DUBLIN -- Roman Catholic Church leaders in Dublin spent decades sheltering child-abusing priests from the law and most fellow clerics turned a blind eye, an investigation ordered by Ireland's government concluded Thursday.
Dublin Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, who handed over more than 60,000 previously secret church files to the three-year investigation, said he felt deep shame and sorrow for how previous archbishops presided over endemic child abuse -- yet claimed afterward not to understand the gravity of their sins.
Martin said his four predecessors in Ireland's capital, including retired Cardinal Desmond Connell, must have understood that priests' molestation and rape of boys and girls "was a crime in both civil and canon law. For some reason or another they felt they could deal with all this in little worlds of their own."
Dinner crashers filmed for TV
WASHINGTON -- The couple who crashed a White House state dinner were being filmed that day by a camera crew connected with a reality television program, although none of the filming took place on White House grounds, a spokeswoman for the program's network said Thursday.
The couple, Michaele and Tareq Salahi, gained access to the dinner President Barack Obama hosted for Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday, although they had not been invited, prompting a security review by the Secret Service, which acknowledged that procedures were not followed properly.
Bravo Media confirmed late Thursday that Michaele Salahi is being considered as a participant in the upcoming "The Real Housewives of D.C." program and on the day of the dinner was being filmed around Washington by Half Yard Productions, the producer of the program.
Dead caver was experienced
SALT LAKE CITY -- A medical student who died Thursday after a daylong effort to rescue him 150 feet underground was an outdoors lover and experienced caver who was expecting the birth of his second child next year, officials and family members said.
John Jones, 26, of Stansbury Park, died nearly 28 hours after he got stuck upside-down in Nutty Putty Cave, a popular spelunking site south of Salt Lake City. It was the first known fatality since cavers began exploring the 1,500-foot cave's narrow passageways in the 1960s, cave access manager Michael Leavitt said.
The 6-foot-tall, 190-pound Jones got stuck with his head at an angle below his feet about 9 p.m. Tuesday in an L-shaped area of the cave known as "Bob's Push." The area is only about 18 inches wide and 10 inches high.
Freed journalists in Kenya hospital
NAIROBI, Kenya -- Two foreign journalists freed after 15 months in captivity in Somalia have been receiving medical care in neighboring Kenya, Canada's ambassador said.
Canadian Amanda Lindhout and Australian Nigel Brennan flew out of the Somali capital, Mogadishu, in a chartered plane early Thursday. Later in the day, Lindhout and Brennan arrived in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, and were taken to a hospital.
Brennan is reported to have said he was pistol whipped and locked in chains for months during the time he was held hostage.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said that the Canadian government was not involved in ransom negotiations and urged Canadians not to travel to Somalia.
Before leaving Mogadishu, Lindhout and Brennan met with Somalia's Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, who said the journalists had been held in a part of Mogadishu controlled by Islamic insurgents.
The Who to rock Super Bowl XLIV
NEW YORK -- The Who will perform at halftime of the Super Bowl this season.
The NFL announced during Thursday's game between the Oakland Raiders and Dallas Cowboys that the longtime rock band known for classic hits such as "Pinball Wizard" and "Baba O'Riley" will play Feb. 7 at Dolphin Stadium in Miami.
Recent halftime acts at the Super Bowl have included Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Prince and the Rolling Stones.
-- From wire reports
