Colo. officials probe slayings of wife, kids
Compiled from news services
FREDERICK, Colo. — The bodies of two young girls were submerged in crude oil for four days before authorities discovered them, according to court documents filed by an attorney defending the girls’ father against accusations that he killed his children and wife.
The motion filed Friday by Christopher Watts’ attorney, James Merson, also asked that DNA swabs be taken from the girls’ necks. The request quotes an expert who believes the oil would not eliminate DNA and said samples can be obtained “after strangulation.”
Authorities separately announced that the Weld County Coroner’s Office had performed autopsies on Friday and confirmed the bodies as 34-year-old Shanann, 4year-old Bella and 3-year-old Celeste Watts.
Asian income inequality
The leads of the new romantic comedy “Crazy Rich Asians” are precisely what you might expect, based on the title: picture-perfect images of the immigrant success story. Viewers might even get the impression from watching the film that every Asian lives a charmed life.
But that is not a full picture of the Asian-American experience. They are now the most economically divided racial or ethnic group in the country, displacing African-Americans, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of Census Bureau data that shows income inequality among Asian-Americans has nearly doubled from 1970 to 2016.
Asians in New York are the poorest immigrant group. The number of Asians living in poverty grew by 44 percent over about a decade and a half, to more than 245,000 in 2016, from 170,000 in 2000, according to the Asian American Federation.
Mormons shift vernacular
The word “Mormon” is out, says the president of the Utah-based church. But the proper term for what to call the faith and its followers is a mouthful.
In an announcement Thursday, President Russell Nelson insisted that Mormons and non-Mormons alike stick to the term “Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”
Mr. Nelson, 93, said that the policy change came to him in a revelation from God and that members of the church must work to adjust their vernacular.
The church’s updated style guide specifies that “Mormon Church,” “Mormons” and “Mormonism” are no longer acceptable. And no, you should not use the abbreviation “LDS,” either. The only exceptions listed are for the Book of Mormon, the church’s sacred text, and historical names like the Mormon Trail.
Plane sexual assault
It was a late-night flight from Las Vegas, and the woman rested her head on the window as the plane neared Detroit.
She was startled awake by the man in the middle seat next to her. His hand was down her unbuttoned pants, and her shirt was undone.
The 22-year old woman fled to the back of the plane to alert flight attendants.
But first she had to get past two obstacles: Prabhu Ramamoorthy, the man in the middle seat, and his wife in the aisle seat - an arm’s length away from a chill-inducing Jan. 3 incident later described in court.
A federal jury convicted Ramamoorthy, 35, of sexual abuse on the Spirit Airlines flight. Ramamoorthy, an Indian national in the United States on a work visa, faces up to life in prison. He will be deported after serving his sentence, U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider said in a statement.