pope francis has called george pell dedicated and honest.s so. james reynolds, bbc news, rome. our top story this evening: a retired judge will lead the inquiry into what happened at grenfell tower, but there are concerns it won't be wide ranging enough. and still to come... who calls the shots? questions over rupert murdoch's influence in britain. coming up in sportsday on bbc news... warren gatland says he has made some tough calls as he picks johnny sexton and owen farrell together for the first time for the lions ahead of their must—win second test with new zealand on saturday. it's now three years since the so—called islamic state proclaimed the establishment of a caliphate, a world power governed in accordance with islamic law and centred in iraq's second city of mosul. british warplanes, as part of the us—led coalition, have been hitting the militants there since last year. rafjets and drones have hit over 700 targets in support of operations to liberate mosul. now, for the first time, crews have been talking to the bbc about the chal

australia's most senior catholic cleric, cardinal george pell, has been charged with multiple counts of sexually abusing children. cardinal pell, who's in charge of the vatican's finances, strongly denies the alleged offences, said to have happened in the 1970s. it's important to note that none of the allegations that have been made against cardinal pell have obviously been tested in any court yet. cardinal pell, like any other defendant, has a right to due process, and therefore, it is important that the process is allowed to run its natural course. preserving the integrity of that process is essential to all of us. it is important that it is allowed to go through unhindered, and allowed to see natural justice for all involved, including cardinal pell and the complainants in this matter. and cardinal pell has issued a statement. here's the bbc‘s phil mercer in sydney. these allegations take the issue of child abuse right to the door of the vatican. we've heard in the last short while a statement from george pell, cardinal pell, saying that he is willing to return to australia to defe

pope francis has called george pell dedicated and honest.iness and for the first time in seven years all of america‘s biggest banks have been given a clean bill of health. they were tested to see if they could withstand a financial crisis. michelle is live in new york. what kind of test did they have to go through? it is a 2-part test. we found the results from the first pa rt last found the results from the first part last week and that was a simulated model in which the federal reserve and america‘s central bank looked at the big 2a institutions with us operations to see if there was a sudden, dramatic downturn, we re was a sudden, dramatic downturn, were those banks in a strong in opposition to survive? they all passed that test with flying colours. the test results we found out late last night had to do with their capital plans, what they intended to do with the money they had, whether or not they were allowed to pay out dividends or buy back shares, something that is hugely important to investors. for the first time we saw all of the ba

george pell will appear in court in australia next month.r martin moore—bick is appointed to lead the public inquiry into the grenfell tower fire. he met residents this morning and promised to get to the truth as quickly as possible. and still to come: it's all in the name. how the emir who owns the world's most famous stables helped a cornish village save their church. coming up in sport: can novak djokovic turn around his form this season on grass? he's warming up for next week's wimbledon with a third round match against american donald young at the aegon classic in eastbourne. it's three years since the self—proclaimed islamic state declared the creation of a caliphate. now, under extreme attack from a us—led international coalition, they are clinging on to their last major strongholds in syria and in iraq. britain has carried out the second largest number of air strikes against is, after america. now, for the first time, raf crews have been talking to the bbc about the challenges they face in avoiding civilian casualties. 0ur defence co

cardinal george pell will appear in court in australia next month. james reynolds, bbc news.n the commons including scrapping the public sector pay cap, we will speak to representatives of the metropolitan police and the nursing federation. let's get an update on the weather now. here is the rate at which shows an awful lot of rain across scotland, some of that creeps westwards and there are dribs and drabs of rain and the south west. notjust words but also windy which brings a chilly field to things across the north and north—east, overnight tonight a lot of cloud out there and some is really low. in mild night, 10 degrees in stornoway, 14 in cardiff and london. starting pretty grey on friday, rain to be had, gradually moving back southwards and eastwards, something brightly developing. states grey with outbreaks of rain, top temperature around 22. on into the weekend and prospects are much better, not a dry we can do much drier than it is now and it should be brighter and for some little bit warmer. hello. this is bbc news. the headlines: a retired judge, sir martin moore—b

police in australia have charged a senior roman catholic cardinal, george pell, with multiple counts nsidered to rank third in the hierarchy of the church. he strongly denies the alleged offences. 26 pro—democracy protestors have been arrested in hong kong, shortly before the arrival of president xi. he is due to arrive soon to mark the twentieth anniversary of hong kong's handover from britain to china. it's his first visit as chinese leader and more protests are expected. now it's time for a look back at the day in parliament.

