TV News LIES

A retired Catholic priest from New Orleans who years ago secretly admitted to church leaders that he sexually molested or harassed numerous children is now facing criminal charges.

State prosecutors in New Orleans obtained an indictment charging Lawrence Hecker, 91, on Thursday with aggravated rape, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated crime against nature and theft.

The crimes allegedly occurred at a church attached to a Catholic high school where Hecker worked in 1975, when the accuser was a 15- or 16-year-old child, according to the alleged victim’s civil attorney, Richard Trahant.

The accuser recalls that Hecker approached him under the guise of showing him a wrestling move, choked him unconscious, and “sodomized” him, Trahant said. Trahant said his client and the victim’s mother reported it to the school at the time, but nothing was done.

More...

The fatal shooting of a University of South Carolina student has been ruled justifiable, authorities confirmed Wednesday.

Nicholas Anthony Donofrio, 20, of Connecticut, was shot and killed Sunday morning while attempting to enter the wrong home. Police said Donofrio lived on the same street where he was shot but that he had attempted to enter another home.

Following an investigation, the Fifth Circuit Solicitor’s Office and the Columbia Police Department now say charges will not be filed against the homeowner and ruled the shooting justifiable.

Police said Donofrio repeatedly banged and kicked the door, then broke the glass window and reached inside for the doorknob. That’s when police said the homeowner shot and killed Donfrio.

Authorities have not released any additional information about the homeowner.

More...

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco filed for bankruptcy on Monday, saying a Chapter 11 reorganization will facilitate a settlement of about 500 lawsuits accusing the church of enabling childhood sexual abuse by priests.

The filing in U.S. bankruptcy court in San Francisco will put the lawsuits on hold and buy time for settlement talks, Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone said in a statement.

"We believe the bankruptcy process is the best way to provide a compassionate and equitable solution for survivors of abuse while ensuring that we continue the vital ministries to the faithful and to the communities that rely on our services and charity," Cordileone said.

The "overwhelming majority" of the alleged abuse occurred in the 1960s and 1970s, involving priests who are deceased or no longer in ministry, Cordileone said.

More...

Police in Memphis said they had likely prevented a mass shooting after they shot a man who earlier was reported to have opened fire at a Jewish day school in the Tennessee city.

In a statement and news conference, local police said they had responded to a report of a white man with a handgun shooting outside the Margolin Hebrew Academy and trying to gain entry to the building.

The main failed to enter the school as he was unable to get past the double security doors. “Thankfully, that school had a great safety procedure and process in place and avoided anyone being harmed or injured at that scene,” said Dan Crow, the assistant police chief.

The assailant then fled the scene in a maroon pick up truck before police arrived. However, the truck was then located nearby after an alert was put out.

More...

A personal chef to the Obama family drowned while paddleboarding in Martha's Vineyard, police confirmed on Monday.

The body of Tafari Campbell, 45, of Dumfries, Va., was uncovered after a two-day search in Edgartown Great Pond, near a home owned by the Obamas. The Massachusetts State Police said the former president and first lady were not present at the time of the drowning.

Campbell had served as a White House sous chef during Barack Obama's presidency and left in 2016 to work for the former president and his wife.

The office of Barack and Michelle Obama did not immediately respond to NPR's request for comment, but in a joint statement shared with several news outlets, including the Associated Press, the couple characterized Campbell as a "beloved part of our family."

More...