Chaz Bono gets legal name (and gender) change

(News Today) - A year after undergoing a sex change, Chaz Bono is now legally a man.

A Santa Monica, Calif., judge granted the political and social activist's petition for a gender and name change Thursday, according to a spokesperson for the Transgender Law Center, which represented Bono.

"Chaz couldn't be happier," said Kristina Wertz, legal director for the Transgender Law Center. "This is an important step in his transition and will allow him to change a variety of his identity documents to show who he truly is."

Born Chastity Bono to famous parents Cher and Sonny Bono, Chaz started the female-to-male sex change March 2009, shortly after his 40th birthday.

"It's hard for me to articulate how this feels -- when you've lived your whole life in a body and having everybody relate to you as something you don't feel," Bono, 41,told PEOPLE back in December. "When that finally gets righted, it's just amazing. I finally get to live my life the way I've always wanted to."

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'Smart dust' aims to monitor everything

Palo Alto, California (News Terupdate) - In the 1990s, a researcher named Kris Pister dreamed up a wild future in which people would sprinkle the Earth with countless tiny sensors, no larger than grains of rice.

These "smart dust" particles, as he called them, would monitor everything, acting like electronic nerve endings for the planet. Fitted with computing power, sensing equipment, wireless radios and long battery life, the smart dust would make observations and relay mountains of real-time data about people, cities and the natural environment.

Now, a version of Pister's smart dust fantasy is starting to become reality.

"It's exciting. It's been a long time coming," said Pister, a computing professor at the University of California, Berkeley.

"I coined the phrase 14 years ago. So smart dust has taken a while, but it's finally here."

Maybe not exactly how he envisioned it. But there has been progress.

The latest news comes from the computer and printing company Hewlett-Packard, which recently announced it's working on a project it calls the "Central Nervous System for the Earth." In coming years, the company plans to deploy a trillion sensors all over the planet.

The wireless devices would check to see if ecosystems are healthy, detect earthquakes more rapidly, predict traffic patterns and monitor energy use. The idea is that accidents could be prevented and energy could be saved if people knew more about the world in real time, instead of when workers check on these issues only occasionally.

HP will take its first step toward this goal in about two years, said Pete Hartwell, a senior researcher at HP Labs in Palo Alto. The company has made plans with Royal Dutch Shell to install 1 million matchbook-size monitors to aid in oil exploration by measuring rock vibrations and movement, he said. Those sensors, which already have been developed, will cover a 6-square-mile area.

That will be the largest smart dust deployment to date, he said.

"We just think now, the technology has reached a point where it makes basic sense for us ... to get this out of the lab and into reality," Hartwell said.

Smart dust (minus the 'dust')

Despite the recent excitement, there's still much confusion in the computing industry about what exactly smart dust is.

For starters, the sensors being deployed and developed today are much larger and clunkier than flecks of dust. HP's sensors -- accelerometers like those in the iPhone and Droid phone, but about 1,000 times more powerful -- are about the size of matchbooks. When they're enclosed in a metal box for protection, they're about the size of a VHS tape.

So what makes a smart dust sensor different from a weather station or a traffic monitor?

Size is one factor. Smart dust sensors must be relatively small and portable. But technology hasn't advanced far enough to manufacture the sensors on the scale of millimeters for commercial use (although Berkeley researchers are trying to make one that's a cubic millimeter).

Wireless connections are a big distinguisher, too. A building's thermostat is most likely hard-wired. A smart dust sensor might gauge temperature, but it would be battery-powered and would communicate wirelessly with the internet and with other sensors.

The sheer number of sensors in the network is what truly makes a smart dust project different from other efforts to record data about the world, said Deborah Estrin, a professor of computer science at the University of California, Los Angeles, who works in the field.

Smart dust researchers tend to talk in the millions, billions and trillions.

Some say reality has diverged so far from the smart dust concept that it's time to dump that term in favor or something less sexy. "Wireless sensor networks" or "meshes" are terms finding greater acceptance with some researchers.

Estrin said it's important to ditch the idea that smart dust sensors would be disposable.

Sensors have to be designed for specific purposes and spread out on the land intentionally -- not scattered in the wind, as smart dust was initially pitched, she said.

'Real-world web'

Despite these differences, researchers say the smart-dust theory that monitoring everything will benefit humanity remains essentially unchanged.

And there are a number of real-world projects that, in one way or another, seek to use wireless sensors to take the Earth's vital signs.

Wireless sensors currently monitor farms, factories, data centers and bridges to promote efficiency and understanding of how these systems work, researchers said in interviews.

In all of these cases, the sensor networks are deployed for a specific purpose.

For example, a company called Streetline has installed 12,000 sensors on parking spots and highways in San Francisco. The sensors don't know everything that's going on at those parking spots. They are equipped with magnetometers to sense whether or not a huge metal object -- hopefully a car -- is sitting on the spot.

That data will soon be available to people who can use it to figure out where to park, said Tod Dykstra, Streetline's CEO.

It also tells the cities if the meters have expired.

Other sensors are equipped to measure vibration in factories and oil refineries to spot machine problems and inefficiencies before they cause trouble. Still others might pick up data about temperature, chemistry or sound. Tiny cameras or radars also can be tacked onto the data-collecting network to detect the presence of people or vehicles.

The power of these networks is that they eventually can be connected, said David Culler, a computer science professor at UC Berkeley.

Culler says the development of these wireless sensor networks is analogous to the creation of the World Wide Web. What's being created with the smart dust idea is a "Real World Web," he said.

But he said we're still early on in that progression.

"Netscape [for the wireless sensor network] hasn't quite happened," he said.

Big Brother effect

Even when deployed for science or the public, some people still get a Big Brother feeling -- the uncomfortable sense of being under constant, secret surveillance -- from the idea of putting trillions of monitors all over the world.

"It's a very, very, very huge potential privacy invasion because we're talking about very, very small sensors that can be undetectable, effectively," said Lee Tien, an attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a privacy advocate.

"They are there in such numbers that you really can't do anything about them in terms of easy countermeasures."

That doesn't mean that researchers should stop working on smart dust. But they should be mindful of privacy as the work progresses, he said.

Pister said the wireless frequencies that smart dust sensors use to communicate -- which work kind of like Wi-Fi -- have security built into them. So the data is public only if the person or company that installed the sensor wants it to be, he said.

"Clearly, there are security concerns and privacy concerns," he said, "and the good news is that when the radio technology was being developed for this stuff, it was shortly after all of the big concerns about Wi-Fi security. ... We've got all the security tools we need underneath to make this information private."

Further privacy concerns may arise if another vision for smart dust comes true. Some researchers are looking into making mobile phones into sensors.

In this scenario, the billions of people roaming the Earth with cell phones become the "smart dust."

Bright future

Smart dust researchers say their theory of monitoring the world -- however it's realized -- will benefit people and the environment.

More information is better information, Pister said.

"Having more sensors improves the efficiency of a system and reduces the demand and reduces waste," he said. "So all of that is just straight goodness."

