Boehner: High hopes for debt 'supercommittee'

(AP) ? House Speaker John Boehner says he has high hopes that a congressional "supercommittee" will be able to reach "common ground" on a plan to cut the deficit by at least $1.2 trillion over a decade.

But the most powerful Republican in Washington says that finding common ground doesn't necessarily mean compromising one's principles, a none-to-subtle hint that he remains strongly opposed to increasing taxes as part of the solution to deficits exceeding $1 trillion a year.

Boehner's remarks to a group of students at the University of Louisville came as the secretive 12-member bipartisan panel remains deadlocked less than a month before its deadline. Democrats say tax revenues are a precursor to any agreement to curb spending on costly benefits programs like Medicare.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2011-10-31-Debt-Supercommittee/id-ca45d6b6bf0e424fb313a1d961fd66a2

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Turkey ends search for quake survivors

The death toll from last week's earthquake in southeast Turkey rose to 596 Sunday, the day after authorities stopped searching for survivors and focused on helping thousands of homeless families in crisis.

In Ercis, the town hit hardest by the 7.2 magnitude quake that devastated Van province on October 23, some shops reopened on Sunday, electricity was switched back on in parts of town and one bank's ATM started working.

But with barely any of Ercis's nearly 100,000 residents ready to return to their damaged homes with strong aftershocks still rattling the area, life is anything but normal. One aftershock Sunday morning registered at magnitude 5.3.

Winter is fast approaching, temperatures plunge at night, and young and old in particular are falling sick in tent encampments set up by relief agencies on the outskirts of town.

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Story: Boy drank rain to survive after Turkey quake

The government's disaster management website said more than 43,000 tents had been handed out in Van. Officials say that is more than needed because people whose homes are not so badly damaged are demanding tents as they feel safer under canvas.

"Our house is in good shape but we live in a tent due to fear. We will go back once the aftershocks are gone and the government says our house is safe," said Fadli Kocak, owner of a bakery in Ercis, who hopes to be back in business in a week.

Many people were queuing to register for tents Sunday, a first step to having an inspection done of their home, as authorities say they will hand them out only after verifying that a building is too risky to live in.

"The problem here is that you can't give 100,000 tents in a town whose population is equal to that," Yalcin Mumcu, who coordinated search and rescue operations in Ercis, told Reuters.

"Our people need to the trust the government, too. Everybody is asking for tents. They need to be patient, if the Prime Minister says they are going to build a new, better Van, I am sure they will," he said.

The relief operation is politically sensitive as the southeast is where most of Turkey's Kurdish minority lives, and the army has been fighting a separatist insurgency there that has cost more than 40,000 lives since it first erupted in 1984.

After criticism in the first days of the disaster, state authorities cranked up relief operations, asking for foreign help providing tents, containers and prefabricated houses.

Hoardes of people in provincial capital Van have also clamored for tents even though far fewer buildings collapsed there. Villagers in surrounding hills are seen as more in need because most of their primitively built houses were destroyed and they would be caught in the open if there is early snow.

"Most of us sleep outside. The village has received coal and blankets but no tents," said Mehmet Siddik Demirtas, headman at Yukari Isikli village, about 10 km (6 miles) from Ercis.

"We go every day to the city of Ercis to ask for tents but they tell us to wait," he said.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45094022/ns/world_news-europe/

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Supercommittee GOP, Democrats swap offers

October 29, 2011


WASHINGTON (AP) ? Republicans on Congress' deficit?reduction supercommittee outlined a plan Wednesday that includes spending cuts but none of the increases in tax revenue sought by Democrats, completing an initial exchange of offers that left the two sides far apart despite weeks of secret talks.

Officials also said a Democratic proposal on Tuesday and the GOP counter?proposal 24 hours later both included a provision to slow the annual cost?of?living increases in future Social Security benefits, suggesting it could become part of any compromise that might emerge.

The Republican offer calls for somewhat more than $2 trillion in deficit savings over a decade, according to officials in both parties. Less than half of that amount would come from increases in items such as Medicare premiums, the sale of public lands and airport fees ? measures that increase government revenue without changing personal or corporate taxes.

