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Nation in brief

Ga. Democrat could face charges

By wire services
Published March 31, 2006

WASHINGTON - Capitol Hill police are expected to seek an arrest warrant next week for Democratic Rep. Cynthia McKinney of Georgia, who was involved in a physical confrontation with a Capitol police officer Wednesday, police and legal authorities said Thursday.

The investigation into the incident, in which McKinney allegedly struck a police officer who tried to stop her from going around a security checkpoint, is ongoing, said Sgt. Kimberly Schneider, spokeswoman for Capitol Hill police.

Police have notified the federal prosecutor's office in Washington that they plan to seek an arrest warrant next week, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

WASHINGTON - New figures released Thursday by the nation's Roman Catholic bishops show the unrelenting toll of the clergy sex abuse crisis: 783 new credible claims last year, most of which date back decades, and costs of nearly $467-million.

While researchers who analyzed 50 years of data on molestation claims concluded the number of new cases is declining, the church is still paying a heavy price for predatory clergy.

The abuse problem was already known to have cost dioceses more than $1-billion since 1950, including some expenses paid last year. Still, Teresa Kettelkamp, director of the bishops' Office of Child and Youth Protection, said the total abuse-related expenses shelled out in 2005 were likely the largest ever for a single year.

Accusations against Catholic clergy have reached more than 12,000 since 1950.

The latest statistics were part of an audit U.S. bishops commissioned after abuse allegations soared in 2002.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - The jury weighing Zacarias Moussaoui's role in the deaths on Sept. 11, 2001, asked for a definition of "weapons of mass destruction" Thursday as it worked to decide whether the al-Qaida conspirator is eligible for the death penalty.

The jurors obtained the definition as deliberations neared four hours. U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema told them the term includes airplanes used as missiles. One of the three convictions on which Moussaoui could receive the death penalty is conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction.

The jury went home Thursday afternoon, having deliberated for seven hours over two days.

[Last modified March 31, 2006, 01:10:06]