Hartwell, the HP researcher, says the only way people can combat huge problems like climate change and biodiversity loss is to have more information about what's going on.

"Frankly, I think we have to do it, from a sustainability and environmental standpoint," he said.

Even though the first application of HP's "Central Nervous System for the Earth" project will be commercial, Hartwell says the motives behind smart dust are altruistic.

"People ask me what my job is, and I say, well, I'm going to save the world," he said.

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Pope visits Shroud of Turin

(News Terupdate) - Pope Benedict XVI visited the iconic Shroud of Turin on Sunday, kneeling and praying before Christianity's most famous relic, which went on display last month for the first time in 10 years.

Before visiting the shroud -- believed by some Christians to be Jesus Christ's burial cloth -- the Pope conducted an open-air mass before thousands who gathered in Turin's St. Charles Square.

In his homily, Benedict told congregants never to lose the hope that comes "from the Risen Christ, from the victory of God over sin and death," the Catholic News Agency quoted him as saying.

He said that keeping up that hope is the message of the Shroud of Turin, in which disciples see their sufferings "mirrored" in the suffering of Christ, CNA reported.

The shroud, a centuries-old linen cloth, went on public display at the Turin Cathedral on April 10 for the first time since undergoing a major restoration in 2002. It was last on display in 2000.

The shroud was restored to remove a patchwork repair done by 16th-century nuns after the cloth was damaged in a fire.

In addition to the Pope, 2 million people are expected to visit the shroud while on its current six-week display.

Many scholars contest the shroud's authenticity, saying it dates to the Middle Ages, when purported biblical relics -- like splinters from Jesus' cross -- surfaced across Europe.

"The shroud owner said it in 1355 ... the local bishop said it was a forgery and even the pope of that time said it was a fake," said Antonio Lombatti, a church historian.

The Catholic Church's official position regarding the shroud is that it's an important tool for faith regardless of its authenticity.

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Pope's envoy to run discredited Catholic order

Rome, Italy (News Terupdate) - Pope Benedict XVI will appoint a special envoy to run a Mexican Catholic order whose founder abused minor-age seminarians and fathered three children with two women, the Vatican said Saturday.

A Vatican statement said the pope will also appoint a commission to review the constitution of the Legion of Christ.

Critics had called for the order to be dissolved and its top leaders forced out, saying that the scandal has done irreparable damage to the religious sect.

In late March, the sect revealed the Rev. Marcial Maciel's transgression and asked for forgiveness for the "the reprehensible actions of our founder."

In its statement Saturday, the Vatican said, "the conduct of P. Marcial Maciel Degollado has caused a series of consequences on the life and structure of the Legion, such to require a way of deep revision.

"The very serious and objectively immoral behaviour of P. Maciel, confirmed by incontrovertible accounts sometimes turned into true crimes. They show a life lacking scruples and authentic religious calling. Of this side of life, a great part of the Legionaries were in the dark -- especially given the system of relationship built by P. Maciel, who very skillfully knew how to create alibis, obtain loyalty, trust and silence from those around him and strengthened his own role as charismatic founder."

The abuse allegations surfaced in 1997. The Vatican started an investigation into Maciel's actions in 2004 and concluded in May 2006 that he was guilty of sexual abuse, the order said.

Law enforcement officials apparently were not informed.

The Vatican, taking Maciel's health and age into consideration, asked him to give up public ministry, the group said.

Pope Benedict XVI approved the decision. Maciel died two years ago.

Although leaders at the Legion of Christ knew of the abuse since May 2006, they kept it quiet until March 2009.

Javier Bravo, spokesman for the sect in Mexico and Central America, said Legion leaders did not reveal the accusations sooner because "it has been a very difficult process. We weren't ready to assimilate it before."

He later told CNN, "we have to recognize the facts as they are."

In addition to sexually assaulting young seminarians, Maciel fathered at least three children, the group said.

The priest had a daughter from a stable relationship with a woman, and two men said they are his children from a relationship with another woman.

Maciel, born in March 1920, founded the Legion of Christ in January 1941.

According to the order, the Legion of Christ has a presence in 24 countries.

The first Legionaries arrived in Spain in 1946, and the order established a center in Rome in 1950. In the 1960s, the Legion established itself in Ireland and the United States. In the 1980s, the order expanded into more countries in South America and Central Europe.

The Legion says it recently began pastoral projects in Eastern Europe and Philippines.

The announcement about Maciel comes against a deepening crisis in the Catholic church, which is investigating complaints of abuse in Ireland, Germany, Britain and several other countries.

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Priest at his child abuse trial in Rome: 'I am not a monster'

Rome, Italy (News Terupdate) - A priest accused of child abuse denied the charges Tuesday in a high-profile trial taking place in the shadow of the Vatican.

"I am not a monster. I am innocent," the Rev. Ruggero Conti said in court.

Conti is accused of molesting seven young boys at the Nativita di Santa Maria Santissima parish in Rome. He faces charges of committing sexual violence and prostitution.

Two alleged victims told police that Conti masturbated them and forced them to perform oral sex on him in his home, where he often invited them to dinner and to watch movies, according to court documents.

Anti-abuse activists say Conti's superiors knew of allegations against him as early as 2006 but did not do enough to stop him.

Prosecutors say they will call Conti's bishop, Monsignor Gino Reali, to testify. Reali was interrogated by police as part of their investigation into Conti, the activists say.

Putting a bishop on the stand in Rome, the capital of deeply Catholic Italy, would be potentially explosive, particularly against the background of a European-wide scandal.

The Catholic Church has been rocked this year by allegations of child abuse by Catholic clergy in Ireland, Germany, Austria and the Netherlands, following similar accusations in the United States in the past decade. A damning Irish government-backed report last year said the Dublin Archdiocese had systematically covered up the allegations.

Pope Benedict XVI met this month with a group of men in Malta who say they were abused. He prayed and cried with them.

He has repeatedly insisted the church will do everything in its power to prevent child abuse.

But the trial taking place on his doorstep may undercut such assurances, not least since the alleged abuse of boys took place well after the scandal came to light in the United States.

Conti, a former adviser to the mayor of Rome, was arrested in June 2008, more than a year after an anti-pedophilia organization says it brought accusations against him to Catholic Church officials.

Roberto Mirabile, the president of the organization, said his group was warned about Conti by another priest in the spring of 2007. The group, La Caramella Buona, met with the alleged victims and their families, Mirabile told reporters on Friday.

Mirabile himself went to top Vatican officials, including the man responsible for prosecuting alleged child abusers within the Catholic Church, Monsignor Charles Scicluna, he said.

Scicluna told the child-protection activist there was no Vatican record of complaints about Conti and advised him to go to the police with his concerns, Mirabile said.

Mirabile accused Scicluna of washing his hands of the matter.

Scicluna did not respond to CNN attempts to contact him about the case.

Caramella Buona officials did go to the police, who launched an investigation in November 2007.