Spending cuts include about $500 billion from Medicare over a decade and another $185 billion from Medicaid, these officials said.

By contrast, Democrats want $1.3 trillion in higher tax revenue, a similar amount in spending cuts and enough other savings elsewhere in the budget to reduce deficits by more than $3 trillion over the coming decade while financing a $450 billion jobs bill along the lines that President Barack Obama is recommending.

The officials who described the rival approaches did so on condition of anonymity, saying they were not authorized to provide details of the committee's confidential discussions. In private, each side also disparaged the other, providing yet another indication that the panel's deliberations have not shown significant progress.

Still, the exchange marked a quickening in the pace of activity by the committee after dozens of hours of closed?door meetings, and with time running out, senior leaders in both parties are becoming more involved. Another committee meeting was set for Thursday.

The panel of six Republicans and six Democrats has until Nov. 23 to recommend deficit savings of $1.2 trillion. But in fact, most if not all of the decisions must be made by early next month to give the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office time to render precise estimates on their costs on future deficits.

Whatever the committee recommends must be approved by both houses of Congress in December if lawmakers want to avoid automatic spending cuts of $1.2 trillion across a range of federal programs.

There were signs of Democratic dissension one day after Sen. Max Baucus, D?Mont., outlined a proposal on behalf of his party's negotiators that included changes in large government benefit programs.

According to several officials, he called for $1.3 trillion in increased tax revenue over a decade, and $1.3 trillion in spending cuts. Another $1 trillion in savings would come from the presumed reduction of Pentagon costs in Iraq and Afghanistan and $500 billion more from a reduction in interest costs resulting from declining deficits.

Those savings would be on top of cuts that Congress approved earlier in the year of nearly $1 trillion.

For Democrats on the committee, it appeared that the most contentious of the items would slow the growth of monthly checks to recipients of Social Security and other benefit programs, curtail Medicare spending by $400 billion over a decade and Medicaid by another $75 billion.

Several Democrats said during the day that the presentation had the support of a majority of the six Democrats on the panel, leaving the impression that at least one, and possibly two, of the party's lawmakers had not signed on. They also stressed that Obama has previously endorsed each of the proposals they made, including the one to adjust the government's calculation for inflation in a way that curtails the growth of benefit programs.

Others suggested that Rep. James Clyburn, D?S.C., a member of the party's leadership, and Rep. Xavier Becerra, D?Calif., had not agreed to support the recommendations.

Aides to the two men would not confirm the accounts.

By contrast, Republicans appeared to avoid any ideological pitfalls in their counter?offer, pulling well back from a position that House Speaker John Boehner, R?Ohio, took earlier in the year in private talks with Obama.

In those discussions, Boehner and the president discussed legislation to enact tax reform that was assumed to result in economic expansion and increases in tax revenue of $800 billion over a decade.

After the collapse of those talks, Republicans have struggled in the ensuing months to avoid any conflict with Grover Norquist, a prominent conservative activist and author of a pledge not to raise taxes that many GOP lawmakers have signed.

In fact, tax reform has figured prominently in the deficit committee's private discussions, according to officials in both parties, and is viewed as a possible key to an agreement.

Under this theory, if Republicans are willing to agree that additional revenue that results from reform does not constitute a tax increase, it might entice Democrats to agree to savings from Medicare and other government benefit programs that account for much of the growth in federal spending in recent years.

Apart from the deficit committee's work, the official web site of the Republican?controlled House Ways and Means Committee sketches a plan to reduce the corporate tax from a current 35 percent to 25 percent, with unspecified provisions to broaden the tax base.

It also makes a favorable reference to a reform of the individual income tax system, without specifics.

___

Associated Press?(News - Alert) writer Andrew Taylor contributed to this report.

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Source: http://topnews360.tmcnet.com/topics/associated-press/articles/2011/10/29/235223-supercommittee-gop-democrats-swap-offers.htm

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Obamas hand out Halloween treats at White House (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Turns out, the White House did not get egged.

