Ariz. gov signs tough immigration bill
PHOENIX, April 23 (UPI) -- Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, resisting constituents who urged she take out her veto stamp, Friday signed into law the nation's toughest immigration bill.
Brewer had until the end of Saturday to make up her mind whether to sign, veto or let the bill become law without her signature. She chose to get the decision out of the way a day early, WPNX-TV, Phoenix, reported.
On Thursday, thousands of people had protested outside the Arizona Capitol exhorting Brewer to veto the measure. On Wednesday, the national Law Enforcement Engagement Initiative police group condemned the bill as likely trigger racial and ethnic profiling.
Other organizations and religious and political leaders also urged Brewer to veto it.
The law makes not having immigration documents a misdemeanor and lets officers arrest people who cannot immediately prove they are in the United States legally.
It would allows residents to sue government agencies they believe are not enforcing the law.
Arizona has an estimated 460,000 illegal immigrants and is the nation's busiest border crossing point.
Brewer, who succeeded Janet Napolitano when she resigned to become U.S. homeland security secretary, is running for election to a full term this year.
Belgian bishop admits molesting boy
VATICAN CITY, April 23 (UPI) -- Pope Benedict XVI accepted the resignation Friday of a Belgian bishop who has become the first Catholic prelate to admit sexually molesting a child.
Roger Vangheluwe, the bishop of Bruges, wrote a statement that was read at a news conference by Archbishop Andre-Joseph Leonard of Brussels, head of the church in Belgium, The Guardian reported. Vangheluwe said the abuse began before he was named to the Bruges diocese in 1985 and continued for a short time after he became bishop.
Vangheluwe did not attend the news conference, held after the Vatican announced his resignation. Leonard said he realizes the news will cause a "crisis of confidence" among Belgian Catholics.
In his statement, Vangheluwe said his actions "marked the victim forever."
"The wound does not heal, neither for me, nor for the victim," he said.
Benedict met with abuse victims in Malta last weekend and has adopted a policy that the church must work with civil authorities investigating charges of child molestation. But the scandal keeps spreading.
Palin testifies in e-mail hacking trial
KNOXVILLE, Tenn., April 23 (UPI) -- Sarah Palin took the witness stand Friday in the trial of a student accused of hacking her e-mail account during the 2008 presidential election, observers said.
Palin said the alleged hacking of her private Yahoo! e-mail account by University of Tennessee student David C. Kernell was "a disruption" in both her personal life and in her campaign, the Knoxville (Tenn.) News-Sentinel reported.
Palin was campaigning for vice president as Republican Sen. John McCain's 2008 running mate.
"If the intent was to disrupt it, it was successful," Palin said. "It caused a huge disruption in the campaign."
Kernell, now 22, is accused of breaking into Palin's account in September 2008. He is charged with felonies including identity theft and wire fraud, the News-Sentinel said.
Asked after her testimony if she thought the charges were excessive, Palin said, "I don't know, but I do think there should be consequences for bad behavior."
Monica Conyers enters divinity school
DETROIT, April 23 (UPI) -- A former Detroit city councilwoman who pleaded guilty to accepting bribes says she's re-enrolled in divinity school since resigning from the council.
"I like it," Monica Conyers, wife of U.S. Rep. John Conyers, D-Detroit, said. "It gives me peace. With all this craziness, I should have fallen down, plopped over and killed myself. But I don't give up like that."
She is appealing her 37-month sentence handed down last month on federal bribery charges for accepting money to buy her council vote on a city contract, The Detroit News reported Friday.
Conyers hasn't named the divinity school, saying she's afraid the media would descend on it. She says she has no ambitions of becoming a pastor but would like to become a counselor.
She also faces a federal lawsuit accusing her of retaliation, filed by a Detroit substance abuse center worker who claims he lost his job one day after leading an unsuccessful recall effort against Conyers, the newspaper said.
Conyers wants the city to file motions to dismiss the case.
"I'm tired of everyone just piling on trying to get the city to settle and get a settlement and the city rolling over," she said.
Generation Y headed for financial trouble?
WASHINGTON, April 23 (UPI) -- Generation Y, the U.S. group starting to enter their adult lives, face heavy debt and stagnant wages, a report says.
Demos, a public policy think tank, said the group appears likely to become the first U.S. generation in 100 years to do worse economically than their parents, USA Today reported. Many have already run up large credit card bills on top of student loans.
"I work at a part-time job, have incredible debt and get food stamps," said Kristen Ammerman, a senior at Michigan State. "I'm still short on rent every month. ... My friends all want the newest and best things. They spend money on them any chance they get."
While many in the group are unemployed or underemployed, they have an optimistic attitude that could hurt them in the long run, observers say. Fidelity Investments reports they average three credit cards each and one out of five owes at least $10,000 on them.
"They have high, unrealistic expectations, and many of them don't manage money very well," said Lee Jenkins, managing partner of Atlanta Capital Group in Atlanta.