Conti was arrested as he prepared to go to World Youth Day in Australia in June 2008. Police believe he continued abusing children until March 2008, Mirabile said.

Conti's superior, Bishop Reali, told police in December 2008 he knew of vague accusations against the priest two years before he was arrested but did not take action, according to court documents.

Nino Marazzita, a lawyer for La Caramella Buona, provided CNN with what he said were transcripts of the prosecutor's interrogation of the bishop.

"You know that there are so many 'rumors,' " Reali told investigators, according to the lawyer. "And I can't run after each one of them."

Conti accused La Caramella Buona of being ideologically opposed to him in his testimony Tuesday. The group denies it.

Reali did not respond to CNN attempts to contact him by phone and e-mail.

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Remains ID'd as woman who left club with sex offender

New York (News Terupdate) - Remains found in Pennsylvania have been identified as those of a woman who disappeared in New York in 2008 after leaving a Manhattan nightclub in the company of a convicted sex offender, authorities said Monday.

Forensic testing determined the remains recovered April 11 from Mount Cobb, near Scranton, Pennsylvania, are those of Laura Garza, said police and prosecutors from New York and Pennsylvania.

"We have not determined a cause of death but, to be perfectly honest, that is something we would not have this quickly," said Capt. Wayne Olson of the Bureau of Criminal Investigation for the New York State Police.

A family spokeswoman said Garza's relatives were gathering in Texas. "They weren't completely shocked because they had an idea that is what happened," said Awilda Cordero.

A watch found with the skeletal remains first led investigators to suspect they were Garza's, police said. DNA samples were collected and tests confirmed that the bones were hers.

Garza was 25 when she vanished in the early hours of December 3, 2008.

"She had a dream to become a professional dancer here in New York City, but she was also a hard-working lady," said Cordero. "She had just become an assistant manager in a shoe store."

She was last seen leaving the Marquee Club, a popular nightspot in the Chelsea section of Manhattan, with Michael Mele, police said.

Mele, a registered Level 1 sex offender, has been questioned several times about Garza, police said. He has never been charged in connection with her disappearance.

He is now serving time in prison for violating terms of his probation, according to court records.

"We still consider him a suspect in her death and disappearance," Olson said. "We are looking to see if he has any connection to the area where the remains were found."

Authorities said the remains were found "in a remote location" and had been there for "a protracted period of time."

"We are certainly not overjoyed in finding her remains, but we have some renewed hope and direction to try and bring the person responsible to justice," Olson said.

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Pope's UK visit on despite 'foolish' condom memo

Rome, Italy (News Terupdate) - Pope Benedict XVI will not call off a trip to Great Britain despite a leaked Foreign Office memo that made "foolish" suggestions about things he could do while there, the pope's spokesman reiterated on Monday.

"As far as the Vatican is concerned, the case is closed. There never was the slightest doubt about the trip," the Rev. Federico Lombardi told CNN.

The British government apologized over the weekend for the Foreign Office memo suggesting that the pope could launch Benedict-brand condoms or bless a gay marriage when he visits the United Kingdom later this year.

When does a joke go too far?

Many of the ideas in the document are "clearly ill-judged, naive and disrespectful," the Foreign Office said in a statement Sunday, which referred to the memo as "foolish."

The writer of the memo "has been transferred to other duties. He has been told orally and in writing that this was a serious error of judgment," the Foreign Office said.

The Vatican is steadfastly opposed to the use of condoms for any reason and to gay marriage.

The memo also includes suggestions that the pope ordain a female priest or launch an abortion clinic -- both of which are forbidden by Roman Catholic doctrine.

The document was leaked to the Sunday Telegraph newspaper. The Foreign Office confirmed to CNN that it is genuine.

It contains a number of references to the child abuse scandal sweeping the Catholic Church, such as proposals for the pope to launch a child-abuse hotline and to announce he's "sacking dodgy bishops."

Vatican says sex abuse lawsuit lacks merit

Jack Valero, a spokesman for the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, called the memo a "joke that's gone out of control."

"It was somebody trying to be funny in an offensive sort of way," he said, adding it was "not important" and that "Catholics are used to forgiveness."

Benedict is making a four-day state visit to England and Scotland in September.

There was a small protest against the planned visit at Westminster Cathedral in London last month. About 50 demonstrators called for the pope to resign over allegations he "protected" child abusers.

Richard Dawkins, the British scientist and noted atheist, has threatened to try to have the pope arrested when he visits the United Kingdom.

Benedict said Sunday he wanted to "thank above all thank and encourage all of those who are dedicated to the prevention" of violence against and exploitation of children.

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Graham's exit puts climate change bill in limbo

Washington (News Terupdate) - A climate-change bill that was scheduled to be unveiled at a news conference Monday is now up in the air after Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina walked out of talks.

Graham had worked with Sen. John Kerry, D-Massachusetts, and Sen. Joe Lieberman, independent from Connecticut, to unveil details of their "tri-partisan" climate-change legislation.

But Graham declared Saturday that he was walking out of talks because of Democratic efforts to bring up an immigration reform package.

"Moving forward on immigration -- in this hurried, panicked manner -- is nothing more than a cynical political ploy," Graham wrote in a sharply-worded letter sent to business, religious and conservation leaders that he has been working with on the climate-change legislation.

A senior White House official told CNN that in recent days Graham has been privately threatening to abandon the climate talks unless Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, backed off plans to move to a debate on comprehensive immigration reform ahead of the environmental legislation.

Graham is the only leading Republican who has been working with the White House on the contentious climate-change issue.

After Graham's announcement, Kerry and Lieberman postponed the news conference but did not announce an alternate date.

They pledged to continue working on the issue and expressed hope Graham would again join them.

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UK sorry for pope-brand condom proposal memo

(News Terupdate) - The British government has apologized to Pope Benedict XVI for a Foreign Office memo suggesting that he could launch Benedict-brand condoms or bless a gay marriage when he visits the United Kingdom later this year.

Many of the ideas in the document are "clearly ill-judged, naive and disrespectful," the Foreign Office said in a statement Sunday.

The writer of the memo "has been transferred to other duties. He has been told orally and in writing that this was a serious error of judgment," the Foreign Office said.

The Vatican is steadfastly opposed to the use of condoms for any reason and to gay marriage.

The memo also includes suggestions that the pope ordain a female priest or launch an abortion clinic -- both of which are forbidden by Roman Catholic doctrine.

The document was leaked to the Sunday Telegraph newspaper. The Foreign Office confirmed to CNN that it is genuine.

It contains a number of references to the child abuse scandal sweeping the Catholic Church, such as proposals for the pope to launch a child-abuse hotline and to announce he's "sacking dodgy bishops."

Vatican says sex abuse lawsuit lacks merit

The Vatican had little reaction.

"The UK government has already clarified the matter and I have nothing to add," spokesman Federico Lombardi said.

But Jack Valero, a spokesman for the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, called the memo a "joke that's gone out of control."