Trick-or-treaters marched up the White House driveway on a wet, snowy Saturday, past the spider web-like gauze, the pumpkins and the costumed actors to the mansion's north portico where President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama handed out treats, an annual tradition.

"What's this? Look at this guy," the president said at the sight of one costumed child. "A headless man. Terrifying!"

And yes, the sweets included signature boxes of White House M&Ms, signaling a temporary respite from the first lady's healthy eating campaign. Dried fruit and White House baked cookies rounded out the handouts.

Earlier this week, in an appearance on the "Tonight Show," Obama joked to host Jay Leno that he had warned his wife that if she wanted to avoid Halloween mischief she might want to dole out more than just fruit and raisins.

"I told her the White House is going to get egged if this keeps up," he said, suggesting that she might want to add "a couple of Reese's Pieces or something."

In the spirit of compromise, a trait the president often says is all too rare in Washington, the M&Ms made it into the goody bags. Not exactly Reese's Pieces, but close enough. (Truth be told, the M&Ms were included in the treats last year, too). The sweet dough butter cookies were baked by White House Pastry Chef Bill Yosses.

The orange lights bathed the north portico as the president in black fleece jacket and slacks and the first lady in an overcoat greeted the parade of children. The Obamas were joined by the first lady's mother, Marian Robinson.

All three wished their guests happy Halloween and marveled at their costumes.

Commenting on the dank weather and nearly freezing temperatures, Obama said to nearby reporters: "I know it's cold here, you guys doing alright? It's not ideal out here."

Michelle Obama hugged several of the children and even wrapped one shivering child with her overcoat, declaring, "Oh, she's freezing!"

Actors from Washington-area theatres dressed as ghosts, Winnie the Pooh, a Star Wars stormtrooper, Charlie Chaplin and more greeted the children along the north lawn driveway.

Children from 17 elementary schools from Washington and nearby Virginia and Maryland school districts were invited. Children from the Boys and Girls Club of America and children from military families also participated. Later, the children of military families were invited to a Halloween party at the White House.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111029/ap_on_re_us/us_obama_halloween

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The Radius for Yeti Review

Blue Microphone recently released the Radius shockmount for their Yeti and Yeti Pro microphones (both microphones have the same mount and form-factor). A shockmount is used to isolate your microphone from vibration while recording.?The mount is specifically designed to work with the Yeti and Yeti Pro, but could be used with almost any microphone with [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2011/10/29/the-radius-for-yeti-review/

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EMI sale sweet for one mogul, bittersweet for another (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters) ? The imminent sale of storied music company EMI Group represents the culmination of a years-long vision quest for one mogul and a bittersweet defeat for another.

Capping a six-year long pursuit, sources said Warner Music Group Chairman Edgar Bronfman Jr. appears set to win the auction for the recorded music side of EMI, allowing his tumultuous run at Warner Music to end on a victorious note.

Bronfman relinquished his CEO role at Warner Music after Len Blavatnik's Access Industries bought the label for $3.3 billion this summer and moved upstairs to the chairman's office with the sole purpose of completing a deal for EMI.

It is widely presumed that he will leave Warner Music after closing the EMI deal.

Sources said BMG Music Rights, a joint venture between private equity firm KKR and German media giant Bertelsmann, is the frontrunner to win EMI's large and lucrative publishing operation.

That would be a crushing defeat for Martin Bandier, the CEO of Sony/ATV, the music publishing joint venture between Sony Corp and the estate of pop singer Michael Jackson.

Bandier built EMI's song publishing unit from nothing into the music industry's premiere operation over 18 years before being eased out of the company in 2007. He joined Sony/ATV that same year with ambitions to eventually buy the division he led for nearly two decades.

DEAL MECHANICS

Citigroup seized control of EMI in February after its previous private equity owner, Terra Firma, defaulted on loans owed to the investment bank. The default forced Citigroup to write down the debt it held in EMI by nearly $2 billion.