one of the most senior figures in the vatican, cardinal george pell, has been charged with multiple countsf historical sexual offences. cardinal pell is the highest—ranking member of the catholic church in australia, and is based at the vatican, where he holds the office of treasurer. he is considered to rank third in the hierarchy of the global church. catholic officials in australia say he strenuously denies all allegations of abuse, and will return home from rome to clear his name. it is important to note that none of the allegations that have been made against cardinal pell have obviously been tested in any court yet. cardinal pell, like any other defendants, has a right to due process , defendants, has a right to due process, and so therefore it is important that the process is allowed to run its natural course. preserving the integrity of that process is essential to all of us, and so for victoria police it is important that it is allowed to go through unhindered and allowed to see naturaljustice is afforded to all the parties involved, including cardinal pell and the complainants in

a senior member of the vatican, cardinal george pell, is charged with sexual abuse offences in his homery, australia. i'm simon mccoy live in westminster where mps will vote on the queen's speech later. it's been interpreted as a test of authority for theresa may's minority government —— labour is seeking amendments on public spending and brexit. and the culture secretary says she is "minded to" refer rupert murdoch's 21st century fox takeover of sky to the competition watchdog. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. sir martin moore—bick — the retired judge chosen to lead the public inquiry into the grenfell tower fire — says it's unlikely its remit would be wide enough to satisfy all survivors. sir martin promised a "vigorous inquiry‘ that would look at the problems surrounding the start of the fire and its rapid development in order to prevent this ever happening again. after meeting with residents this morning — he said he understood their desire forjustice and that he would produce an interim report "as early as possible". critics say residents should have been consulted. 80 peopl

pope francis has called george pell dedicated and honest.. james reynolds, bbc news, rome. a man has been arrested in a paris suburb after trying to drive a car into a crowd near paris mosque. the police said no one was injured. french police said the driver claimed he wanted to avenge attacks against islamic state. the proposed merger of sky and rupert murdoch's 2ist century fox is likely to be referred to the competition watchdog. the decision — by the culture secretary karren bradley — is a blow to the media mogul‘s hopes of having the 11 billion pound deal waved through without further scrutiny. mr murdoch already owns 39% of the satellite broadcaster. 0ur media editor amol rajan gave us an idea of how he may have reacted to today's news. 0n the one hand they will be pleased and relieved that they have been deemed fit and proper by 0fcom to own a broadcasting licence. but there seemed to be these lingering worries about excessive power and control being in the hands of one family. rupert murdoch is not as powerful as he used to be in bri

cardinal george pell has been in charge of reforming church finances. but for years has faced allegations he did not properly deal with clergy sex abuse in australia. he was questioned by a commission investigating the church's response to abuse via video link from rome. >> with the experience of 40 years later certainly i would agree that i should have -- should have done more. >> why do you need the experience of 40 years later? wasn't it a serious matter then? >> yes. but attitudes then. >> reporter: pell told reporters this morning that he has been in regular contact with pope francis. >> the holy father regularly informed. >> reporter: who's granted him leave to return to australia for his day in court in mid july. >> how big of a blow are these chargesed to catholic church? >> this is a major blow. >> reporter: robert mickens with catholic publication "la croix international" has been covering the vatican for 25 years. >> you have to understand the vatican language is always going to be very much more conciliatory. cardinal pell said the pope has

