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Two brothers from Nigeria pleaded guilty Wednesday in connection with an international sextortion ring, in which they threatened to release a nude photo of a 17-year-old Michigan boy, driving him to commit suicide inside his home. Samuel Ogoshi, 22, and Samson Ogoshi, 20, each pleaded guilty to conspiring to sexually exploit teenage boys, US Attorney Mark Totten said in a statement. The Ogoshi brothers await sentencing later this year, and we are still pursuing the extradition of the third defendant, Ezekiel Robert,” Totten added. DeMay, 17, was found dead in his home of a self-inflicted gunshot wound March 25, 2022,...

Recovering Our Musical Memory: Ten Mass Settings by R. Jared Staudt on January 8, 2014 ·  We are in urgent need of greater cultural literacy today. Catholics have some of the most profound treasures in human history in its legacy and many of them are not being appreciated. I would like to point to one particular aspect of this legacy, musical settings for the Mass. This follows the great tradition of singing the Mass, which is so prevalent in Catholic history that we could speak of it as normative. Music has a natural power—rooted physically in the power of...

As the 2013 season of devastating wildfires continues to rage across the American West, the question of arson as a form of major terrorism is again being raised. Already this year, 35,440 reported fires have burned a total of 3.9 million acres, with a quarter-million acres scorched the iconic Yosemite National Park. Large blazes continue to burn in several states, with six alive in Idaho, five each in California and Montana, and one each in Alaska, Louisiana, Oregon, Texas and Washington. The National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, says at this time last year, 45,278 fires had burned 7.9...

Vegan activist Walter Edmund Bond, of Utah, today pleaded guilty to felony counts related to an April fire that burned down the Sheepskin Factory in Glendale. Bond, 34, was arrested on July 22, accused of using fire or explosives to damage property involved in interstate commerce and of using force, violence or threats involving animal enterprises. The blaze caused more than $500,000 in damage to the Sheepskin Factory in the early hours of April 30. On July 28, Bond pleaded not guilty to the federal charges. By changing his plea today, he may be eligible for a shorter prison sentence....

(Reuters) - A self-described animal-rights activist known on the Internet as "Lone Wolf" pleaded guilty in federal court on Thursday to arson in a fire that destroyed a local sheepskin business.

A Scituate man reeled in a 624-pound mako shark Thursday, possibly breaking the record for the biggest male mako ever caught, a biologist said. “I’ve caught a million sharks before, but never anything this feisty,” said Taylor Sears, 20, a Massachusetts Maritime Academy junior who said he fishes every day of the summer. Greg Skomal, a shark specialist with the state Division of Marine Fisheries, said the 10-foot fish is the largest male mako shark ever to be recorded in the Atlantic Ocean, and appears to be the largest male ever caught. “We didn’t think they got this big, basically,”...

Mobile is setting records for dryness Tuesday, July 18, 2006 By BILL FINCH Environment Editor As severe drought creeps deeper into southwest Alabama, the dryness in Mobile is shattering records. The first 6½ months of 2006 has been the driest such period ever recorded in 165 years of record-keeping in Mobile, according to data from the National Weather Service. Mobile received less than 15 inches through the end of June this year; in 1938, the driest year ever recorded in the city, rainfall through June totaled almost 16 inches. Unless conditions turn around quickly, this drought may soon leave the...

WASHINGTON - A government report released Thursday does not recommend giving the Environmental Protection Agency the power to stop states from adopting tough vehicle-emission standards similar to those in California. In a setback for automakers, the National Academies' National Research Council said California's role in setting emission standards has been scientifically valid and necessary because of persistent pollution in parts of the nation's most populous state. The study, eagerly anticipated by the auto industry and environmentalists, examined emissions standards for mobile sources such as cars, light trucks and construction vehicles. The panel found that substantial progress has been made in...

Anybody know how to tell if anyone other than me may be using my wireless Internet connection? I have Verizon DSL and a wireless modem that is set up without the need to enter a password. Is there a way to tell if anybody in my neighborhood may be tapping into my connection? Also how does one set up a password? TIA.