Week in review: Penn State sex abuse scandal in the spotlight

News of the week

Here are the top news stories from the past week:

- A report released Thursday morning says that Penn State and longtime coach Joe Paterno knew of Jerry Sandusky's sexual abuse of boys, but they deliberately covered it up because they thought the scandal would make the university look bad. Sandusky was found guilty on 45 charges against him on June 22. The new report says that Penn State "failed to protect against a child sexual predator harming children for over a decade." It's not known yet what, if any, charges will be filed against university offiicals. 

- Two men at a Chinese auto repair shop “pranked” a 13-year-old boy by shoving an air compressor into him and releasing air, causing massive internal damage to the boy’s organs. The boy was in a coma for eight days after the assault and now is in intensive care, recovering from wounds to his stomach, intestines, liver, kidneys and more.

- "It's likely that in three to six months from now, you will start seeing an increase in prices in the meat case. There will be a quicker impact on eggs and poultry because the production cycle is shorter."- Iowa farmer Dave Miller, talking about the current drought that has the farming industry reeling. Officials say 61 percent of land in the contiguous U.S. is suffering from a drought right now, and more than 1,000 counties have been declared disaster areas.

- "We hope that the parties responsible for managing the security of this subdomain will take this as a wake-up call, and not as a threat. There have been many security holes exploited in Web servers belonging to Yahoo! Inc. that have caused far greater damage than our disclosure. Please do not take them lightly." – Note on a webpage that hackers posted stolen Yahoo login information to. The hackers claimed more than 450,000 passwords were stolen and posted. Yahoo issued a statement apologizing and said users should regularly change their passwords.

- FBI reports about George Zimmerman and his role in the death of Trayvon Martin were released Thursday by a Florida state attorney. The reports show that Zimmerman frequently made calls to police while he served as a self-appointed neighborhood watchman. The documents are expected to be used by the defense and prosecutors during Zimmerman’s trial.

- "I think Congressman Jackson and his office and his family would be well-advised to advise his constituents of his condition. He's obviously facing a health problem. People get sick. And when people get sick, they miss work. Everybody in America understands that but I think the family would be well-advised to give his constituents as much information as is appropriate." - Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Maryland, talking about the mysterious illness that has sidelined Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Illinois, since late May. Jackson, the son of the Rev. Jesse Jackson, hasn’t explained why he’s missed so much work, and statements from his spokesmen have been vague. 

- DirecTV customers were unable to watch Viacom TV stations beginning early Wednesday after a contract between the two companies expired. Both sides tried to work out a new deal, but neither agreed to the terms. That means DirecTV customers won’t be able to watch Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, MTV and several other stations.

- "When he turned to swim, it grabbed his arm. And he knew once it grabbed his arm, he was going to lose it. So he put both his feet on the alligator's head and pushed and pretty much took his own arm off before the alligator could." - Rebecca Langdale, sister of Kaleb “Fred” Langdale, who had his arm bitten off by an 11-foot alligator. The 17-year-old Floridian was swimming in a river when the alligator attacked, and family members of the teen said his life was saved because he knew alligator behavior from watching “Swamp Men.”

- House Republicans plan tomorrow to vote to repeal President Barack Obama’s health care law, and on Tuesday they held several events designed to put the issue in the spotlight. The Senate likely would kill a repeal vote, but even if it made it thought, Obama would veto the measure. Republicans acknowledged this but said they hope to get public support for their position.

- President Barack Obama on Monday asked Congress to pass an extension of the Bush tax cuts for people who earn less than $250,000 a year. Obama called for a one-year extension but would allow the cuts for the wealthiest families to expire.

- "I don't believe he's dead. I believe he planned for this exit. This guy was the best actor." - Wendy Cross, client of Aubrey Lee Price, talking to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Price was charged last week with embezzling $17 million, and many people believe he may have skipped town, but Price told friends he was going to commit suicide. No body has been found, and officials are on the lookout for Price.

Video of the week: Lawmakers angry over China-made Olympic uniform

Uniforms for U.S. Olympic athletes are American red, white and blue - but made in China.

GateHouse News Service