sexual abuse charges being brought by australian police directed at this man, cardinal george pell. >ese charges. they are false. the whole idea of sexual abuse is abhorrent to me. >> cardinal pell is the highest ranking roman catholic official to ever face sexual assault charges. >> cardinal pell is facing multiple charges in respect to historic sexual offenses and there are multiple complainants relating to those charges. >> the 76-year-old pell holds one of the top three posts at the vet can, hand-picked by pope francis himself. joining us now from the vet can with the latest nbc's claudio la advantage goe. this man was brought in by pope francis, one who vowed to inform the church and promised zero tolerance on the issue of sexual abuse. what's the vatican saying about it today? >> reporter: peter, both cardinal pell and the vet can are taking this seriously of course. we attended a press conference early this morning. first george pell spoke as you heard there and after that it was the chance of the director of the holy press office and paypal spokesperson who said that while the

are the historical the beast cardinal george pell. says he'll return to his native australia to fight the charges. wednesday . fast so korea's new press. men say in has arrived in washington talks with press. resolve trade. cause and still. i get so on so i. do we. korea the two. offering views when. presence of an self defense system on south korean territory with lauren that. all us correspondent phillip crown that joins us now and definite mainstay in is a lot less pro american than his predecessor. how is this relationship going to work given how much is at stake? israeli interest in relation to that will see. developer in front of our own eyes today because they will be joined state. from the two presidents in the white house rose garden ennahda time. steering train passing by. it gets very interest because there is a difference but. current south korean president. and the form on south korean president. the former south president want as much engagement with that south with north korea. president mood wants and what we're seeing

what cardinal george pell said before facing charges in australia.ays families want to be connected 24/7. that's why at comcast, we're always working to make our services more reliable. with technology that can update itself. and advanced fiber network infrastructure. new, more reliable equipment for your home. and a new culture built around customer service. it all adds up to our most reliable network ever. one that keeps you connected to what matters most. >>> cardinal george pell, a top adviser to pope francis, facing sexual assault charges. a short time ago at the vatican he proclaimed his innocence and promise today to return to australia to clear his name. delia gallagher is live in rome with the latest. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, dave. this is a big story. not only is cardinal pell one of the highest ranking officials in the catholic church, he was brought over by pope francis. he is the chief financial minister here at the vatican and one of pope francis' closest to the vatican. these are historical allegations, and we know from

are the historical the beast cardinal george pell.he'll return to his native australia to fight the char

australian cardinal george pell, says he'll take leave from the vatican to fight the charges.ooking forward finally to having my day in court. i'm innocent of these charges. they are false. talks over power—sharing continuing northern ireland. a test of authority for theresa may's minority government, mps will vote on the queen's speech later. in half an hour's time the culture and media secretary will announce whether 21st century fox will be allowed to takeover sky. the deal would give rupert murdoch total control of the broadcaster. and dame katherine grainger, the incoming chair of uk sport, says she has "huge concerns about athlete welfare". i think there is huge concerns, without a doubt, no one is pretending there isn't. good morning. it's thursday 29th july. i'm annita mcveigh. welcome to bbc newsroom live. a retired court of appealjudge, sir martin moore—bick, will be appointed to lead the public inquiry into the grenfell tower disaster. the news comes as police say at least 80 people are believed to have died in the fire, but they don't expect to be able to confirm t

us tonight. >> reporter: he's the third most powerful man at the vatican, but tonight cardinal george pell is a defendant in a criminal case. >> i'm innocent of these charges. they are false. >> reporter: police making the bombshell announcement in pell's native australia overnight. >> cardinal pell is facing multiple charges in respect to historic sexual offenses, and there are multiple complainants relating to those charges. >> reporter: the cardinal is now taking a leave of absence. the vatican said pope francis regretted news of the charges for decades-old actions. the detail of the charges against pell haven't been made public because of a gag order in australia, and aside from the morning statement the cardinal himself, who lives here just steps from the vatican, has stayed behind closed doors. >> the whole truth and nothing but the truth. >> reporter: pell was already on the defensive, last year testifying he made mistakes handling sexual abuse claims against priests in australia. >> i regret that i didn't do more. >> reporter: the catholic church has been rocked by sex abuse scanda

