WASHINGTON

Rescuers search Watergate garage rubble after collapse

Rescuers were searching for a possible victim Friday at the site of a collapsed parking garage at the Watergate complex after a cadaver dog made a possible hit in the rubble, Mayor Muriel Bowser said.

One person was injured and taken to a hospital after the three stories of the garage collapsed Friday morning, fire department officials said. A second person was evaluated at the scene and refused further treatment.

After working all afternoon to shore up the structure and search for any more injured people inside, rescuers shifted their efforts to a recovery operation, Bowser said. Three search dogs sent into the collapsed garage found no signs of life.

It will be a long process as firefighters work to shore up the site to search for a possible victim, officials said. The area was under construction at the time.

All construction workers at the scene were accounted for, Wilson said. Fire department spokesman Oscar Mendez said no one was reported missing.

LOS ANGELES

Attorney releases last batch of files on priest abuse

An attorney for hundreds of sex abuse victims in Los Angeles released the last batch of files Friday kept by the Roman Catholic church on priests accused of molesting children.

The final 11 files were made public eight years after the Archdiocese of Los Angeles paid $660 million to settle hundreds of sex abuse claims. Overall, 205 confidential clergy files have been released by the nation’s largest archdiocese and many religious orders.

The public airing of the final 2,400 pages brings a close to the devastating saga that began in 2002, when state lawmakers created a one-year window that allowed sex abuse victims to sue for abuse that happened years before. In all, more than 500 people filed lawsuits.

Part of the 2007 settlement included a process for the church to open its confidential records on priests who had been accused of molestation.

BALTIMORE

Bishop resigns after killing bicyclist while driving drunk

A Maryland bishop accused of fatally striking a bicyclist while driving drunk in Baltimore has resigned, and her credentials have been revoked, according to Episcopal Church officials.

The Episcopal Diocese of Maryland announced Friday that it accepted the resignation of Heather Cook. Separately, the Episcopal Church announced it has revoked Cook’s clergy credentials, under an agreement with Cook.

Cook was the second-highest ranking Episcopal leader in Maryland. The revocation of her credentials resolves any disciplinary matters with the church.

Cook faces charges of vehicular manslaughter, drunken driving and distracted driving stemming from a Dec. 27 accident. Prosecutors say Cook was drunk and texting when she fatally struck 41-year-old Tom Palermo on his bicycle. Cook is free on a $2.5 million bail.

A June 4 trial date has been set in the case.

– From news service reports