New Vatican law criminalizes abuse of adults, even by laity
By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has changed church law to explicitly criminalize the sexual abuse of adults by priests who abuse their authority. It also says laypeople who hold church office can be sanctioned for sex abuse crimes. The new provisions, released Tuesday after 14 years of study, were contained in the revised criminal law section of the Vatican’s Code of Canon Law, the in-house legal system that covers the 1.3-billion strong Catholic Church. The most significant changes aim to address major problems and shortcomings in the church’s handling of sexual abuse. The law recognizes that adults, too, can be victimized by priests who abuse their authority, and said that laypeople in church offices can be punished for abusing minors as well as adults.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says time is running short for a bipartisan deal on infrastructure and that President Joe Biden will look to act without Republican support if there’s no “clear direction” when Congress returns from its Memorial Day break. Buttigieg says in a series of Sunday TV interviews that Biden believes “inaction is not an option” and that there needs to be clarity by June 7. Biden plans to meet with the lead Republican negotiator, West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, this coming week and remains open to hearing from other Republican senators. Buttigieg acknowledges there remains “a lot of daylight” between the two sides, including how to pay for the investments.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea says the U.S. allowing South Korea to build more powerful missiles was an example of the U.S.’s hostile policy against the North and could lead to instability. It’s North Korea’s first response to the summit between President Joe Biden and South Korea’s leader. At the summit, the U.S. ended decades-long restrictions that capped South Korea’s missile development. The accusation that U.S. policy is hostile to North Korea matters because it said it won’t return to talks as long as U.S. hostility persists. But the latest statement was still attributed to a commentator, not a government body, suggesting North Korea may still want to leave room for potential diplomacy.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Johnson & Johnson is asking for Supreme Court review of a $2 billion verdict in favor of women who claim they developed ovarian cancer from using the company’s talc products. The case features an array of high-profile attorneys, some in unusual alliances, including former independent counsel Kenneth Starr, who is representing the women who sued Johnson & Johnson. The nation’s largest business groups are backing the company, and a justice’s father also makes an appearance because of his long association with the trade group for cosmetics and personal care products. The court could say as soon as Tuesday whether it will get involved.

A new study has calculated that more than one-third of global heat deaths can directly be attributed to human-caused climate change. Monday’s study is one of the first to do a global accounting of the toll of climate change, and it only looks at a fraction of the deaths from warming. More people die each year from storms, flooding and droughts stoked by climate change. Researchers calculate precise numbers for 732 cities across the globe and say in those cities nearly 10,000 people a year die from heat stoked by climate change. The study’s author says it is likely much more worldwide.

ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — President Joe Biden has laid a wreath at Arlington National Cemetery to honor America’s war dead on Memorial Day, and he extolled their sacrifices for the pursuit of democracy. The president was joined on Monday by first lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff in a somber ceremony at the Virginia cemetery’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. In an address, he called on Americans to remember that the country was built on the idea of liberty and opportunity for all. He said, “All those we honor today gave their lives for the country, but they live forever in our hearts.”

(Story by Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Curtis Walsh)

(Mercer County, PA) Two Los Angeles, California residents were arrested in Mercer County on Wednesday for felony drug possession. Pennsylvania State Police initiated a traffic stop on a 2006 Infiniti M35 traveling on Interstate 80 near milepost 24 eastbound for multiple traffic violations. Upon the course of the investigation, troopers found 63.8 lbs. of cocaine and fentanyl in hidden compartments within the car. Both occupants are currently being held in the Mercer County Jail.

(Story and photo/video by Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Curtis Walsh)

(Beaver Falls, PA) The 2021 Beaver Falls Memorial Day Parade moved through Beaver Falls this morning. The parade featured veterans, the Beaver Falls and Riverside marching bands, and Beaver Falls police and fire Departments along with bystanders enjoying the parade.  Check out video and photos from the event below!

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NEW CASTLE, Pa. (AP) — Authorities say a high school in western Pennsylvania was placed on lockdown during a procession for students attending the prom after what officials called “credible” threats. The New Castle city police department said an investigator was able to speak Friday to the individual who “did reiterate the threats,” and the person was determined to be near the high school, which was hosting the Prominade for students attending the prom. The school was placed on lockdown. WKBN-TV reports that prom festivities continued as planned later Friday evening at Stambaugh Auditorium in Youngstown, Ohio. The individual who made the threats is being sought.

WRIGHTSVILLE, Pa. (AP) — An alligator that wandered away from his owner’s Pennsylvania home slipped into the Susquehanna River but was found the following day. The York Daily Record reports that Oscar is believed to have gotten out of the pen at the Wrightsville home sometime Thursday. The 3-foot-long animal was spotted Friday morning in the Susquehanna. Owner Tyler Hake, a biologist who works with reptiles and has had Oscar since he was about 16, was in western Pennsylvania conducting a survey. On Friday, he and a borough crew walked the riverbank and spotted Oscar in the river, pretty much in front of Hake’s home, and were able to recapture him.