DOUCHE OF THE DAY: Prosecutors to Review New Church Abuse Records
Fifteen years before the clergy sex abuse scandal came to light, Archbishop Roger M. Mahony and a top adviser discussed ways to conceal the molestation of children from law enforcement, according to internal Catholic church records released Monday. The archdiocese’s failure to purge pedophile clergy and reluctance to cooperate with law enforcement has previously been known. But the memos written in 1986 and 1987 by Mahony and Msgr. Thomas J. Curry, then the archdiocese’s chief advisor on sex abuse cases, offer the strongest evidence yet of a concerted effort by officials in the nation’s largest Catholic diocese to shield abusers from police. The newly released records, which the archdiocese fought for years to keep secret, reveal in church leaders’ own words a desire to keep authorities from discovering that children were being molested. In the confidential letters, filed this month as evidence in a civil court case, Curry proposed strategies to prevent police from investigating three priests who had admitted to church officials that they abused young boys. Curry suggested to Mahony that they prevent them from seeing therapists who might alert authorities and that they give the priests out-of-state assignments to avoid criminal investigators. Mahony, who retired in 2011, has apologized repeatedly for errors in handling abuse allegations. In a statement Monday, he apologized once again and recounted meetings he’s had with about 90 victims of abuse. [KTLA]
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Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times
Embattled Los Angeles County Assessor John Noguez hoped he might finally make bail Tuesday, after three months in jail following his arrest on corruption charges. Noguez’s attorneys hoped a change in court rules that took effect at the beginning of the year would allow him to post bail of about $600,000 as opposed to the $1.16 million imposed last year by Superior Court Judge Shelly Torrealba. But it’s not that simple, according to prosecutors, so no action was taken Tuesday morning. A full hearing on the bail issue was set for Feb. 1. Noguez will remain in jail at least until then. Even if the sides agree on a lower bail amount, Noguez would still have to prove any money used for his defense was not derived from criminal activity. Noguez, two other assessor’s office employees and tax consultant Ramin Salari are charged in a wide-ranging scheme in which they allegedly lowered property tax assessments in return for money. Each has pleaded not guilty. [KTLA]
Rumor: Apple to Launch an iPhone With a 4.8-Inch Screen in 2013
(Mashable)
Apple will launch not one, not two, but three new iPhones in 2013, one of which will have a 4.8-inch screen, a new rumor claims. According to the China Times, which cites sources from Apple's supply chain, Apple will launch a next-generation "classic" iPhone and a 4.8-inch device, halfway between a smartphone and a tablet, codenamed "iPhone Math". Furthermore, the rumor claims Apple will also launch a third iPhone model with a 12-megapixel camera towards the end of the year. Very little is known about either of these, except for the camera on the 4.8-inch device, which should be of the 8-megapixel variety, with Largan Precision building the lenses. [mashable]
Atari U.S. operation files for bankruptcy
The U.S. operations of pioneering video game company Atari Inc. is seeking to break free from French parent Atari S.A. and in the next few months find a buyer to take the company private.(Strong National Museum of Play / January 20, 2013)
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