"It was somebody trying to be funny in an offensive sort of way," he said, adding it was "not important" and that "Catholics are used to forgiveness."

Benedict is making a four-day state visit to England and Scotland in September.

There was a small protest against the planned visit at Westminster Cathedral in London last month. About 50 demonstrators called for the pope to resign over allegations he "protected" child abusers.

Richard Dawkins, the British scientist and noted atheist, has threatened to try to have the pope arrested when he visits the UK.

Benedict said Sunday he wanted to "thank above all thank and encourage all of those who are dedicated to the prevention" of violence against and exploitation of children.

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Jury verdict hits Boy Scouts with $18.5 million in punitive damages

(News Terupdate) - An Oregon jury on Friday found the Boy Scouts of America liable for the sexual abuse of a 12-year-old boy more than 25 years ago, returning a verdict of $18.5 million in punitive damages.

The plaintiff, Kerry Lewis, now 38, allowed his name to be used publicly during the trial, according to his attorneys. He is among six men suing the Boy Scouts over allegations of sexual abuse.

Attorney Kelly Clark has said that when his clients were boys during the 1980s, the organization knew that at least one of them had been abused by former assistant Scoutmaster Timur Dykes. The 53-year-old convicted sex offender was released from prison in 2005 and paroled until 2013. He could not be reached on Friday.

Clark also alleged that though the scout leader was removed, he was allowed to stay on as a volunteer and the abuse continued. In 1983, Dykes told troop leaders he abused 17 scouts, according to plaintiff's attorneys.

During the six-week trial, Clark produced documents that he said were part of an archive of previously secret Boy Scout files that chronicled decades of abuse of boys.

Earlier this month, jurors in Portland awarded Lewis $1.4 million after finding that the organization was negligent in allowing a Scout leader who was a sex offender to have contact with him. Under Oregon law, 60 percent of a punitive damages award goes to the state's crime victims' fund.

The Boy Scouts of America did not immediately respond to CNN's requests for comment on Friday. However, lawyers for the organization have said it had not known about the scout leader's record.

Once the Scouts did learn about it, the organization acted immediately and cooperated with police, the lawyers have said.

The Boy Scouts have acknowledged the organization does have confidential files, but said they are made confidential in order to protect people who are ineligible to be scout leaders, but who may not have done anything illegal.

A scouts spokesman has said that, in recent years, the organization has taken extensive measures to keep abusers out.

In a written statement earlier this month, the Scouts said the organization intends to appeal the initial verdict.

"We are gravely disappointed with the verdict," it said. "We believe that the allegations made against our youth protection efforts are not valid."

It added, "We are saddened by what happened to the plaintiff. The actions of the man who committed these crimes do not represent the values and ideals of the Boy Scouts of America.

"The safety of the young people currently in the Scouting program has never been in question during these legal proceedings. The case focused on a discussion about what society and the BSA knew about child abuse approximately three decades ago.

"This is a long-standing societal issue that every youth-serving organization must address. Based on the standard of care of that time, the BSA believes it acted responsibly and that the evidence presented during the trial does not justify the verdict."

While holding the Boy Scouts of America 60 percent negligent, the jury said the Cascade Pacific Council -- which oversees Scouting activities in the region -- was 15 percent negligent and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints 25 percent negligent.

The church has sponsored a number of Boy Scout troops, including the one to which the plaintiff belonged.

Steve English, a lawyer representing the church, has said the verdict has no impact on the church, since it settled the case out of court more than a year ago.

"The church absolutely condemns any kind of child abuse," he said. "Because of the way the law is set up in Oregon, we thought it made sense both to help the victim and also to get this behind the victim and us to settle this case."

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Vatican says sex abuse suit lacks merit

Rome, Italy (News Terupdate) - The Vatican said a lawsuit accusing it and Pope Benedict XVI of covering up sexual abuse by a priest at a Catholic school in the United States has no merit.

"While legitimate lawsuits have been filed by abuse victims, this is not one of them," Vatican lawyer Jeffrey Lena said Friday. "Instead, the lawsuit represents an attempt to use tragic events as a platform for a broader attack."

The lawsuit by an unnamed Illinois man demands the Vatican release the names of thousands of Catholic priests that the suit says have "credible allegations of sexual misconduct" against them.

The alleged victim, who is now an adult, says he was molested by the Rev. Lawrence Murphy while a student at St. John's School for the Deaf, according to the complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

"The defendant, [the] Holy See, has known about the widespread problem of childhood sexual abuse committed by its clergy for centuries, but has covered up that abuse and thereby perpetuated the abuse," the suit says.

"The case against the Holy See and its officials is completely without merit," Lena said. "Most of the complaint rehashes old theories already rejected by U.S. courts."

Lena added, "With regard to Murphy himself, the Holy See and its officials knew nothing of his crimes until decades after the abuse occurred, and had no role whatsoever in causing plaintiff's injuries."

Benedict was named as a defendant because he has the ultimate authority to remove priests and because of his involvement in reviewing sex abuse cases when he was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the suit says.

Peter Isely, Midwest director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, estimated the Vatican is investigating 4,000 cases of sex abuse by church employees.

The lawsuit aims to change church policies and practices that conceal sex offenders, Isely said.

"It's going to protect children, we hope, around the world," he said, "This is a historic day and hopefully this is going to result in historic changes."

Arthur Budzinski, a deaf man who said he was sexually assaulted and raped by Murphy, stood with Isely at a news conference Thursday.

He said the priest "may have stolen our bodies," but higher clerics such as cardinals, archbishops and the pope "stole our voices."

Budzinski, who is not a party to the lawsuit, made his comments in sign language and his daughter, Gigi, interpreted his words.

Murphy, who died in 1998, is believed to have molested up to 200 boys, Isely said.

The lawsuit said the church "knew that there was a high probability that these clerics would sexually molest more children, but sought to protect itself from scandal, sought to keep its income stream going, at the peril of children."

Murphy, it says, was a "top fundraiser and recruiter" for the church and the "Holy See wanted to retain Murphy's services."

The same Minnesota law firm representing the Illinois plaintiff also filed suit Wednesday on behalf of a Mexican resident who says he was sexually abused by a priest.

The suit alleges Catholic officials in Los Angeles, California, aided and abetted the abuse by moving the priest to different dioceses as allegations piled up against him.

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Woman, children make rare appearance in Gambino indictment

(News Terupdate) - New York's Gambino crime family might have hit a new low by allegedly introducing underage prostitution into its operations, authorities say, but just as shocking to some was the appearance of a female among the list of defendants in a federal indictment unsealed Tuesday.

Suzanne Porcelli, 43, was the only female among 14 reputed Gambino crime family members and associates indicted on charges including racketeering, murder, sex trafficking of a minor, extortion and drug trafficking. Thirteen defendants including Porcelli entered not guilty pleas on Tuesday, according to the U.S. attorney's office, and they are expected to appear Wednesday before a federal judge who has been appointed to the case.

