Boston

Archdiocese to lose 65 parishes by year’s end

The weight of a priest shortage, shrinking collections and the clergy sex abuse scandal combined to force Boston’s archbishop to announce Tuesday that his Roman Catholic archdiocese will lose 65 parishes by year’s end.

The archdiocese, the nation’s fourth-largest with more than 2 million Catholics, now has 357 parishes.

“Today is not an easy day for the people of the Archdiocese of Boston,” Archbishop Sean O’Malley said.

“The alternative to going through this exercise would be that we would experience a continual decline in some areas of our archdiocese, closing parish after parish, school after school, outreach program after outreach program.”

Virginia

Second death-penalty trial set for convicted sniper

Condemned sniper John Allen Muhammad will face a second death-penalty trial in Virginia, according to a newspaper report.

Muhammad could make his first court appearance in the next couple of weeks, The Washington Post reported on its Web site early today.

Defense attorneys Jonathan Shapiro and Peter Greenspun were notified by the court Tuesday that they have been appointed to represent Muhammad, 43, in the fatal shooting of FBI analyst Linda Franklin outside a Home Depot.

The same defense represented Muhammad last year, when he was convicted and sentenced to death in the murder of Dean H. Meyers at a Prince William County gas station.

New Mexico

Wildfires forcing evacuations

A fast-moving wildfire fueled by dry forest land grew to more than 23,000 acres Tuesday, forcing the evacuation of dozens of homes, officials said.

No injuries were reported in the fire in the Lincoln National Forest in south-central New Mexico, said fire information officer Beth Wilson.

“It’s a wind-driven fire in very rough, dry terrain,” she said.

Gov. Bill Richardson renewed his call for the federal government to rescind an order grounding all heavy air tankers used to drop fire retardant on wildfires. The planes were grounded because of safety concerns after two broke up in flight during the 2002 fire season.

Washington, D.C.

Mold’s health risks assessed

Increased effort is needed to reduce mold-producing moisture in buildings that has been shown to aggravate respiratory problems, including some asthma, a scientific panel said Tuesday.

While the study by the Institute of Medicine did not blame mold for other, often major illnesses that some have sought to associate with it, the report couldn’t rule out those dangers either.

Mold has drawn increased attention in recent years with the shutdown of a major hotel, delayed openings of schools in several states and a raft of lawsuits.

The Institute, an arm of the National Academy of Sciences, urged that mold problems be corrected through a range of steps, including changes in how buildings are designed, constructed and maintained.