Sep 13, 2018

Pope asks bishop to investigate abuse claims against fellow clergy member

Pope Francis. Photo: Massimo Valicchia/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Pope Francis has authorized Baltimore Bishop William Lori to investigate sexual harassment claims made against West Virginia Bishop Michael Bransfield in 2012, allegations which he denies, the AP reports. The announcement comes the same day as Bransfield's scheduled retirement, given he turned 75 last week — the age that Catholic bishops are required to retire.

Why it matters: According to a grand jury report over widespread abuse in the Pennsylvania clergy, special agents argued that appointing a fellow clergy member to investigate such allegations rather than trained personnel is a key reason as to why clerical abuse has been a perpetual issue. Meanwhile, Lori has vowed to conduct a thorough and public investigation.

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Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian

Scoop: Census Bureau is paying Chinese state media to reach Americans

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

The 2020 Census Paid Media Campaign, which sends U.S. taxpayer dollars to community media outlets to run ads about the upcoming census, is including a Chinese state-run broadcaster as one of its media vendors.

Why it matters: After China's yearslong campaign to co-opt independent Chinese-language media in the U.S., Washington is now paying Beijing-linked media outlets in order to reach Chinese Americans.

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Axios

Live updates: Coronavirus spreads to Latin America

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins, the CDC, and China's Health Ministry. Note: China numbers are for the mainland only and U.S. numbers include repatriated citizens.

Brazil confirmed the first novel coronavirus case in Latin America Wednesday — a 61-year-old that tested positive after returning from a visit to northern Italy, the epicenter of Europe's outbreak.

The big picture: COVID-19 has killed more than 2,700 people and infected over 81,000 others. By Wednesday morning, South Korea had the most cases outside China, with 1,261 infections. Europe's biggest outbreak is in Italy, where 374 cases have been confirmed.

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Dan Primack

GOP congressman accuses California pension official of working for China

Illustration: Rebecca Zisser/Axios

The latest season of Red Scare has come to Sacramento.

Driving the news: Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) has repeatedly accused Ben Meng, chief investment officer of the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS), of tacitly working on behalf of the Chinese government. Banks also says that, were it up to him, Meng would be fired — and has questioned the patriotism of California Gov. Gavin Newsom for not at least investigating Meng.

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