Detroit bishop says priest molested him as teenager

Detroit bishop says priestmolested him as teenager
COLUMBUS -- A bishop in the Detroit Archdiocese said Wednesday that he was touched inappropriately by a priest when he was a teenager, making him the first U.S. Catholic bishop to disclose that he was a victim of sexual abuse by clergy. Detroit Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, 75, spoke at a news conference in support of an Ohio bill that would remove time limits that have prevented past victims from suing the church over their alleged abuse. Bishop Gumbleton said he was a 15-year-old seminary student in Detroit when a priest took him and other boys to a cabin northeast of the city. The bishop said the priest started wrestling with him playfully, then put his hand down the back of Gumbleton's pants. He said he quickly removed himself from the situation; he did not elaborate. Even 60 years later, Bishop Gumbleton said, he's embarrassed talking about the incident, which he said explains why some victims never brought lawsuits within legal time limits, which in most states are two to five years.
Lawmakers' lossis charities' gain
WASHINGTON -- Ninety families on a South Dakota Indian reservation will get help paying their heating bills this winter, and heart disease research will get a little extra boost, thanks to a stampede by members of Congress to rid themselves of tainted money. Lawmakers in both political parties are steering cash they got from disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff to good works. The once high-flying Abramoff recently pleaded guilty to federal charges of fraud, tax evasion and wining and dining public officials "in exchange for a series of official acts," in a fall from grace that has turned into a windfall for the nation's charities. Nationally known groups including the Salvation Army and American Heart Association as well as local organizations such as the Crossroads Safehouse, a shelter for battered women in Colorado, will share more than $430,000 in now-unwanted campaign contributions from Abramoff and his associates.
As Sharon recuperates,Israeli politics revive
JERUSALEM -- With Ariel Sharon's condition gradually improving, doctors hoped Wednesday to completely remove him from sedatives soon -- a process that could take a day and a half -- so they can assess what brain damage he suffered from a massive stroke. New polls indicated Sharon's Kadima Party would easily win March 28 elections and had even gained strength since the popular prime minister fell ill a week ago. With Sharon in critical but stable condition, the fight to choose his successor began in earnest. Kadima officials floated the idea of giving Sharon the top slot on the party's election list, while keeping acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert as its candidate for premier. The unlikely proposal was strongly debated by Israeli politicians Wednesday in a sign that the country's vibrant political life was reviving after grinding to a halt because of Sharon's stroke.
Maine: Drug deaths willexceed traffic fatalities
AUGUSTA, Maine -- For the first time, drug overdose deaths in Maine apparently exceeded the number of people killed in traffic accidents last year, officials said Wednesday. Final figures are not available yet, but state officials projected that overdose deaths in 2005 would reach 178, most of them accidental, compared with 168 highway deaths. Officials said drug-related deaths in Maine have nearly tripled since 2000, while highway deaths have been dropping. The 2005 highway death toll was the lowest since the 166 fatalities recorded in 1982, reflecting stepped-up patrols on risky stretches of highway and a greater emphasis on driver education, state officials said.
Schwarzenegger won'tbe charged in accident
LOS ANGELES -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's weekend motorcycle crash left him with a fat lip and a political black eye, but he won't be charged with a driving violation, officials said Wednesday. Schwarzenegger was on his Harley-Davidson, with his 12-year-old son in a sidecar, when he collided Sunday with a car on a winding canyon road. Police said he was driving without a license, but the city attorney declined to file any charges after reviewing the accident report. Even though police concluded he was unlicensed, the department "cannot go back and cite the governor because we did not witness the driving." The low-speed accident turned into a political embarrassment for the governor, who acknowledged he'd driven a motorcycle for years without the proper license.
Associated Press