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Archdiocese plans to sell assetsCompiled from Times wires© St. Petersburg Times published January 30, 2003 BOSTON -- Bishop Richard Lennon, appointed seven weeks ago to run the Archdiocese of Boston after Cardinal Bernard Law resigned, said Wednesday he has received permission to sell 11 church properties to help cover the mounting sex abuse claims against clergy. In an interview with the Associated Press, Lennon said that the College of Consultors, an advisory group that must approve putting the properties on the market, agreed to the idea two weeks ago. He would not identify the properties -- except to say they were little used -- and said he expected the sales to raise $10-million to $15-million. Archdiocesan leaders have not ruled out filing for bankruptcy protection, an idea that was criticized when Law floated it. Smugglers hold illegal immigrants hostagePHOENIX -- More than 60 illegal immigrants were held hostage in a Phoenix house while smugglers demanded payment from their families, police said Wednesday. Police said a man who was being held at the house escaped Tuesday afternoon and called 911. Investigators found 61 immigrants and four smugglers in the home, Detective Tony Morales said. One of the smugglers was booked on suspicion of sexually assaulting a woman held at the house. The rest of the smugglers and immigrants were turned over to immigration authorities. Christian denominations plan national allianceChurch leaders from 30 denominations agreed Wednesday on a proposal to create the broadest alliance of Christians ever formed in the United States. The steering committee of the budding effort, tentatively called Christian Churches Together in the U.S.A., will invite a wide range of national church bodies and agencies over the next several weeks to join them. The loosely knit alliance would represent five segments of U.S. Christianity, listed in the plan as "Evangelical/Pentecostal, Historic Protestant, Orthodox, Racial/Ethnic and Roman Catholic." The proposal being sent to churches says that, in the early stages, the alliance will exist mostly for common worship, fellowship and dialogue on "commonalities" and "differences." Later, it would become more active in "speaking to society with a common voice, whenever possible," and sponsor forums where Christians could address specific issues. Internet spying alleged at espionage trialALEXANDRIA, Va. -- A former Air Force investigator demonstrated for jurors Wednesday how prosecutors say spy suspect Brian Patrick Regan obtained off the Internet classified satellite photos of missile sites in Iraq and China. Using a laptop computer, Bret Padres, a former military computer expert, showed how he said Regan used a classified Internet system to search the National Imagery Mapping Agency for the satellite photos. Regan also sought information about Iran and Libya, Padres said. On the third day of testimony in Regan's espionage trial, Padres showed the satellite images that he said Regan obtained during his searches. Victim's daughter testifies at stepmother's trialHOUSTON -- A woman who had just caught her husband with his paramour aimed her Mercedes-Benz at him and ran him over as he pleaded for her to stop, the man's daughter, a passenger in the car, testified Wednesday. "She stepped on the accelerator and went straight for him," Lindsey Harris, 17, said at her stepmother's murder trial. "He was really scared. He was trying to get away and he couldn't." Clara Harris, 44, is accused of intentionally running over her husband, David Harris, in a hotel parking lot July 24. She has said her husband's death was an accident. Student protest turns violent; nearly 30 hurtEL PASO, Texas -- A protest by about 1,000 high school students over a change in class schedules turned into a rock- and bottle-throwing melee Wednesday. About 10 people were arrested and nearly 30 injured. "Students began attacking security personnel with rocks and glass bottles," police spokesman Javier Sambrano said. Police used tear gas to control the crowd and about 20 Montwood High School students who were exposed were treated at the scene, Sambrano said. Seven police officers were treated for cuts and bruises. About 10 people were arrested, including at least one adult, Sambrano said. The school was closed and students sent home.
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From the Times wire desk
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