Weekly News Briefs: Aug. 21

STATE

Head: UGA graduate staged suicide to make it appear he was murdered

Alvin Ahmed, a UGA graduate and pharmacy intern, was identified as the body discovered in Gwinnett County’s Lake Carlton on July 18. During the three-week search for Ahmed, the family believed that he had been abducted based on circumstantial evidence. However, authorities said that all indications showed Ahmed commited suicide and tried to make his disappearance seem suspicious.

NATIONAL

Head: Report details sexual abuse by 300+ priests in Pennsylvania’s Catholic Church

More than 300 Catholic priests in Pennsylvania have been credibly accused of sexually abusing over 1,000 victims, according to a grand jury report that included internal documents from six Catholic dioceses. Almost every instance of abuse found was too old to be prosecuted, but charges have been filed against two priests. The grand jury report stated, “We believe that the real number of children whose records were lost or who were afraid ever to come forward is in the thousands.”

INTERNATIONAL

Head: Italian bridge collapses, at least 22 dead

A long section of the Morandi Bridge near Genoa collapsed on Aug. 14. The bridge was under maintenance, and police suggested that a violent storm may have caused the bridge to collapse. Italy’s prime minister said 22 people have been confirmed dead. The cause of the collapse is still unclear.