A lawyer for four men who claim they were molested by a priest at their Northern California parish says he has temporarily withdrawn his clients' lawsuits against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Santa Rosa.
Attorney Joseph George said Wednesday that he is working with a Minnesota lawyer with an international clergy abuse practice to expand the scope of the suits involving former priest Patrick Joseph McCabe.

McCabe is awaiting extradition to his native Ireland to face charges that he sexually abused young boys there in the 1970s and early '80s.

George says the Minnesota lawyer, Jeff Anderson, is traveling to Ireland this weekend to try to gather information showing that church officials in Dublin knew McCabe was a pedophile when they allowed him to transfer to St. Bernard's Parish in Eureka.

McCabe served in the parish from 1983 to 1985. He has denied abusing any children.

A Morgantown woman has pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $140,000 from the law firm where she worked.

Forty-year-old Lisa Buttermore pleaded to three counts Wednesday in Monongalia County Circuit Court.

Each embezzlement charge carries a possible sentence of one to 10 years.

Assistant Prosecutor Stephen Fitz says he'll recommend five years of probation instead.

The Dominion Post reports that Buttermore also must make monthly restitution payments and forfeit money in her retirement account.

Buttermore didn't tell the court why she stole the money from Gianola, Barnum, Wigal & London between 2008 and 2010. She declined comment after the proceeding.

The New York woman posted a Craigslist ad seeking housing, saying she was looking to make a "fresh start" in New England.

What she found instead, police say, was a New Hampshire town official who held her captive in his home for three days and raped her.

Salem planning board member Jeffrey Gray was arraigned Wednesday on rape, kidnapping, false imprisonment and assault charges. He was being held on bond, and his lawyer, Mark Stevens, declined to comment on when he might post it.

Gray, 48, has a record of arrests for criminal threatening and criminal mischief and a history of restraining orders linked to domestic abuse, Windham Police Capt. Mike Caron said.

The 34-year-old woman went to Gray's rented Windham home voluntarily on March 5, but was not allowed to leave until days later, when Gray drove her to Logan International Airport in Boston, police said. Instead of boarding a plane, however, she told a Massachusetts state trooper about her ordeal, authorities said.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday questioned a massive sex discrimination lawsuit on behalf of at least 500,000 women claiming that Wal-Mart favors men over women in pay and promotions.

The justices suggested that they are troubled by lower court decisions allowing the class-action lawsuit to proceed against the world's largest retailer.

Justice Anthony Kennedy, often a key vote on the high court, said he is unsure "what the unlawful policy is" that Wal-Mart engaged in to deprive women of pay increases and promotions comparable to men.

Billions of dollars are at stake in the case. Class actions create pressure on businesses to settle claims and create the potential for large judgments.

Wal-Mart denies it discriminates against its female employees.

But Joseph Sellers, the lawyer for the women, said that lower courts were persuaded by statistical and other evidence put forth so far in the 10-year-old lawsuit.

Sellers said a strong corporate culture at Wal-Mart's Bentonville, Ark., headquarters that stereotyped women as less aggressive than men translated into individual pay and promotions decisions at the more than 3,400 Wal-Mart and Sam's Clubs stores across the country.

Restricting use of eagle parts and feathers to members of federally recognized American Indian tribes for religious purposes does not violate the religious freedoms of non-Indians seeking the same right, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.

The Denver-based U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals found that such a prohibition, under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, does not violate the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

Tuesday's ruling comes after several cases in which non-Indians, and one man from a tribe that is no longer recognized by the federal government, sought the right to use feathers in their religious practices.

Eagle feathers are believed to be sacred among many Native Americans.

Federal law requires that eagle carcasses be sent to the National Eagle Repository in Denver, Colo., and that any tribe member wishing to use eagle feathers or parts in ceremonies apply for a permit to do so. The court noted that the repository "receives significantly more requests than it has available eagle carcasses" so there is already a long waiting period to fulfill permits.

All the cases noted in Tuesday's ruling weighed freedom of religion against the government's ability to protect the eagles and help maintain the centuries-old religious practices of Native Americans.

Federally recognized tribe members agree the law should restrict access to eagle parts to those whose ancestors have been practicing such ceremonies for centuries.

The Iowa Court of Appeals says a district court judge was wrong to suppress statements made to police by a man who walked into a police station saying he may have sexually assaulted a teenage girl.

Wednesday's decision allows prosecutors to continue their case against Ounheaun (OON'-yen) Cam, who is charged with assault with intent to commit sexual abuse.

Cam argued his statements to a Sioux Center police officer should have been suppressed because he was in custody and didn't knowingly waive his right to an attorney.

The appeals court found Cam was not in custody and did not ask about an attorney until after he had spoken to police.