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A Massachusetts judge has ruled that a once-powerful Roman Catholic cardinal is not competent to stand trial on charges he sexually assaulted a teenage boy decades ago

Hurricane Idalia has hit Florida and is now crossing into Georgia, with nearly 280,000 people without power.

Sex abuse charges against former Catholic Cardinal Theodore McCarrick have been dismissed by a Massachusetts judge who ruled the 93-year-old was incompetent to stand trial. Mr McCarrick, who was the former archbishop of Washington, was charged with assaulting a 16-year-old boy in 1974. He was defrocked who was defrocked by the Pope in 2019 after a Vatican investigation alleged he had sexually molested adults as well as children during his career. The former cleric, the most senior member of the US Catholic church to face charges, still faces a criminal sexual abuse charge against the same alleged victim, in Wisconsin. Mr McCarrick pleaded not guilty in September 2021 to allegations that he sexually abused the boy at a wedding reception at Boston’s Wellesley College in June 1974. His lawyers told the court in April that Mr McCarrick had been examined by experts at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, who concluded he suffers from dementia, likely due to Alzheimer’s disease. The judge ruled in agreement on Wednesday and prosecutors immediately dismissed the complaint against the former Cardinal. “(The) Commonwealth does not have a good-faith basis to proceed any longer with the prosecution give the testimony and the opinions of the psychologist that Mr McCarrick is not restorable to competency,” the prosecutor said. Mr McCarrick, who now lives in Missouri, did not appear in person in the courtroom but joined the hearing by video. Court documents in the case state that the victim alleged Mr McCarrick groped him as they walked around the campus of Wellesley College, where his brother’s wedding reception was being held. The man also claims that Mr McCarrick also later fondled the boy in a room and told him to “say three our fathers and a Hail Mary or it was one our father and three Hail Marys, so God can redeem you of your sins.” Read More Pope says a revised environmental encyclical will be released Oct. 4, feast of St. Francis of Assisi Pope heads to Mongolia to minister to its few Catholics and complete centuries-old East-West mission Vatican seeks to tamp down outrage over pope's words of praise for Russian imperial past

The Biden administration has approved the first-ever U.S. military transfer to Taiwan under a program generally reserved for assistance to sovereign, independent states

Ukrainian drones have hit at least six regions deep inside Russia – including destroying war planes at an airfield – in one of the largest such strikes since the start of Moscow's invasion. Russian officials described attacks on targets in the Pskov, Bryansk, Kaluga, Orlov, Ryazan and Moscow regions, with the assault on the military airfield in Pskov the most significant. Situated more than 400 miles (600 kilometres) from Ukraine, it was where a number of elite paratroopers are stationed. The state-run Tass news agency reported at least four giant Il-76 transport planes were damaged, two of which had "burst into flames". the governor of Pskov posted video on the messaging app Telegram showing a huge fire with the sounds of sirens and an explosion at the air base. Other videos posted online showed anti-aircraft systems in action around the city, which is about 20 miles east of Russia's border with Nato-member Estonia. Kyiv confirmed the Russian planes had been destroyed in Pskov, without commenting on the nature of the incident. It generally does not claim strikes on Russian territory, but does say it has the right to hit military targets. "Yes, four IL-76 transport planes were destroyed in Pskov at an airfield, they are beyond repair. Also, several other of those [aircraft] are damaged, but the information is being checked," Andriy Yusov, a spokesman for Ukraine's military intelligence agency. The number of drone strikes hitting Russia has increased in recent weeks, supporting a ground counteroffensive against Russian forces in Ukraine by destroying equipment and seeking to disrupt supply lines. Moscow typically describes all Ukrainian drone strikes as unsuccessful, regardless of the damage on the ground, but claimed that its own forces had attacked four Ukrainian attack boats in the Black Sea. In a sign of how disruptive the latest Ukrainian strikes were, Russia's Defence Ministry said they "would not go unpunished". Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also said Russia was working out where the drones were launched from to try and prevent further strikes. President Vladimir Putin had been informed immediately, as would be the case in any such "massive attacks", Mr Peskov said. The increase in strikes inside Russia, including repeated drone strikes on central Moscow, have brought the war home to many Russians for the first time, even as Ukrainians have spent the past 18 months under threat of air strikes from long-range missiles and drones. The latest strikes inside Russia coincided with Moscow's largest barrage against Kyiv in months. Ukraine said its air defences had shot down 28 Russian missiles and 15 out of 16 drones fired overnight. "Kyiv has not experienced such a powerful attack since spring. The enemy launched a massive, combined attack using drones and missiles," Serhiy Popko, the head of the city's military administration, said on Telegram. Back in Moscow, the Kremlin said that it will not conduct an investigation into plane crash that killed the Wagner mercenary group founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, under international rules. "In this case there can be no talk of any international aspect," the Kremlin spokesman, Mr Peskov said, but he did suggest that "deliberate wrongdoing" is among the possible causes. The private Embraer jet on which Mr Prigozhin was travelling to St Petersburg from Moscow crashed north of Moscow killing all 10 people on board on 23 August, including two other top Wagner figures, Mr Prigozhin's four bodyguards and a crew of three. That was two months to the day since Mr Prigozhin began a mutiny against Russian President Vladimir, with his forces marching towards Moscow. The uprising ended 24 hours later after a deal was struck between the Wagner founder and the Kremlin – but a number of Western leaders have suggested that Mr Putin would not let that embarrassment stand. The Kremlin has claimed any suggestion the Russian leader was involving in the killing is an "absolute lie". Reuters and Associated Press contributed to this report Read More The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary Former official under Belarus President Lukashenko to face Swiss trial over enforced disappearances Putin and Kim Jong-un are deepening their relationship, White House says White House says Putin and Kim Jong Un traded letters as Russia looks for munitions from North Korea

