General News

U S State Dept Condemns Attack on Mormons August 20th The US State Department yesterday condemned an attack on a Mormon group in Volgograd August 20th as well as recent attacks on Jews and Jehovah's witnesses and called on the Russian government to prosecute the perpetrators "to the fullest extent" of the law.

Woman's Lawsuit vs. LDS Church Over Abuse Heard by Utah Supreme Court The Utah Supreme Court heard oral arguments Monday in the case of a woman suing the LDS Church over its handling of her abuse by another LDS Church member. Lynette Earl Franco says she was abused at age 7 by a member of her LDS congregation who was 11 at the time. After initially filing a claim of clergy malpractice, Franco now claims that her Bishop and Stake President committed fraud, were negligent and inflicted distress on her.

Failure to Report Charges vs LDS Bishop Dismissed An LDS Bishop has escaped charges that he failed to report a case of sexual abuse of an infant. On the recommendation of Salt Lake District Attorney David Yocum, Judge Roger Livingston dismissed the misdemeanor charge against LDS Bishop Bruce Christensen i the case of a one-year-old allegedly abused by her father. Yocum told the court that the child's mother had changed her story. "The police reports were very specific, [but] now she's saying something different," Yocum told the court.

Another LDS Bishop Escapes Failure to Report Charges Just one day before a scheduled court date, LDS Bishop David Maxwell reached an agreement with prosecutors to have the charges against him dismissed. The so-called "diversion" agreement requires only that Maxwell "take advantage of the standard educational opportunities provided to all ecclesiastical leaders in [Utah's failure-to-report statute]." Charges against him will then be dismissed in 90 days.

Local News

One Dead, Hundreds Ill After Pasedena Stake Dinner An 80-year-old woman died and as many as 200 became ill after eating dinner at a luau put on by the Pasadena Stake September 16th, and health inspectors are inspecting the kitchen where the food was prepared, looking for the cause of the illnesses. Pasedena Stake President Randall Huff told reporters that four or five people went to hospitals for brief treatment, but only the 80-year-old woman, who had pneumonia and possibly cancer in addition to the gastrointestinal ailment, died.

Sports

Gardner Starts His 15 Minutes of Fame Since winning a Gold Medal in the Olympics by beating Russian super-heavyweight Alexander Karelin, called the "toughest man in the world," Rulon Gardner has begun his "15 minutes" of fame -- and they are sure to last several weeks. In the process, the media is discovering Gardner's Mormonism and his struggle with a learning disability.

Politics

New Nebraska Defense of Marriage Group Formed to get LDS Out-of-State Money The new group supporting Nebraska's Defense of the Marriage Act was started after the initial committee refused an offer of $600,000 from members of the LDS Church, according to a new article in the Lincoln Journal Star, which first wrote about the group's formation last week. The original group supporting the act, the Defense of the Marriage Act Committee, collected more than 156,000 signatures to get the petition on the November ballot, but turned down the money because it had earlier promised to solicit funds only in Nebraska.

Internet

New LDS Groups Seek Volunteers at Conference Two new LDS groups are seeking volunteers during this weekend's General Conference, according to an article in the Deseret News. The groups are looking to make connections and promote their missions in meetings held in the LDS Church's Joseph Smith Memorial Building (formerly Hotel Utah) in Salt Lake in the days before and after General Conference. LDSmentalhealth.org provides a collection of articles, conference talks and other materials on mental health for assisting Church members and their therapists with mental health issues, while Unitus is trying to become a clearing house for information on humanitarian efforts in the Third World, especially those efforts run by LDS Church members or that are compatible with LDS beliefs.

People

Gordon Gee 'Everywhere' at Vanderbilt Utah native, E. Gordon Gee, is the new man on campus of Vanderbilt University. Gee is a devout Mormon who has spent nearly his whole life in academics. "My dad used to joke, 'I sent you off to college, and you never left.'" At 56, Gee is the seventh chancellor at Vanderbilt.

Can Clayson Save CBS' 'The Early Show?' Nearly a year after LDS TV personality Jane Clayson debuted on CBS' "The Early Show," which replaced the failed "CBS This Morning," the show is still trying to gain an audience. In spite of its investment of $30 million in a Fifth Avenue studio, its former "Today" anchor Bryant Gumbell and its "Today" producer, "The Early Show" is still not getting ratings similar to "Today." But the Hartford Courant's Weiss says Clayson is the show's hope.

Arts & Entertainment

LDS Filmmaker LaBute Shooting New Film LDS Filmmaker Neil LaBute's latest work, the film version of the A.S. Byatt book "Possession," is currently shooting on location in Yorkshire, England, and news reports reveal that the film has attracted actress Gwyneth Paltrow to the cast. LaBute, along with Laura Jones, adapted the Booker prize-winning novel for the big screen.

Business

Financial Guru Wade Cook Settles Claims Two companies owned by Wade Cook, the former cab driver turned millionaire who gives stock investing seminars, have settled claims that they deceived customers with the Federal Trade Commission and with the state of Washington. Under the agreement, Wade Cook Financial Corp. and Wade Cook Seminars, Inc. will give refunds to customers that lost money following Cooks advice. Investigators say Cook's claims of exceptional investment results were deceptive.

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