security video.
—From wire reports