American Catholic Priest Arrested In The Philippines
Police arrested Rev. Kenneth Bernard Pius Hendricks, a Catholic priest, Wednesday in the Philippines. Several victims came forward with claims of sexual abuse. Because of this, the Catholic priest, who hails from Cincinnati, was arrested and charged by the US federal court. In response, his attorney in the Philippines stated that the allegations are false and his innocence will hold up in court.
The abuse took place in the Philippine’s city of Naval. A total of 10 victims came forward with abuse allegations after 5 were confirmed in November. The abuse started in 2009 and grew until the boys came forward. Following this, he currently awaits trial and could be sentenced to up to 30 years in prison and various fines. In addition, the FBI is investigating the time he spent in the US.
Smugglers Ingest Cartel Cash
Colombia police arrested 27 people accused of belonging to smuggling networks. The networks recruited youths to swallow cash profits from drug trafficking. The cartel inserted the money into pills created from rolled up latex gloves. It came from cocaine profits from Mexico from Colombian cocaine.
People ingested the capsules in Mexico, then returned to Colombia. They swallowed an estimated 80-120 capsules each. Then, they brought back around $40K each, totaling up to $11M in total profits.
French President Bottoms Out Polls
French president Emmanuel Macron’s and French prime minister Edouard Phillipe’s approval rating dropped 10%. The numbers dropped after the ongoing yellow coat riots in Paris continued to gather strength. This marks the lowest the approval rating has been in the French president’s history.
In response, the French president postponed his planned fuel tax. Also, they announced a no confidence vote. This suspension of the fuel tax, which incited the riots, is expected to cost the French government around 2Bn euros. However, the damage is already done. The French people still riot against the centrist government and demand a more equal distribution of wealth in the country.
George H.W. Bush’s Funeral
During the former president’s state funeral, George Bush Jr, also a president, gave a teary eyed eulogy honoring his father. Also in attendance was every former US president as well as the current president and other world figures. George Bush Sr, who died on Friday at the age of 94, will be buried in Texas next to his wife Barbara.
In George Jr’s eulogy, he spoke about his fathers great impact and honored him greatly. At the end, voice breaking with emotion, he stated, “Through our tears, let us know the blessings of knowing and loving you. A great and noble man, the best father a son or daughter could have.” In addition, other tributes were paid by many other world politicians, including German chancellor Angela Merkel.
Harvard Is Being Sued
A group of fraternities and sororities sued Harvard university after the university cracked down on single sex organizations. After a change in 2016 enacted this year, members of single sex organizations cannot serve as sports team captains. In addition, they cannot receive letters of recommendation from college deans.
Because of this, Harvard students claim the new changes are sexist, saying that they punish the students based on gender by punishing them for joining the organizations.