let's return now to the charges that have been brought against cardinal george pell. 's vehemently denied any wrongdoing after being charged with sex offences in his native australia. cardinal pell gave evidence via video link to an australian royal commission into abuse last year. we will be speaking to a spokeswoman from abuse survivors. i began by asking what she would like to see done. i would like to see the churches and charities and every state government that was responsible for children in orphanages and children's homes etc to tell the truth, to face up, to make reparations and to opt into the national redress scheme that the federal government have implemented. but it is on an opt in option and this is ridiculous that, you know, the people who abuse in yet the choice to opt in. this should be... it should be a no—brainer, you know? they should be on their knees and begging for forgiveness, contributing to the national redress today. you have helped support survivors of abuse. how hard is it for them? how difficult is it to come forward and talk about their e

cardinal george pell, the third highest ranking vatican official, was charged with child sex abuse today in his home country australia. the alleged assaults happened decades ago. seth doane is following this. >> i am looking forward, finally, to having my day in court. >> reporter: this morning, cardinal george pell was defiant as he faced reporters. >> i'm innocent of these charg charges. they are false. the whole idea of sexual abuse is abhorrent to me. >> reporter: australian police did not provide specifics, only referring to the charges as "historical sexual assault offenses." in the past, pell was criticized for not doing more to stop clergy sex abiews in his native australia and was questioned via video link in rome in 2016. >> with the experience of 40 years later, certainly, i would agree they should have-- should have done more. >> why do you need the experience of 40 years later? wasn't it a serious matter then? >> yes, but people had a different attitude then. >> reporter: you covered the vatican. what do charges like this do to this institution? >> well, i think it's very se

cardinal george pell denied the charges against him during a briefing with reporters this morning. now, pell says that he will return to australia to fight the charges. this, by the way, means that he's the highest ranking vatican official to be charged in the long running sexual abuse scandal. >>> a look at the thursday weather forecast. >>oo danger, elevated fire danger for today over the southwest. notice how all the wet weather, all the thunderstorms stay off to the east. humidity values are going to be low and there will be a breeze in place. this is going to continue right into the upcoming weekend. severe threat for today continues over the upper midwest and the midwest where tornadoes, damaging winds and hail along with flooding downpours will be a concern. i'm justin povick with your accuweather forecast. >> still ahead right here, the new flu vaccine that is pain-free. >>> new this morning an explosion destroys a college dorm. see what investigators think caused it. >>> plus, caught on camera, a u-haul truck slams into a bar nearly hitting a person inside. why the driver

police in australia have charged a senior roman catholic cardinal, george pell, with multiple countsf sexually abusing children. cardinal pell is in charge of the vatican's finances and is considered to rank third in the hierarchy of the church. he strongly denies the alleged offences. 26 pro—democracy protestors have been arrested in hong kong, shortly before the arrival of president xi. he is due to arrive soon to mark the twentieth anniversary of hong kong's handover from britain to china. it's his first visit as chinese leader and more protests are expected. now it's time for a look back at the day in parliament. hello and welcome to the programme. coming up, the government sees off calls for an end to cuts to public services and the public sector pay cap. the ayes to the right, 309, the noes to the left, 323. theresa may and jeremy corbyn clash at their first prime minister's questions of the new parliament over whether council cuts were a factor in the grenfell fire. when you cut local authority budgets by a0%, we all pay a price in public safety. the cladding of tower blocks b

one of the most powerful figures in the catholic church, cardinal george pell, will return to australiany historic charges of sexual abuse. rupert murdoch's bid to buy all of sky is likely to be referred to the competition authorities. and — we have the findings of a major new study into the effects of pesticides on bees. and coming up in sportsday on bbc news: despite a heavy fall, johanna konta recovers to underline her wimbledon credentials, with victory over the world no.1, angelique kerber, in the quarterfinals of eastbourne. good evening. after months of relentless fighting, the islamic state group is facing defeat in mosul — its last big powerbase in iraq. government forces say they're finally set to recapture the entire city. it is three years ago to the day that so—called islamic state in mosul declared a "global caliphate". back then, is controlled vast regions of iraq neighbouring syria. now, after prolonged battles and countless military offensives in both countries, is has been pushed back to the cities of raqqa in syria and mosul in iraq. in both places, they are now surro