The investment bank is understood to be seeking a $4 billion valuation for EMI, or roughly $2.5 billion less than Terra Firma paid for the company just four years ago. But after receiving lowball bids for the entire company, sources said Citigroup decided to sell EMI's recorded music and song publishing units separately to maximize its return.

Negotiations on the deal, which had been expected as early as Friday, have overrun as bidders fret over EMI issues such as assuming pension liabilities. A final agreement is now expected early next week.

An EMI representative declined comment. Representatives for all the bidders mentioned also declined comment.

Warner Music moved into the pole position for EMI's recorded music division after Vivendi SA's Universal Music Group, the world's largest record label, dropped out of the auction this week, sources said. While both labels bid roughly $1.5 billion for the unit, which counts the Beastie Boys, Coldplay and Katy Perry among its stable of artists, Universal Music balked at assuming the pension liabilities, two-thirds of which are in the labels business.

According to sources with knowledge of the auction process, BMG and Sony/ATV each bid more than $2 billion for EMI's publishing operation, which owns the rights to more than 1.3 million songs ranging from the iconic hit "New York, New York" to Adele's recent smash "Rolling In The Deep."

These people said that BMG's bid was advantaged because of its simpler financing structure through KKR. Sony/ATV's bid relies on debt financing from UBS and equity from Abu Dhabi firm Mubdala and private equity firm Blackstone Group.

Moreover, Sony/ATV's bid has been hampered by bureaucracy in dealing with the Sony board, allowing BMG to act more nimbly, the sources said.

BRONFMAN AND BANDIER

Bronfman, the billionaire heir of the Seagram's beverage fortune, has been trying to buy EMI for years, but control issues always stood in the way of a deal. Neither he, nor the management of EMI, could ever come to terms with being bought by or ceding control to the other because of pride and legacy.

Before Terra Firma bought EMI, for instance, Bronfman submitted escalating bids for EMI, but then-CEO Eric Nicoli so loathed the idea of selling to Bronfman that he ran into the arms of the private equity firm. The fact that Bronfman plans to leave Warner Music after the EMI deal is complete is rich with irony since it means that he won't get a chance to actually run the asset he has coveted for so long.

The outcome of the publishing division sale meanwhile features two old colleagues eyeing each other's next move.

EMI Group CEO Roger Faxon, who long served as Bandier's chief lieutenant, would prefer to stay on to run the publishing unit, a business he loves, sources said. It would be a larger business when merged with the much smaller BMG Music Rights. While former and current associates of both men said their relationship is marked by mutual respect, it is likely that if Sony/ATV wins EMI's publishing division Faxon would have to leave the company. Given that sources see BMG as a better bet for Faxon.

The cigar-chomping Bandier, who one person close to the transaction said "views Faxon as a caretaker for the asset that he built," would love to get back to the business of running a much larger operation -- likely to be the biggest publisher in the music world.

(Reporting by Yinka Adegoke and Nadia Damouni; Writing by Peter Lauria. Editing by Robert MacMillan)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/enindustry/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111028/media_nm/us_emi

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Consumers, businesses pump up Q3 growth (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? The economy grew at its fastest pace in a year in the third quarter as consumers and businesses stepped up spending, creating momentum that could carry into the final three months of the year.

Though part of the increase in output came from the reversal of temporary factors that had restrained growth, the expansion was a welcome relief for an economy that looked on the brink of recession just weeks ago.

U.S. gross domestic product expanded at a 2.5 percent annual rate in the third quarter, the Commerce Department said in its first estimate on Thursday.

That was a jump from the 1.3 percent pace in the April-June quarter and matched economists' expectations.

"It is a relief, but there is still more work to be done to continue a sustainable recovery," said Sean Incremona an economist at 4CAST in New York.

U.S. Treasuries prices pared losses on the report, while the dollar fell against the euro and the yen.

U.S. stocks looked set for a 2 percent jump at the open on Thursday after European leaders agreed on a bailout fund for the region.

Consumers and businesses appeared to have set aside their fears about the recovery in the third quarter.

Consumer spending was the strongest since the fourth quarter of 2010, while business investment spending was the fastest in more than a year.