"It's extremely rare to grab up a woman in an organized crime case because it's a male-oriented criminal society," said FBI special agent Richard Holko. "It's certainly unusual, but as you can see in the indictment, she allegedly committed a serious crime and will face those charges."

Fifteen FBI agents showed up at the door of the single mother's home in Brooklyn to arrest her at 6 a.m. Tuesday, said her lawyer, Vincent Romano. She was released on bond.

Porcelli's name appears only six times in the 60-page document detailing a litany of accusations against suspected members and associates of the Gambino crime family. The list runs the gamut, from murder to OxyContin trafficking to defrauding high-end restaurants with inflated invoices for meat orders.

Porcelli is charged with four counts in a sex trafficking ring involving some underaged girls, and not for charges of murder or RICO-related activity.

"It's a very unfortunate situation for her. Obviously she's not a member or associate of any crime family. She's charged in a very limited conduct in the indictment," Romano said. "I'd like to get discovery and see what the evidence is against her, who's allegedly cooperating with the government against her to see what they have to say and assess the situation."

However slight her alleged role, having a woman caught up in a underaged prostitution ring with the Gambino crime family marks a turn for the worse in organized crime, said Joe Coffey, a former commanding officer of the New York Police Department's organized crime unit.

"The mob as we know it historically holds very few things sacred, but they do hold women and children sacred," said Coffey.

"Women have been girlfriends and wives and mothers but never has there been any case where a female becomes an influential person in mob operations, because it's seen as men's work, something that women and children should be protected from and kept out of."

Porcelli's name appears alongside the likes of 69-year-old Daniel Marino, a longtime member and current Gambino family boss, according to court documents. She is also accused of working with alleged Gambino family soldier Thomas Orefice, who is accused of a "staggering crime spree" related to most of the criminal enterprises in the indictment.

Porcelli faces four charges, including sex trafficking and sex trafficking of a minor, for her role in an interstate sex trafficking ring in 2008 and 2009.

Orefice is accused of devising and executing the business plan for the prostitution ring, in which underage girls, including at least one 15-year-old, were offered up to paying customers in Manhattan, Brooklyn, New Jersey and Staten Island, according to court documents.

The defendants advertised their service on Craigslist and other websites, and had customers call a phone line operated by Porcelli to arrange appointments, the documents state.

"Orefice and the other defendants also made the young women available for sex to the players at regular poker games that Orefice and his crew ran."

Porcelli faces a potential life sentence on one count of sex trafficking of a minor.

Sex and drugs are nothing new to organized crime, says Coffey, but their expanding prominence within day-to-day operations reflects the weakening mores of the mafia and society.

"The mafia, as we know it today, is no longer what it was. Although they've always been ruthless, greedy, unlawful, murderous, they always had a certain amount of respect, i.e., for women and children," he said.

A law enforcement crackdown in the 1970s and 1980s targeting organized crime's leadership left a power vacuum that has been filled by leaders with a greater appetite for sex and drugs, he said.

"The mob, as we see it today, has lost all respect, lost all the historical culture that it was intended to have since 1931 and that's because they're becoming their own best customers within the drug culture."

Source : CNN

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Delaware pediatrician faces more sex charges

(News Terupdate) - A Delaware pediatrician was indicted Wednesday on 58 additional counts of rape and other sexual offenses in the alleged child abuse of his patients, state Attorney General Beau Biden announced Monday.

Dr. Earl Bradley, 56, previously pleaded not guilty to 471 felony counts involving 102 girls and one boy.

Wednesday's indictment -- which includes charges of rape, unlawful sexual contact, continuous sexual abuse of a child and sexual exploitation -- involves 24 girls he saw as patients from 1999 to 2009.

Biden has said the charges are based on "video and digital evidence" seized from Bradley's home and medical practice in December, when the doctor was arrested.

Bradley, whose practice was in Lewes, Delaware, also has medical licenses in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Florida. Authorities have said they have contacted officials in those states.

In a February 24 interview with CNN, Bradley's attorney said he would base his client's defense on mental health.

"Most of the evidence in this case comes from videotapes -- it's kind of hard to argue with videotapes," Eugene Maurer Jr. said. He added, "The issue in this case is going to come down to his mental health at the time."

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No hooking up, no sex for some coeds

Nashville, Tennessee (News Terupdate) - Almost every weekend, there is a tradition called raging at Vanderbilt University.

It's a recurring, drunken activity that isn't the proudest moment for student Frannie Boyle. After consuming large quantities of alcohol before a party, her night would sometimes end in making out with a stranger or acquaintance.

Casual hook ups fueled by alcohol may be the norm across college campuses, but Boyle, now a 21-year-old junior at the school, chose to stop. Her reasons to quit hooking up echo the emotional devastation of many college students, particularly girls whose hearts are broken by the hook-up scene.

"I saw it [hooking up] as a way to be recognized and get satisfaction," said Boyle, shaking her blond ponytail. "I felt so empty then."

The hook-up culture on campuses may seem more pervasive than ever, especially as media outlets, books and documentaries rush to dissect the subject, but some college women and men are saying no.

Some, like Boyle, experimented with hooking up and quit. Though she is Catholic, she says her reason for disengaging herself from the hook-up culture had more to do with the unhappiness she experienced afterward. Others influenced by religion have abstained from casual physical activity from the moment they set foot on campus.

The idea of rejecting hook-ups may not be as strange as it sounds in a generation surrounded by sex. Pop star Lady Gaga recently announced she was celibate and encouraged others to follow. In Kelly Clarkson's song "I Don't Hook Up," she addresses the dominant hook-up culture: "I do not hook up, up I go slow, so if you want me I don't come cheap."

Read about Lady Gaga declaring her celibacy

The term "hook up" is ambiguous, usually defined as a no-commitment, physical encounter with a stranger or acquaintance. Hooking up can range from just a make-out session all the way to sex. Other lingo for the no-commitment sexual encounters are "booty calls" or "friends with benefits."

Read the downsides of having friends with benefits

Various academic studies have cited at least 75 percent of women have engaged in hooking up on campus, and the number is usually higher for men. The activity is most likely precipitated by alcohol, studies show. Boyle's decision to quit hooking up leaves her in the minority.

Evidence of the backlash on hooking up on campuses can be seen in the growing popularity of the Love and Fidelity Network, a secular, nonprofit group dedicated to helping college students open the discussion for a lifestyle that doesn't involve casual sexual activity with anonymous or uncommitted partners.

The organization, which promotes sexual integrity and defends marriage though discussion and speakers, has gained a presence on at least 20 schools from Harvard University to the University of Notre Dame since its inception in 2007. There is no official count on the number of students who participate in the Love and Fidelity Network. But at Princeton University, about 40 students have joined.

The group says it does not judge those who hook up, but it does promote abstinence.

"A majority of college campuses, when it comes to discussing marriage and sexual relationships, tend to be very one-sided," said Cassandra Hough, founding director of the Love and Fidelity Network. "We feel that it does add to pressures for young men and women to participate in a certain type of culture."