this man, cardinal george pell, the church's third highest ranking official accused of sex assault. > cardinal pell is facing multiple charges of sexual offenses. >> reporter: the claims go back to his time as a young priest in australia. claims he denies. >> the whole idea of sexual abuse is abhorrent to me. >> reporter: the pope granting pell leave to face an australian court next month. pell has faced questions before. last year, accused of mishandling child abuse cases against priests. the cardinal admitting mistakes. pell was hand-picked by pope francis to head vatican finances, a huge responsibility which made him part of the pope's inner circle. tom, the pope has said he's committed to tackling the whole issue of child abuse just last month, promising a, quote, "zero tolerance" policy to these sorts of crimes. critics say he is not doing enough. tom? >> james longman for us tonight. james, thank you. >>> there is much more ahead on "world news tonight" this thursday. the pregnant mom fighting back against an alleged thief. caught on camera, the victim taking on the suspect in t

a senior member of the vatican, cardinal george pell, is charged with sexual abuse offences in his homeuthority for theresa may's minority government —— labour is seeking amendments

thank you. >>> cardinal george pell, a top adviser to pope francis and the highest ranking member ofcatholic church in australia, is facing sexual assault charges this morning. speaking at the vatican a short time ago, pell proclaimed his innocence. not only denying the allegations, but promising to return to australia to fight the charges and clear his name. cnn's delia gallagher is in rome with the latest. what can you tell us? >> reporter: well, as you mentioned, the cardinal came out this morning here at the vatican to say that this was a relentless character assassination. the allegations have been swirling in the media for some time. the cardinal has always denied them. what's important this morning is that the vatican as well came out and said that they are supporting the cardinal, that they have respect for the australian justice system which will have its trial and that they are allowing him a leave of absence to return to australia. so there's no question of him having to be extradited or being protected by the vatican. the cardinal saying he is going to clear his name. wha

headlines: police in australia have charged one of the catholic church's most seniorfigures, cardinal george pell, with historic sex offences. he strongly denies the allegations, and says he will return from rome to clear his name. the chinese president, xijinping, has arrived in hong kong for celebrations to mark the 20th anniversary of the territory's return to china from british rule. it is his first visit there since becoming the country's leader. the united states is introducing tough new security measures for inbound flights, but has stopped short of expanding the ban on laptops in hand luggage. the new measures include enhanced screening of passengers and baggage. the british prime ministerfaces what amounts to a vote of confidence later on thursday. the opposition will try to win concessions before a final vote on the government's legislative programme, known as the queen's speech. now it is time for world business report. reaching for the sky. will rupert murdoch's takeover plans for the pay tv giant be cleared for lift—off, or grounded? plus: ringgit rebellion. they saw off the speculat

police in australia have charged one of the most senior roman catholic cardinals, george pell, with sexuallypell is in charge of the vatican's finances and is considered to rank third in the hierarchy of the church. he is accused of multiple offences dating back to the 1970s— charges he's strenuously denied. iam i am looking forward finally to having my day in court. i am innocent of these charges. they are false. the whole idea of sexual abuse is abhorrent to me. talks over resuming power—sharing stormont have stalled with only eight hours to go until the deadline. northern ireland faces the prospect of direct rule from london ifan prospect of direct rule from london if an agreement cannot be reached. culture and media secretary karen bradley will make an announcement today about whether 20th century fox, owned by rupert murdoch, is allowed to take over sky. it would give mr murdoch total control of the broadcaster of which he already owns 39%. 0pponents say that any deal will give him too much power over the uk media. a mother has described the distress of discovering her baby son had been

his name, george pell.was at the vatican this morning, blessing 36 arch bishops appointed over the last year. this is footage of that. the spokesperson says that the pope has learned with reg that francis had granted pell a leave of absence to defend himself in court. police announce the charges in melbourne without giving further details. cardinal pell spoke about the charges overnight calling them false and saying that he is innocent. he's now on leave. back over to you. >> thank you, erika. >>> that was the scene outside of the trump international hotel yesterday as the president held his first reelection fundraiser. the group chanted and held signs criticizing the president's health care and environmental policies. the republican national committee expected to raise about $10 million. >>> it was just two weeks ago when a gunman opened fire at a congressional baseball practice in alexandria. several people, including house majority whip steve scalise, have praised the courage and actions of first respond