Even businesses had not anticipated the fairly strong demand and were slow to restock warehouses.

The peppier spending and a slower pace of inventory accumulation by businesses will lay a base for a solid fourth quarter, but a slowdown in Europe and the exhaustion of pent-up U.S. demand could leave a weak spot early in 2012.

And the recovery's pace is still too weak to lower a jobless rate that has been stuck above 9 percent for five straight months.

A separate report from the Labor Department showed new claims for state unemployment benefits fell 2,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 402,000, pointing to a gradual improvement in the labor market.

FEARLESS SPENDING

A jump in gasoline prices had weighed on consumer spending earlier in the year, and supply disruptions from Japan's earthquake had curbed auto production. Motor vehicle output has surged as those supply constraints have eased.

In addition, car sales, which were held back by the lack of popular models, have also shown renewed strength.

As a result, consumer spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of U.S. economic activity, grew at a 2.4 percent rate after slowing to a 0.7 percent pace in the second quarter.

The relative vigor comes even though consumer confidence has hit levels last seen during the worst of the 2007-09 recession.

Similarly, while some business surveys have pointed to a contraction in factory output, corporate America actually increased its investment spending during the quarter. Business spending rose at a 16.3 percent pace as companies splurged on equipment and software, and invested in nonresidential structures.

Inventories rose only $5.4 billion in the third quarter, the smallest gain since the fourth quarter of 2009, after increasing $39.1 billion in the second quarter.

Inventories subtracted 1.08 percentage points from GDP growth. Excluding the drag from inventories, the economy grew at a 3.6 percent pace -- pointing to underlying strength in domestic demand -- after expanding 1.6 percent in the April-June period.

The careful management of business inventories bodes well for fourth-quarter production.

Apart from consumer and business spending, growth in the third quarter was also supported by a smaller U.S. trade deficit.

Spending on residential construction rose at a modest 2.4 percent pace after growing at a 4.2 percent rate in the second quarter. Government spending was flat, reflecting continued budget cuts by state and local governments. However, the pace of decline in state and local government spending is moderating.

The GDP report also showed a moderation in inflation pressures, with the personal consumption price index (PCE) rising at a 2.4 percent rate in the third quarter, slowing from the April-June quarter's 3.3 percent pace. Core PCE, which excludes food and energy, rose at a 2.1 percent rate after increasing 2.3 percent in the second quarter.

(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Neil Stempleman)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111027/bs_nm/us_usa_economy

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AP Exclusive: Members flee Legion as reforms stall (AP)

VATICAN CITY ? When Pope Benedict XVI took over the disgraced Legion of Christ religious order last year, expectations were high that heads would roll over one of the greatest scandals of the 20th century Roman Catholic Church.

One year later, none of the Legion's superiors has been held to account for facilitating the crimes of late founder Rev. Marciel Maciel, a drug addict who sexually abused his seminarians, fathered three children and created a cult-like movement within the church that damaged some of its members spiritually and emotionally.

An Associated Press tally shows that disillusioned members are leaving the movement in droves as they lose faith that the Vatican will push through the changes needed. The collapse of the order, once one of the most influential in the church, has broader implications for Catholicism, which is shedding members in some places because the hierarchy covered up widespread sexual abuse by priests.

In an exclusive interview, the man tapped by Benedict to turn the Legion around insisted that the pope tasked him only with guiding the Legion and helping rewrite its norms ? not "decapitating" its leadership or avenging wrongdoing.

Cardinal Velasio De Paolis ruled out any further investigation into the crimes of Maciel, who as a favorite of Pope John Paul II had been held up as a living saint despite well-founded allegations ? later proven ? that he was a pedophile.

"I don't see what good would be served" by further inquiry into a coverup, the Italian cardinal said. "Rather, we would run the risk of finding ourselves in an intrigue with no end. Because these are things that are too private for me to go investigating."

The Holy See knew of the pedophile accusations, yet for years ignored his victims ? as well as complaints about his cult-like sect ? because he attracted men and money to the priesthood. As it is, John Paul's legacy was marred by his close association with Maciel; Benedict's legacy, already tarnished by the sex abuse scandal, may well rest in part on how he cleans up Maciel's mess.

