List of All Articles with Tag 'sons'

Sex abuse charges against former Catholic Cardinal Theodore McCarrick have been dismissed by a Massachusetts judge who ruled the 93-year-old was incompetent to stand trial. Mr McCarrick, who was the former archbishop of Washington, was charged with assaulting a 16-year-old boy in 1974. He was defrocked who was defrocked by the Pope in 2019 after a Vatican investigation alleged he had sexually molested adults as well as children during his career. The former cleric, the most senior member of the US Catholic church to face charges, still faces a criminal sexual abuse charge against the same alleged victim, in Wisconsin. Mr McCarrick pleaded not guilty in September 2021 to allegations that he sexually abused the boy at a wedding reception at Boston’s Wellesley College in June 1974. His lawyers told the court in April that Mr McCarrick had been examined by experts at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, who concluded he suffers from dementia, likely due to Alzheimer’s disease. The judge ruled in agreement on Wednesday and prosecutors immediately dismissed the complaint against the former Cardinal. “(The) Commonwealth does not have a good-faith basis to proceed any longer with the prosecution give the testimony and the opinions of the psychologist that Mr McCarrick is not restorable to competency,” the prosecutor said. Mr McCarrick, who now lives in Missouri, did not appear in person in the courtroom but joined the hearing by video. Court documents in the case state that the victim alleged Mr McCarrick groped him as they walked around the campus of Wellesley College, where his brother’s wedding reception was being held. The man also claims that Mr McCarrick also later fondled the boy in a room and told him to “say three our fathers and a Hail Mary or it was one our father and three Hail Marys, so God can redeem you of your sins.” Read More Pope says a revised environmental encyclical will be released Oct. 4, feast of St. Francis of Assisi Pope heads to Mongolia to minister to its few Catholics and complete centuries-old East-West mission Vatican seeks to tamp down outrage over pope's words of praise for Russian imperial past

Ukrainian drones have hit at least six regions deep inside Russia – including destroying war planes at an airfield – in one of the largest such strikes since the start of Moscow's invasion. Russian officials described attacks on targets in the Pskov, Bryansk, Kaluga, Orlov, Ryazan and Moscow regions, with the assault on the military airfield in Pskov the most significant. Situated more than 400 miles (600 kilometres) from Ukraine, it was where a number of elite paratroopers are stationed. The state-run Tass news agency reported at least four giant Il-76 transport planes were damaged, two of which had "burst into flames". the governor of Pskov posted video on the messaging app Telegram showing a huge fire with the sounds of sirens and an explosion at the air base. Other videos posted online showed anti-aircraft systems in action around the city, which is about 20 miles east of Russia's border with Nato-member Estonia. Kyiv confirmed the Russian planes had been destroyed in Pskov, without commenting on the nature of the incident. It generally does not claim strikes on Russian territory, but does say it has the right to hit military targets. "Yes, four IL-76 transport planes were destroyed in Pskov at an airfield, they are beyond repair. Also, several other of those [aircraft] are damaged, but the information is being checked," Andriy Yusov, a spokesman for Ukraine's military intelligence agency. The number of drone strikes hitting Russia has increased in recent weeks, supporting a ground counteroffensive against Russian forces in Ukraine by destroying equipment and seeking to disrupt supply lines. Moscow typically describes all Ukrainian drone strikes as unsuccessful, regardless of the damage on the ground, but claimed that its own forces had attacked four Ukrainian attack boats in the Black Sea. In a sign of how disruptive the latest Ukrainian strikes were, Russia's Defence Ministry said they "would not go unpunished". Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also said Russia was working out where the drones were launched from to try and prevent further strikes. President Vladimir Putin had been informed immediately, as would be the case in any such "massive attacks", Mr Peskov said. The increase in strikes inside Russia, including repeated drone strikes on central Moscow, have brought the war home to many Russians for the first time, even as Ukrainians have spent the past 18 months under threat of air strikes from long-range missiles and drones. The latest strikes inside Russia coincided with Moscow's largest barrage against Kyiv in months. Ukraine said its air defences had shot down 28 Russian missiles and 15 out of 16 drones fired overnight. "Kyiv has not experienced such a powerful attack since spring. The enemy launched a massive, combined attack using drones and missiles," Serhiy Popko, the head of the city's military administration, said on Telegram. Back in Moscow, the Kremlin said that it will not conduct an investigation into plane crash that killed the Wagner mercenary group founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, under international rules. "In this case there can be no talk of any international aspect," the Kremlin spokesman, Mr Peskov said, but he did suggest that "deliberate wrongdoing" is among the possible causes. The private Embraer jet on which Mr Prigozhin was travelling to St Petersburg from Moscow crashed north of Moscow killing all 10 people on board on 23 August, including two other top Wagner figures, Mr Prigozhin's four bodyguards and a crew of three. That was two months to the day since Mr Prigozhin began a mutiny against Russian President Vladimir, with his forces marching towards Moscow. The uprising ended 24 hours later after a deal was struck between the Wagner founder and the Kremlin – but a number of Western leaders have suggested that Mr Putin would not let that embarrassment stand. The Kremlin has claimed any suggestion the Russian leader was involving in the killing is an "absolute lie". Reuters and Associated Press contributed to this report Read More The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary Former official under Belarus President Lukashenko to face Swiss trial over enforced disappearances Putin and Kim Jong-un are deepening their relationship, White House says White House says Putin and Kim Jong Un traded letters as Russia looks for munitions from North Korea

Arsenal have confirmed the sale of striker Folarin Balogun to AS Monaco in what is a reported record sale for the club.

Miley Cyrus is reflecting on her childhood work schedule.

According to ESPN's Stephen Holder, the Green Bay Packers were the mystery team in talks with the Indianapolis Colts for running back Jonathan Taylor.

Pat Narduzzi is being Pat Narduzzi again. This time he is blaming Penn State head coach James Franklin entirely for the reason why his Pittsburgh Panthers don't play the Nittany Lions any more.

Captain Babar Azam notched his 19th ODI hundred and Iftikhar Ahmed smashed 109 off 71 balls as Pakistan opened the Asia Cup with a resounding 238-run win over newcomer Nepal

Ukraine claims to have liberated the village of Robotyne, which could lead to a push towards Crimea.

After trading away Kendrick Green to the Houston Texans, Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Omar Khan signed one of their former players in All-Pro cornerback Desmond King.

With the Champions League group stage draw set to take place on Thursday 31 August here are the dream and nightmare scenarios for Barcelona.

A former member of Belarus President Aleksander Lukashenko’s special security forces is to face trial in Switzerland next month for the forced disappearances of political opponents in the late 1990s

Blanket Jackson (now Bigi) and his brother Prince Jackson both made an appearance in Las Vegas in honor of their late father's birthday on Tuesday. Michael Jackson would have turned 65.