. >> pope francis' top financial adviser cardinal george pell is facing multiple sex crime charmg charge, he has become the highest ranking official to be charged with sex abuse. >> never before has the cardinal been charged with sexual abuse at the vatican this morning, george pell insisted he's innocent. >> i'm looking forward finally to having my day in court. the whole idea of sexual abuse is on who rent to me. >> he's been the victim of relentless character assassination, australian police have a different view. >> cardinal pell is facing multiple charges in respect to sexual offenses and there are multiple complainants relating to the charges. >> this morning pope francis -- and vatican said he regretted news of charges against his cardinal for decades old action. pell wasn't among the cardinals he greeted today. last year pell was accused at an australian inquiry of mishandling sexual abuse claims against priest and admitted mistakes, now he is accused directly. >> it's going to be very difficult to untangle this. it becomes, as we know, his word against their word. >> dark clouds

cardinal george pell was ordered to come back to melbourne to face the allegations. pell has taken leave from the vatican to do so, but denies any sex abuse history. >>> an explosion blew the walls off a dormatory at murray state university in kentucky. officials believe gas leak caused the blast. many high school high high schos were there for a governors program. >> there was debris pile. it was chaos. >> one person was hurt, all of the students are safe and accounted to that customability. you've got a thousand different fabrics to pick from. very customizable. you can choose the back, you can choose the arm, you can choose the leg. we couldn't be any happier. >> reporter: good morning, everybody, i hope everybody is off to a good start. trying to keep the traffic okay for you, so far so good, looking at the schuylkill expressway, what a good shot. roads are clear and dry, light volume heading toward king of prussia. no delays just yet. head out now if you can. no major issues with mass transit. unlike yesterday everything in the northeast corridor with amtrak is

george pell has denied allegations of child sex abuse.l said he will return from rome to his native land to stand trial. pope francis previously promised zero-tolerance for sex abuse. correspondent: pope francis celebrates mass with his cardinals in rome. the pontiff has suspended pell from his a job as the vatican finance chief. he is facing allegations of sexual assault, charges brought in his australian homeland. >> news of these charges strengthens my results and court proceedings now offer me an opportunity to clear my name and return here back to rome. correspondent: the australian is facing a number of charges, among them, these two men accused the cardinal of molesting them in a sum equal in the 1970's. -- in a swimming pool in the 1970's. >> in the past, the vatican has always invoke its immunity. the cardinal has never before had to defend himself before a court outside the vatican. cardinal pell has already faced one allegation for sexual abuse in australia. he was acquitted them for lack of evidence. on the 18th of july, the c

his name is cardinal george pell. he faces charges in australia for alleged sexual assault that was committed allegedly ago. >> the cardinal is top adviser to pope francis who has zero tolerance. he'll take a leave of absence while he fights the charges. >> cardinal pell says he is innocent. seth doane has more. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. as far as princes of the church, cardinal pell is at the top. he's a top adviser for pope francis. it's shending shock waives throughout the church. railing against what he said was nearly two years of relentless character assassination. >> i'm innocent of these charges. they are false. the whole idea of sexual abuse is abhorrent to me. >> reporter: australian police did not provide any specific details of the m of sexual assault. cardinal george pell has been in charge of reforming church finances but for years has faced allegations that he did not properly deal with clergy sex abuse in australia. he was questioned by a kmegs investigating the church's response to abus

a top catholic official charged with sexual assault cardinal george pell held a news conference at the vatican overnight. it came just hours after australian officials announced the sexual assault charges. pell is a top aide to pope francis. in a statment he denied the allegations and pleaded his innocence.. the cardinal says he will take a leave of absense but did not resign at the vatican's finance czar. he has been ordered to appear in court by july 18th. v-r-e train service is back to normal this morning following another fatal accident wedndesday. police say a 13-year old girl was struck and killed while walking on a railroad bridge. investigators say she was hiking with her family and couldn't get out of named- but she was a student at lake braddock secondary school. a revised version of president trump's controversial travel ban goes into effect today. the go-ahead coming from the supreme court just days ago. this morning the trump adminsitraition is out with new guidelines to make sure things go smoothly. sam sweeney is live at dulles airport - sam? this comes as we find out...