Critics, including some Vatican officials, contend De Paolis has an obligation to uncover the truth and take more radical action, given that the Vatican itself found Maciel created a twisted, abusive order to cater to his double life.

The Vatican also determined that for the Legion to survive it must be "purified" of the influence of Maciel, who died in 2008, since its very structure and culture had been so contaminated by his obsession with obedience and secrecy. Members were forbidden from criticizing their superiors, were isolated from their families, and told how to do everything from praying to eating an orange.

In the absence of radical change, the movement has seen a dramatic decline in membership since the scandal was revealed in 2009.

An estimated 70 of the 890 Legion priests and upwards of a third of the movement's 900 consecrated women have left or are taking time away to ponder their future. Seminarians have fled ? 232 last year alone, an unusually high 16 percent dropout rate for one year. New recruits are expected to number fewer than 100 this year, half what they averaged before the scandal.

The AP compiled the figures based on interviews with more than a dozen current and former members, who outlined inconsistencies in partial statistics provided by the Legion.

In August, about 20 current and former Legion priests met secretly for a week in Cordoba, Spain, to discuss forming an association to support Legion priests who leave the order, participants told the AP. The move could well encourage more to leave.

And earlier this month, the six editors of the Legion-affiliated Catholic news agency Zenit quit en masse, following the resignation of Zenit's founder. He had cited differences in editorial vision and a loss of trust with the Legion's superiors over the way they covered up Maciel's crimes.

The Rev. Richard Gill, a prominent U.S. Legion priest until he left the congregation in 2010 after 29 years, has openly criticized De Paolis' efforts, particularly his refusal to remove compromised superiors, saying "dismissals will be needed to restore some measure of confidence in the Legion."

He called for an investigation into the origins of the scandal and noted that for most of the 70-odd priests who have left, "loss of trust in the leadership has been the primary reason."

Claudia Madero left the movement in August after living like a nun for 35 years, citing the refusal of her Mexican superiors and De Paolis to embrace change.

"It's true there have been some changes, but these are incidental, not essential," she wrote in her resignation letter.

Benedict, however, gave De Paolis an unofficial vote of confidence last month when he kept him on as his Legion envoy while letting the 76-year-old Italian retire as head of the Vatican's economics office.

Benedict's spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, declined to say if the pope thought De Paolis' mandate should be changed given the exodus, saying the cardinal speaks for himself.

Legion spokesman the Rev. Andreas Schoeggl, meanwhile, gave De Paolis a thumbs up, saying his work had been "great," with all Legion priests helping rewrite the order's constitutions ? a shift from the past when decisions were made only at the top.

Yet if the current membership trends continue, the Legion may simply wither away as fewer people join a scandal-tainted congregation that the Vatican itself said has no clearly defined "charism" ? a church term for the essential spirit that inspires a religious order and makes it unique.

After all, what would happen to the Franciscans if St. Francis were discredited? The Missionaries of Charity if Mother Teresa were found to be a fraud?

De Paolis paused when asked to define the Legion's charism. "Bella domanda," he said ? "good question." Noting that it was a work in progress, De Paolis cited the Legion's evangelical zeal and insisted that even without a clearly defined charism, the vast majority of Legion members are happy, doing good work and serving the church.

But three current members of the movement say the reality is more complex: Some are thinking of leaving but haven't taken the leap, some are in denial of the extent of the scandals, while others are actively working toward reform.

Members have coined the terms "awake" and "asleep" to describe where colleagues are in discovering the abuses of the Legion system, a process that is complicated by the Legion's restrictions on use of the Internet and email.

And despite some changes, abuses continue: "Dissidents" are transferred away from their communities and subject to emotional harassment to test their resolve, three current members said on condition of anonymity because of fear of punishment.

De Paolis defended his commitment and approach to the reform, saying said he had "inserted" himself into the Legion's administration, expanded the Legion's governing council and shuffled some superiors around. He said he hasn't dismissed any superiors outright because he needs them to learn the complex details of the order's structure, culture and finances.

