Cardinal cleared of sex abuse charges

Cardinal clearedof sex abuse charges
NEW YORK -- A sexual misconduct allegation against Cardinal Edward Egan dating to 1969 is unfounded, prosecutors in Illinois said Friday.
The Cook County state's attorney investigated "and found no credible evidence on which to proceed," spokesman John Gorman said.
In August, Illinois authorities notified the New York archdiocese that a man said Egan sexually abused him when he was a boy in Chicago in 1969, archdiocese spokesman Joseph Zwilling said. The same person accused more than 20 "high profile persons," including national political figures, Zwilling said.
Neither the Chicago archdiocese nor the Cook County prosecutor would comment on whether the person had made other allegations or if other investigations were under way.
Zwilling said Egan cooperated with the investigation, but denied the charges and had never heard of the person who made them.
Cardinal Francis George of Chicago notified Egan on Friday that his archdiocese's review board also found no basis for the accusation.
Air Force pays womanover wayward bomb
EL PASO, Texas -- The Air Force has agreed to pay $12,000 to a woman whose house was hit by a dummy bomb, her attorney said.
Gloria Aker's west Texas home was hit last July by a bomb accidentally dropped from an Air Force F-177A Nighthawk on a practice run from Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico.
Although the dummy didn't contain explosives, it pierced the home's roof, flew through a bathroom, slammed through a wall, then plowed 6 feet into the ground. Later, a device used to locate the bomb discharged smoke throughout the house.
Aker was in her home with her two children when the bomb hit. All three were shaken but unharmed. The family has been living with Aker's parents while the home is repaired.
"My son and my daughter, they have nightmares. They're not too excited about going home," Aker said.
Attorney Mike Milligan said his client accepted the $12,000 offer this week. A spokeswoman at the air base confirmed that a settlement had been reached.
Navy announces dateof Vieques exercises
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- The U.S. Navy informed Puerto Rico's government Friday that a new round of bombing exercises could start as soon as Jan. 13 on the outlying island of Vieques.
The Navy said in its letter to the U.S. territory's government that it would conduct the maneuvers for up to one month. Previous military exercises involved ship-to-shore shelling and aerial bombing.
Gov. Sila Calderon, who opposes the training, sent a letter to President Bush on Friday calling the plan "patently offensive."
Demonstrators routinely break onto Navy lands to thwart the exercises, saying the maneuvers harm the environment and health of Vieques' 9,100 residents. The Navy denies that claim.
Bush has pledged the Navy will leave Vieques by May 2003. Calderon and dozens of U.S. congressional representatives have urged Bush to put his promise in writing, as concerns mount that the United States could need the island as it prepares for a possible war with Iraq.
The U.S. Navy, which owns about one-third of the outlying Puerto Rican island, has used the bombing range for six decades.
A security guard was killed on the range in 1999 by errant Navy bombs, and the military has used only dummy bombs in the maneuvers ever since.
Peace Corps rejected
MOSCOW -- Russia will no longer accept Peace Corps volunteers, after suggesting the workers were spying, the U.S. Embassy said Friday.
The decision followed increasing Russian criticism of the Peace Corps, ranging from the volunteers' alleged lack of training to their alleged ties with American security services.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko said his government was grateful for the Peace Corps' assistance, but that Russia's needs had changed since 1992, when the volunteers first started going to Russia.
"Due to the changing economic and social tasks facing our country, we are holding consultations with the American side on how new forms of partnership could be worked out more in line with today's needs," he was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency.
Earlier this year, the Russian government refused without explanation to issue entry visas for new volunteers or to extend the visas of 30 of the 64 Peace Corps workers already in the country.
Associated Press