At Vanderbilt University, a pristine campus defined by elegant, Southern-style architecture and manicured lawns, the hook-up culture can be hard to avoid, Boyle said. The Greek scene also can create more pressure to hook up, added Boyle, who is a member of a sorority.

Boyle explained the warm weather compels some students to engage in "day fratting," imbibing for hours in the front yard of a fraternity. Day fratting can result in "afternoon delight," noncommittal physical activity between two people that can include casual sex.

"Right now, people conceive the idea of what they think from the media and friends -- that the only options are to extremes: to deny everything fun, including sex, or just to hook up," says Emily O'Connell, a freshman at the College of William and Mary in Virginia.

After observing the hook-up scene as a freshman, O'Connell is starting a nonreligious group to talk about alternatives to hooking up.

"There's definitely a middle ground, and it's not that outrageous," she said.

In addition to protection from STDs, some students may have good reasons not to hook up. Over the past decade, scholars, researchers and authors have begun to examine the psychological toll of hooking up.

An April 2010 study from James Madison University in Virginia revealed more college women tend to want a relationship out of a hook up compared with men who prefer to stay independent. Other studies have shown the instability from hooking up can cause depression. Repeated rejection and detached relationships can also damage self-esteem.

But Laura Sessions Stepp, author of "Unhooked: How Young Women Pursue Sex, Delay Love, and Lose at Both," said not all hook-ups have a negative impact. Some students can engage in no-strings relationships without suffering emotional trauma. Some women say casual sexual activity allows them the benefits of experimentation.

It's unclear at what point hooking up eclipsed traditional dates. But what is clear is that some students, like Boyle, want old-fashioned courtship to return.

Kathleen Bogle, who wrote "Hooking Up: Sex, Dating, and Relationships on Campus" in 2008, says she's found there is a strong and growing desire to bring back traditional dating. Bogle points to the uptick in college students participating in online dating.

On Facebook.com, several groups are rooting for the traditional dates. The motto on the group Bring Dating Back reads, "This group is for all those girls who wish that once in a while a guy would take her out on a date before trying to get her into bed. At least invite us to dinner before expecting us to get down and dirty!"

Vanderbilt student Boyle says her decision she made at the end of her freshman year to quit hooking up came with criticism. She is still surrounded by friends and peers who do it.

She's already lost some guy friends who couldn't understand her decision. But Boyle counters, "They probably weren't my friends anyway."

Several students from her school participated in the Love and Fidelity Network's annual conference earlier this year. There is a possibility that Vanderbilt may start a similar nonreligious group that provides an alternative discussion to hooking up.

"I'm respecting myself," Boyle said confidently one sunny morning before class. "And I won't waste my time with some guy who doesn't care about me."

Source : CNN

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Bride-to-be Chelsea Clinton on crutches

(News Terupdate) - Chelsea Clinton is walking on crutches and wearing a medical boot after breaking her heel, but a source tells PEOPLE she's expected to recover in time for her summer wedding to investment banker Marc Mezvinsky.

It's not known exactly how and when the former First Daughter hurt herself, but New Yorkers first spotted her using crutches on April 3, posting comments about it on Facebook and Twitter.

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Larry King seeks 8th divorce

Los Angeles, California (News Terupdate) - CNN talk show host Larry King and his wife, Shawn King, each filed for divorce Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court.

Both cited "irreconcilable differences" in their filings, but they disagreed over custody of the two children from the 12 years of marriage.

He wants to share legal and physical custody of the boys with her, but she is asking the court to grant physical custody to her alone.

The Kings have two sons, ages 9 and 11.

"His major concern is for the children and beyond that he will have no further comment," Larry King's publicist said in a written statement.

Shawn King's lawyer did not immediately respond to CNN's request for comment.

The documents said the couple separated on Tuesday, the same day Shawn King signed her papers. Larry King's signature was dated Wednesday. Both petitions were filed Wednesday.

Each is asking that they not be ordered to pay spousal support to the other, and they both want the other to pay their attorney fees.

While his filing offers little detail about what marital property he will claim, her petition lists the Beverly Hills, California, home where the couple has resided for the past two years and two Utah houses.

Larry King asked the court to declare any "purported transmutation agreement" to be "null, void and unenforceable." California law provides for marital contracts, known as transmutation agreements, to designate ownership of certain property between spouses.

When Larry King, 76, married Shawn Engemann Southwick, 50, on September 5, 1997, it was his eighth marriage to seven women.

King has hosted a nightly prime time talk show on CNN since June 1985. He hosted a late night national radio talk show before joining CNN.

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Sex lawsuit halts Steven Seagal reality show

Los Angeles, California (News Terupdate) - A Louisiana sheriff halted production of Steven Seagal's reality TV show because of allegations made against the action movie actor in a sex abuse lawsuit.

A former model accused Seagal of using her as his "sex toy" after she was hired to be his assistant, a lawsuit filed this week said.

Seagal's lawyer called the sexual harassment suit "a complete fabrication" and said the woman was fired for using illegal drugs.

The civil suit put Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand in an awkward position since the A&E reality series "Steven Seagal: Lawman" is based on his department, where the actor is also a reserve sheriff's deputy.

"I informed them today that I did not think it would be in our best interest to continue filming at the present time," Normand said Wednesday.

The sheriff said he has reviewed the lawsuit and he will "take the allegations very seriously."

"I will treat Mr. Seagal no different than any other employee of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's office," he said. "I am not moved one iota by virtue of his being a movie star of the fact that the national media has an interest in this case."

Normand, who previously described his relationship with Seagal as "very close," suggested there were questions about the alleged victim.

"I don't know if these allegations are true," he said. "I mean, as of yesterday, I think there's been revelations about the alleged victim." He did not elaborate on what those questions were.

Seagal will remain a reserve deputy chief and no criminal probe will be conducted unless the woman makes a statement with sheriff's investigators or the FBI, he said.

Her lawyer told CNN she did not contact local law enforcement agencies "in light of the fact that he'd been down there all that week shooting the TV show riding in a cop car with them."

"He is the sheriff's department," attorney William Waldo said.

Kayden Nguyen, 23, answered an online Craigslist ad for an executive assistant job at Seagal's production company in February and was soon on his private jet taking off from Los Angeles bound for New Orleans, the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court said.

"As the jet taxied down the runway, Mr. Seagal turned to Ms. Nguyen and said 'I'm a family man, and I live with my wife, but she wouldn't care if you were my lover,' " the suit. "Ms. Nguyen decided to take a wait and see attitude."

After Nguyen arrived in New Orleans "she learned that the job she was expected to perform had nothing to do with being an 'executive assistant,' " it said.

Over the next five days, she was sexually assaulted three times by Seagal at a house "many miles from New Orleans in a remote rural area of Jefferson Parish," the suit said.

Seagal also kept "two young Russian 'attendants' on staff who were available for his sexual needs 24 hours a day, seven days a week," it said.