"How can I, someone who doesn't know the Legion, who knows only a bit of Spanish, enter saying I'm in charge?" he asked. "If they (the superiors) wanted to sabotage me, it would have been so easy. If I had made myself the superior, they wouldn't give me information, they would have hidden it from me." He said his priority was to persuade the Legion's leaders to sow change from within.

Maciel founded the Legion in Mexico in 1941 and it became one of the fastest-growing religious orders in the world, praised by Vatican officials who routinely celebrated Masses for the Legion and in Maciel's honor.

Victims began to go public in the mid-1990s with allegations that Maciel had sexually abused them as seminarians, but the Vatican shut down a church trial, only to resurrect it years later. Maciel was sentenced in 2006 to a lifetime of penance and prayer ? an inglorious end for a man who had enjoyed unparalleled access to the pope.

In his interview with the AP, De Paolis revealed for the first time that the Legion had reached financial settlements with "four or five" people who said they were sexually abused by Maciel, paying a relatively modest $21,000 to $28,000 (euro15,000-euro20,000) apiece. Negotiations, however, stalled with one victim who demanded millions, he said.

No one has publicly accused top Legion superiors of sexual abuse. But few believe Maciel's closest aides were ignorant of his double life, given that he would disappear for weeks on end with thousands of dollars to visit his family and, by the end of his life, was openly living with his girlfriend.

Monsignor Rino Fisichella, who heads the Vatican's evangelization office, said last year that the Vatican would be wise to look at who covered up for Maciel inside the Legion ? "those who took his appointments, those who kept his agenda, those who drove him around."

Yet some suggest De Paolis' reluctance to investigate the coverup is based on fears the revelations could point to complicity by Vatican officials, who defended Maciel even after the sex abuse allegations were established.

"With the Legion I believe there were some who knew, but very few," De Paolis said of Holy See officials. "The others saw that this group was blossoming, that it brought fruits, it offered a service to the church."

De Paolis says he wants to save the fruits, the good that remains in the Legion. But those who have been harmed insist the Vatican must assign blame where it's due and fix the wrongs, or lose all credibility.

"We're angry at the church for allowing this," said Peter Kingsland, a Catholic from Surrey, British Columbia, whose daughter was consecrated in 1992. "They could have claimed ignorance before, but they're no longer ignorant ? and now they're a party to it."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/religion/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111026/ap_on_re_eu/eu_vatican_legion_of_christ

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Mother charged with killing sons for life insurance money (Reuters)

CHARLESTON, South Carolina (Reuters) ? A South Carolina mother who told police her son killed three family members and himself has been charged with quadruple murder because she wanted their life insurance money, police said on Tuesday.

Susan Diane Hendricks, 48, was charged with the murder of her two sons, Matthew, 23, and Marshall, 20, her ex-husband Mark Hendricks, 52, and her stepmother, Linda Burns, who was in her mid-60s, police said.

She was also charged with four counts of possession of a weapon during a violent crime. Hendricks was arrested Monday night in an Easley, South Carolina motel.

Police were called to the house in Liberty, South Carolina early on Friday morning, October 14, Pickens County Assistant Sheriff Tim Morgan said. Based on observation at the scene, forensic evidence and interviews with family members, they determined that Hendricks' version of what happened was false.

Family members told police that Hendricks' motive was life insurance money. Hendricks was the beneficiary of multiple life insurance policies taken out by the victims, according to a police report.

Police said Hendricks killed the victims with a handgun that she kept in her night stand.

Pickens County Sheriff David Stone called it "a horrendous act of evil."

There was no evidence that drugs were involved, Morgan said.

"I can't imagine a mom killing her two sons for money," he said.

In 2006, Hendricks shot Doyle "Brian" Teague dead, telling police he had entered her home uninvited and threatened someone. Police determined she had acted in self-defense.

(Editing by Greg McCune)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111025/us_nm/us_crime_southcarolina_murders

king arthur king arthur september 11 2001 september 11 2001 pomegranate pomegranate 9 11