cardinal george pell is australia's most senior catholic. he's been summoned to appear in court. pell says he's innocent of the charges. >>> president trump's revised travel ban goes into effect today. it makes it harder for visa applicants to make it into the country. they must prove they have relatives if the u.s. or a business connection. visas that have already been approved will not be revoked. >>> and the trump administration is demanding that airlines step up skrt for those heading into the u.s. if they don't, they'll have to ban passengers traveling with electronic devices like laptops or forbid them from flying into the united states. >>> a video shows an officer who allegedly stopped a man for jaywalking has gone viral. >> you crossed. take your camera and point it across there at the red hand that. is a crosswalk. >> reporter: moments after being stopped for jaywalking by jacksonville sheriff's deputy jake bolen. he recorded the incident. >> i'm about to put you in my car. >> reporter: the interaction happened a cording to a week ago. dep beaut bolen was working in a hi

nancy: cardinal george pell is highest ranking vatican official ever to be charged. police are not providing details in the allegation but pell has previously been accused of covering up sex abuse cases for over priests. this is the fist time he is facing charges himself. >> these matters are under >> he is scheduled to be in court july 18. jonathan: now a montgomery county firefighter heading to court after a prostitution sting. the 33-year-old exchanged text messages with an undercover police officer. they discussed everything from prices to a place to meet. once he got there he wasn't arrested. but the officers did get his information. he is expected to appear in court on july 13. consumer alert before the fourth of july holiday. thousands of fireworks taken off the mark. 36,000 of the tnt red white and blue smoke fireworks being recalled due to some of them exploding when they are lit. they are not supposed to explode. they are supposed to emit colorful smoke. sold at wal-mart and kroger in illinois, ohio, vermont, wisconsin. nancy: c in five "star wars" films so

. >> the highest-ranking vatican official to ever be charged with sexual abuse. , chiefl george pell financial advisor and australia's most senior catholic will face melbourne magistrates on july 18 to answer to allegations of sexual abuse. >> cardinal pell is facing multiple charges. there are multiple complainants related to those charges. he strenuously denied the charges and said he had no knowledge of widespread pedophilia in australia's church. chargesnnocent of these . the whole idea of sexual abuse is abhorrent. news of these charges strengthens my resolve. and dealings now offer me an opportunity -- court proceedings now offer me an opportunity to clear my name and return back to room to work. --the 76-year-old has felt faced allegations for years that he mishandled clergy abuse. >> bringing us reactions from rome, josephine mckenna. this is sending shockwaves through the catholic church. the highest-ranking official in the vatican and the most senior catholic cleric in history to face sex abuse charges. cardinal pell faced the media today to say that he was facing relentles

cardinal george pell pope francis' chief financial adv adviser.his native australia. police there indicated that alleged abuses took place many years ago but didn't specifics about the cases n news conference from rome this morning, pell says he is innocent. >> time now 7:30. we are tracking metro on this thursday morning. just as safetrack is ended the transit agency announces more weekend station in service shut downs because of major waterproofing issues much problems that could be leading to arcing insulator and smoke incidents that so often impact the rush hour commute. wmau transportation reporter fox5 contributor marty dicaro joins us from the medical center metro station y want to bury the lead, when it comes to the red line, what kind of delays are we talking about here when it comes to fixing the problems? >> reporter: we'll get to the project in a moment, but first, riders should know along the red line for four consecutive weekends starting july 15th and 16th there will be no train service between grosvenor and friendship heights. buse