During Nguyen's first night on the job, Seagal demanded a "massage," it said.

"He then proceeded to treat Ms. Nguyen as his sex toy."

The suit gives graphic details of Seagal's alleged groping and fondling of Nguyen.

Seagal responded to "Nguyen's terror with the order to 'relax,' 'we won't do anything special tonight. I'll save that for another night,' " the suit said.

The suit alleged that Seagal and his co-workers with the production company ignored her repeated complaints and the assaults continued, including a "vicious sexual attack" on the second night.

She finally left the house in a taxi on Sunday, February 28, under the pretense of meeting family members, but against Seagal's wishes, it said.

"As Ms. Nguyen ran to the cab, Mr. Seagal followed a few steps behind, shining a flashlight with a gun attached to it," it said.

She was so "in fear for her personal safety that she left behind everything that she owned, including her car keys, her laptop, her clothes and hundreds of dollars worth of makeup," it said.

The lawsuit said employees of Seagal's production company refused to return her property because she would not sign a release promising not to sue for the sexual assaults.

As support for the claims, the lawsuit said that Seagal has a "unique physiological reaction to sexual arousal," which Nguyen "can and will describe in great detail.

Celebrity lawyer Marty Singer, who represents Seagal, said the suit was a "ridiculous and absurd claim by a disgruntled ex-employee who was fired for using illegal narcotics."

Her claims "are a complete fabrication without a scintilla of truth," he said.

Nguyen was enrolled in school to be an air traffic controller when she answered the online ad, it said. Before that, she was "an aspiring professional model."

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Finding love online, despite health problems

(News Terupdate) - Lana, a 38 year-old publicist in Los Angeles, California, was diagnosed with genital herpes in 1997.

Since then, she has "kind of been hiding" from the dating scene.

Let's face it: How do you drop that bomb on a potential love interest? And when?

She considered a number of online dating venues, but she says Match.com asked too many questions on its enrollment form, eHarmony was too "religious," and MySpace was too much of a "hookup zone."

"I wanted to meet men with my same diagnosis so we wouldn't [need to] have 'the talk,' or fear of rejection and transmitting," she says. "Most of us with this don't wish to spread it."

Despite -- or perhaps because of -- the economic downturn, the billion-dollar online dating industry has been booming. But not everyone has felt welcome at the party.

While sites like Match.com and eHarmony don't discriminate, they also don't cater to people like Lana who are coping with sexually transmitted diseases, disabilities, or mental health conditions. All of these can make dating -- often an ego-shattering minefield for those in perfect health -- even trickier.

"On bigger dating sites the competition is tremendous," says Jim Houran, PhD, a clinical psychologist and columnist for Online Dating Magazine. "And let's face it, depending on what [the illness] is, it could very well make you uncompetitive in the larger dating pool."

Health.com: 28 days to a healthier relationship

Fortunately, there are a number of alternatives. A new breed of dating sites has emerged to play cupid for people with chronic diseases and disabilities.

Over the past five years, several sites -- such as Prescription4love.com, Nolongerlonely.com, and Cisforcupid.com -- have launched to serve the needs of people with conditions ranging from bipolar disorder to Crohn's disease. Together these sites now boast tens of thousands of members.

In addition to providing their users with a more hospitable environment, these websites defuse the tension over how and when to disclose an illness, which is often an issue for people with diseases and disabilities who venture onto mainstream dating sites.

When health problems equal heartache

After some "horrible" results on other dating websites, Lana joined Prescription 4 Love and the STD-specific site Positivesingles.com.

Both sites require members to disclose their illnesses upfront, clearing the air for what might be a deal-breaking revelation later. Within her first week on Positive Singles, she went on three dates and has since gone on seven more, which fostered one romantic relationship and a friendship over the past two years. She's even rejected a couple dozen guys.

Health.com: How to tell your partner a health secret

"I don't think I would have been able to have 10 dates without the site," says Lana. "It's easier to get rejected via email, and you can take baby steps online without hunting outside."

Though Prescription 4 Love didn't yield any dates for Lana, this fast-growing online community offers an alternative to mainstream dating sites for thousands of singles.

Now three years old, the site currently has 8,000 members who represent nearly 40 health conditions ranging from genital herpes (2,425 members) to Tourette's syndrome (32 members).

Ricky Durham founded Prescription 4 Love in 2006, inspired by his late brother Keith, who lived with Crohn's disease for 15 years before passing away in 2004.

"He was a good-looking boy, and he could find dates, but when do you tell someone you have a colostomy bag? The night you go out? Two weeks after you go out?" Durham asks. "He was having a hard time with that, so I thought if he could find someone who had the same disease, or someone with a colostomy bag, he wouldn't really have to discuss that."

Since launching the site, Durham, 48, who previously dabbled in the stock market and worked as a bartender, was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Though he doesn't find it appropriate to be a member of a community he founded, he says he can empathize with his members.

"It's nice to find someone who's going through what you're going through," he says.

Love for less

Niche sites are also a lot less expensive. Prescription 4 Love, which started charging in May 2009, is $9.95 per month, while most of the features on No Longer Lonely (including the dating service and chat rooms) are still free.

(Access to the site's full features is available for $24 per year. That's substantially cheaper than sites like Match.com and eHarmony, which can cost upwards of $35 per month.)

"To me, that's pressure right there," says Robert Watson, the executive director of the nonprofit dating service DateAble.org, which caters primarily to those with physical and mild psychiatric handicaps. "If it's the 30th day of the month, you're thinking, 'I've got one more day to find someone or it's another $35.'"

DateAble, which was founded in 1987 by a Washington, D.C., doctor who wanted to give her patients a way to combat the isolation that accompanied their physical disabilities, charges a $125 initiation fee for the first year and $25 every year thereafter.

For that fee, members get a more personalized experience, as DateAble is more akin to an old-school matchmaking service. The organization has been responsible for almost 1,000 marriages, according to Watson. As one of its first members, he should know: He met his wife, Lynn, at a DateAble Valentine's Day party in 1988.

"I didn't want to try it," says Watson, who has moderate cerebral palsy and was working as a national project director for the United Cerebral Palsy Association at the time. "But I probably knew everybody in my community and nobody I knew wanted to date me or vice versa. Lynn lived 60 miles away, but we made it work."

By pushing a "friends first" concept, which has been emulated in the communal blog and forum features of Prescription 4 Love, No Longer Lonely, and other illness-specific sites, DateAble members can get up to speed on the dating world in a familiar environment without the prying eyes of the Web.

"People with disabilities, especially developmental disabilities, are typically behind the eight ball because they haven't had the practice of dating in college or their young adult life," says Watson. "Many of them never had the puppy love, been broken up with, experienced the fights, or the good stuff."

To make up for this lost time, his best bit of advice is to be totally honest. Even in our post-Americans With Disabilities Act society, notes Watson, failing to mention that you're confined to a wheelchair or dealing with another type of handicap might bring a first date to an abrupt end after a courtesy "I'm sorry" drink.