Ukraine claims to have liberated the village of Robotyne, which could lead to a push towards Crimea.

Some 15,000 people, including many tourists, have pasted each other with tomatoes in Spain’s annual “Tomatina” street battle in the eastern town of Buñol

A judge has ruled that former Roman Catholic Cardinal Theodore McCarrick is not competent to stand trial

The storm leaves roads and towns along Florida's 'nature coast' inundated with knee-deep floodwaters.

A group of hunters have captured the longest alligator ever to be recorded in Mississippi

The Texas power grid operator ERCOT (Electric Reliability Council of Texas) issued an appeal to residents calling for

The mother of suspended Spanish football president Luis Rubiales has vowed to continue her hunger strike despite her son’s worried pleas for her to stop. Mr Rubiales was suspended by Fifa for kissing Women’s World Cup winner, Jenni Hermoso, on the lips in an act the footballer says she did not consent to. His mother, Angeles Bejar, has locked herself in a church in Montril, southern Spain, and is going on a hunger strike in order to end the “inhumane witch-hunt” on her son as the Spanish Football Federation (Rfef) asked the football president to resign. “I am willing to die for justice because my son is a decent person and it is not fair what they’re doing,” she told a Spanish TV station. Fifa banned Rubiales from all football-related activity for 90 days over his conduct and has launched an investigation into his behaviour, while Spanish police are now investigating the federation president for alleged sexual assault. Ms Bejar told MailOnline: “My son is very worried and has asked me not to continue, to stop, but I will be here until I drop and my body can continue. ”He is not here. He is away but he has told me to stop but I’ve said I will not. I will carry on.” Following his refusal to resign, the Spanish women’s national team signed a letter stating they will not play for their country until Rubiales is removed from his role and the coaching staff – except manager Jorge Vilda – have all walked out. The Spanish FA also requested that Uefa exclude national and club teams from all European competitions because of Spanish government intervention in the crisis – a request which Uefa has denied. Mr Rubiales’ cousin Vanessa Ruiz said his family was “suffering a lot for him, we don’t think that what’s happening is fair”. “He has been judged ahead of time. We don’t think this is normal and we want them to leave us alone. The statements speak for themselves. There are videos, there are audios,” she said. Read More Is the World Cup kiss Spain’s Me Too moment? Luis Rubiales crisis: How Spanish FA president fell from grace Luis Rubiales news LIVE: Spanish FA president’s mother opens up about ongoing hunger strike Spain has condemned inappropriate World Cup kiss. Can it now reckon with sexism in soccer? Spanish soccer president faces general assembly amid reports he will resign for kissing a player Spain soccer coach faces scrutiny for touching a female assistant on the chest while celebrating