. >>> cardinal george pell, pope francis chief financial officer, says that he will return to his native australia to fight child sex assault claims. two men in their 40's say pell sexually abused them in the 70 's. pope frances granted pelley leave of absence to face charges. seventy-six year-old former archbishop of melbourne and sidney calls it a character assassination by the media. >>> there is a newf this fiery blimp crash near u.s. open in wisc cpany ceo says that the air ship may have been shot down, he wants authorities to look into a 911 call where a dispatcher if he could shoot the blimp down, earlier this week theuledhat the fabric tear on the blimp caused that crash, pilot was the ground was hurt. >>> pennsylvania state senate is advancing a bill thatldmploye guns on campus. senators just approved th about, after an emotional debate in have a concealed carry license , plus, pass aatn and meet firearms training requirements. thll house and pennsylvania governor tom wolf says he opposes the measure. >>> well, governor wolf has sign legislation to help protect animals from crue

cardinal george pell, who is the pope's chief financial adviser says he'll return to australia to clearame. it dates back to decades ago. two men now in their 40s say the cardinal touched them inappropriately at a swimming pool back in the 1970's. >> clean up is underway after more than two-dozen tornados ripped through the midwest. the strong winds pulled roofs out of of homes and scattered debris. in iowa a tornado shredded part of a roof in a home and tossed it on top of cars. >>> you might be able to to tell someone has live here by testing their knowledge of one >> derecho, a widespread and severe windstorm that moves rapidly along a fairly straight path and is associated with bands of rapidly moving thunderstorms. otherwise known as that thing that got all the trees down and made a mess of things. this happened five years ago today. >> topper shutt live to talk more about that. >> yeah we were actually covering that at bethesda and i had never seen the atmosphere so unstable. temperatures were in the triple digits, and very unstable atmosphere. we actually went to code red with ou

australian police accused cardinal george pell who is pope francis chief financial adviser of historic sexual offenses. pell facing the media issued this statement. >> i have been completely consistent and clear in my total rejection of these allegations. court proceedings now offer me an opportunity to clear my name. >> we go to rome this morning. what can you tell us about the cardinal and these charges? >> reporter: good morning. australian police did not give out any details what they call a historical sexual abuse charges. they said these are alleged sexual abuses carried out decades ago when he was still a priest in 1970s in australia or as an archbishop in melbourne. apart from being the highest ranking catholic in australia he's the highest ranking catholic in the whole catholic church. he's in charge of all the finances here in the vatican. highest ranking cardinal to ever be charged with sexual offenses. he called this a character assassination and thank pope francis for allowing a leaf of absence to travel to australia to clear his name and prove his innocence. it's still un

within the last few hours, george pell announced he is taking a leave of absence as the chief financial advisor to pope francis. he called the investigation a character assassination. he will return to australia to face charges. several people are accusing him of sexual a fences. >>> a new report shows the growing impact opioids are having in communities. heroin overdoses have nearly doubled in the last three years. 1 1,500 people ended up in the hospital last year with opioid overdoses. >>> today is the next to last day for pennsylvania lawmakers to settle on a budget for the fiscal year. a spending plan could happen today but house and senate republican leaders are still negotiating how to come up with a more than $2 billion that's needed to support that spending. that could drag work on a budget into the new fiscal year which begins saturday. >>> delaware is closer to a balanced budget for the next fiscal year. yesterday the state's budget committee agreed on additional spending cuts. lawmakers hope to bring the cut to a vote tomorrow before the deadline. >>> and just moments ago, pr

. >>> the chief financial adviser for pope francis cardinal george pell is charged with multiple counts of sexual abuse. the highest ranking official in the church to be charged with sexual abuse. they say it occurred years ago and pell is denying the charges. >>> a woman is charged with manslaughter in a deadly youtube stunt that killed her boyfriend. it happened outside of this home in norman county, minnesota. 19-year-old mona lisa perez claimed her boyfriend wanted to make a youtube video of a bullet hitting a book in front of his chest and it went through the book and killed him. he was pronounced dead at the scene and one family member says that her nephew told her about the dangerous plan. >> he told me about the idea and i said don't do it. why are you going to do it? >> we want more viewers to get famous. >> police have seized the cameras the pair used to record the incident. >>> officials in kentucky used a gas leak in a blew off the doors of this college dorm. at maurice state university. classes were not in session but students were on campus for a scholars program. >>> ever