The stigma of mental illness

People with physical disabilities aren't the only ones who face stigma while dating. People with mental health problems, from chronic depression to schizophrenia, have also benefited from specialized sites.

Jim Leftwich, 39, a college librarian from White Plains, New York, has lived with schizoaffective disorder, a condition that combines features of schizophrenia and mood disorders (such as depression), since 1992. In 2004, after years of brushing up against the harsh realities of the dating scene, Leftwich founded No Longer Lonely, a dating site that caters to the mentally ill.

"I thought to myself, 'There should be something like this out there,' and I was surprised to find there wasn't," says Leftwich. "If you're mentally ill, it's kind of a hostile world out there. I thought by taking down that whole bugaboo of having an illness, making it all open with everyone knowing, it would facilitate things. People would be more trusting and relationships might be more successful."

No Longer Lonely now has 16,000 members and a brand new interface (similar to those of social-networking sites) that allows users to upload poems, art, videos, and blogs. The site has been responsible for more than 20 marriages.

"I find with my clientele, they're more willing to get to know someone remotely and they're more open," he says. "They don't have the same kind of prejudices that people in general tend to have."

Even though most mental illnesses can be controlled with medication, therapy, or a combination of the two, some people still view conditions such as bipolar disorder as a mark of weakness or instability.

"Even in today's enlightened society, where acceptance and diversity are hailed as the right thing to do...mentally ill people tend to be outcasts. It's terrible," says Houran, who is also a former instructor of clinical psychiatry at the Southern Illinois School of Medicine.

"The minute someone knows you have a certain mental disorder, they assume it means that you're not capable of love, or that you're dangerous or unstable. Those are myths. Given the right care, people with mental illnesses and other medical conditions can lead very normal, functioning lives."

Some mental illnesses -- certain mood or personality disorders, for instance -- could cause problems in fledgling relationships, Houran acknowledges. And especially if the relationship progresses to thoughts of marriage and kids, two partners who each have bipolar disorder, for example, could find themselves debating whether it's safe or wise to have children.

However, says Houran, in most cases these considerations aren't enough to forestall a relationship. "Even under the best of circumstances, people still have major relationship challenges," he says.

For Houran, this outgrowth of illness-specific dating sites and services is a boon. "Niche sites are growing in popularity because they allow people with these very specific needs or interests to connect in a way that's not possible on the big dating sites," he says.

"The big dating sites are akin to Wal-Mart. You have a lot of quantity, but that doesn't mean you're going to find people with a lot quality in the way you define it. That being said, niche sites by their very construction tend to be very small. So I always advocate [that] people use both."

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Kirstie Alley's 17-year-old son is engaged

(News Terupdate) - Kirstie Alley has confirmed that her 17-year-old son True is engaged to be married, and says she's happy for him and not worried even though he's so young.

"I feel good because they're really in love," the actress, 59, says in an interview set to air Tuesday on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show." "True's very ... he's got a level head. He's a good guy. He's very monogamous, and he's very sweet with her."

The star of "Kirstie Alley's Big Life" on A&E might have reason to worry. She married her first husband, Bob Alley, when she was very young, and they soon divorced. But she points out that she didn't have much better luck the second time, with actor Parker Stevenson, when she was older. They divorced in 1997, after 14 years of marriage.

"I was married at just 19 years old, and that didn't work," she says. "Then I was married when I was 30 years old, and that's when everyone said you should get married, and that didn't work. So, I don't think I'm an expert on the subject."

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Former model sues Steven Seagal, alleges sexual assault

Los Angeles, California (News Terupdate) - A former model accused actor Steven Seagal of using her as his "sex toy" after she was hired to be his assistant, a lawsuit filed this week said.

The action movie star's lawyer called the sexual harassment suit "a complete fabrication" and said the woman was fired for using illegal drugs.

Kayden Nguyen, 23, answered an online Craigslist ad for an executive assistant job at Seagal's production company in February and was soon on his private jet taking off from Los Angeles, California, bound for New Orleans, Louisiana, the suit said.

Seagal's A&E reality series -- "Steven Seagal: Lawman" -- films segments in New Orleans.

"As the jet taxied down the runway, Mr. Seagal turned to Ms. Nguyen and said 'I'm a family man, and I live with my wife, but she wouldn't care if you were my lover,' " the suit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court said.

"Ms. Nguyen decided to take a wait and see attitude," the suit said.

After Nguyen arrived in New Orleans, "she learned that the job she was expected to perform had nothing to do with being an 'executive assistant,' " it said.

Over the next five days, she was sexually assaulted three times by Seagal at a house "many miles from New Orleans in a remote rural area of Jefferson Parish," the suit said.

Seagal also kept "two young Russian 'attendants' on staff who were available for his sexual needs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week," it said.

During Nguyen's first night on the job, Seagal demanded a "massage," it said.

"He then proceeded to treat Ms. Nguyen as his sex toy."

The suit gives graphic details of Seagal's alleged groping and fondling of Nguyen.

Seagal responded to "Nguyen's terror with the order to 'relax,' 'we won't do anything special tonight. I'll save that for another night,' " the suit said.

The suit alleged that Seagal and his co-workers with the production company ignored her repeated complaints and the assaults continued, including a "vicious sexual attack" on the second night.

She finally left the house in a taxi on Sunday, February 28, under the pretense of meeting family members, but against Seagal's wishes, it said.

"As Ms. Nguyen ran to the cab, Mr. Seagal followed a few steps behind, shining a flashlight with a gun attached to it," it said.

She was so much "in fear for her personal safety that she left behind everything that she owned, including her car keys, her laptop, her clothes and hundreds of dollars worth of makeup," it said.

The lawsuit said employees of Seagal's production company refused to return her property because she would not sign a release promising not to sue for the sexual assaults.

As support for the claims, the lawsuit said that Seagal has a "unique physiological reaction to sexual arousal," which Nguyen "can and will describe in great detail."

Celebrity lawyer Marty Singer, who represents Seagal, said the suit was a "ridiculous and absurd claim by a disgruntled ex-employee who was fired for using illegal narcotics." Her claims "are a complete fabrication without a scintilla of truth," he said.

Her lawyer said Nguyen did not contact local law enforcement agencies "in light of the fact that he'd been down there all that week shooting the TV show riding in a cop car with them."

His TV reality show is based on Seagal's work as a reserve deputy chief with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff Department, a post he has held for several years.

"He is the Sheriff's Department," attorney William Waldo said.

"Steven has a very close relationship with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office and I'm proud to have him as part of our team," Sheriff Newell Normand said last year in a news release announcing the show. Normand called a news conference for 2:30 p.m. Wednesday to discuss the allegations in the lawsuit, according to sheriff's spokesman, Col. John Fortunato.

Nguyen was enrolled in school to be an air traffic controller when she answered the online ad, it said. Before that, she was "an aspiring professional model."

Source : CNN

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