https://thehill.com/latino/508074-texas-democrat-proposes-covid-victims-compensation-fund

Rep. Filemón Vela (D-Texas) on Monday proposed a bill that would create a compensation fund for people who've become ill or died of COVID-19.

The bill, modeled after the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, would create a website and an office to manage funds appropriated by Congress to cover claims for at least five years.

“The novel coronavirus has drastically altered the lives of millions of Americans,” Vela said in a statement.

"While other nations have swiftly enacted policies and procedures to flatten the curve and protect their nations’ citizens, America’s response, under the failed leadership of the Trump Administration, has been marred by a lack of a unified, coordinated and effective response. The consequences of these failures have now resulted in the loss of over 130,000 American lives, and millions of Americans infected by the virus," added Vela.

The bill would set up a "special master" to manage the compensation payments. This person would determine the amount of each victims' loss and order the fund to pay within 20 days.

The bill would allow the ill or the relatives of the deceased to request compensation from the government through a request to the special master.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-20/paedophile-priest-vince-ryan-to-walk-free-from-long-bay-prison/12462760

Notorious paedophile priest Vince Ryan will walk free from jail tomorrow after serving less than half of a three-year sentence for the historic sexual abuse of two altar boys.

The 82-year-old was granted parole last week after a pre-release report stated "the offender has demonstrated excellent prison performance" and a sentencing judge found the offender has "positive prospects of rehabilitation" upon his release from Sydney's Long Bay Prison.

Ryan previously spent 14 years in prison for sexually abusing more than 30 boys between 1973 and 1991 — and has never apologised to any of his victims.

Newcastle Bishop Bill Wright declined an interview with the ABC, but in a statement, said he had twice written to the Pope informing him about Ryan's criminal history.

"It's all about protecting the church — never admitting that they did anything wrong and to get anything out of them you virtually have to beat them with a stick," Mr Hallett said.

"The church has argued in the past by leaving them as a priest it gives them greater control over that individual once they are released — but didn't they have that control before they committed their crimes?"

https://apnews.com/27178570daebe699409114f741585358

ATLANTA (AP) — A select group of Georgia Democrats will sift through more than 100 applications Monday to decide who will replace Rep. John Lewis on the November ballot, after the longtime congressman’s death last week.

The Democratic Party of Georgia said it received 131 applications by its Sunday evening deadline, as the group works to quickly fill the ballot spot for the 5th Congressional District, which includes parts of Atlanta, per state law.

A special seven-member committee of Democrats — including Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, 2018 gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams and 2014 gubernatorial nominee Jason Carter — will choose between three to five candidates from the applicant pool by noon Monday.

The nominee will face Republican Angela Stanton-King in November. Stanton-King is a reality TV personality and was pardoned earlier this year by President Donald Trump for her role in a stolen car ring, after serving six months of home confinement in 2007.

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/mar/10/angela-stanton-king-ga-woman-pardoned-by-donald-tr/

“These are no longer the days of marching over the Selma Bridge,” she told WXIA-TV, referring to Mr. Lewis‘ role during the 1965 march on Alabama’s Edmund Pettus Bridge. “There is a different injustice we are fighting now, and it’s for the lives of our unborn children.”

“How can a dream live if we kill it, right? How many Martin Luther King Jr.s, and Malcom Xs, or Barack Obamas have we aborted?” she asked. “Every time you hear that the majority of Democratic candidates go on stage, they say poor women of color need access to abortion. I was born to a poor woman of color. I was a poor woman of color when I gave birth to my children. Who’s to say that their lives are worth any less than others? So, I think we need to take a different approach to the issue instead of constantly receiving funding for our own genocide.”