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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

In brief: Wisconsin union rally draws smaller crowd

From Wire Reports

MADISON, Wis. – Thousands of Wisconsin union workers rallied at the Capitol on Saturday to protest a “right-to-work” proposal that would outlaw the mandatory payment of union dues, but the crowd was much smaller than those in 2011 against Gov. Scott Walker’s law stripping public sector unions of much of their power.

Speakers at the event jeered Walker’s comment Thursday that fighting against protesters during the 2011 debates prepared him to battle terrorists as president. Walker has not yet announced his presidential campaign, but is expected to do so later this year.

“What we are doing here today is the heart and soul of democracy, not terrorism,” said Phil Neuenfeldt, president of Wisconsin AFL-CIO.

A spokesman for the Department of Administration, Cullen Werwie, said between 2,500 and 3,000 people gathered at the Capitol on Saturday.

Mormon church rejects appeal

SALT LAKE CITY – The co-founder of a Mormon women’s group who was excommunicated last year has lost her final appeal to regain membership in the Utah-based church.

Kate Kelly of Ordain Women said she learned Saturday that the highest authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had rejected her appeal.

The faith’s governing First Presidency, comprised of church President Thomas Monson and his two counselors, Henry Eyring and Dieter Uchtdorf, is the final avenue for excommunicated Mormons.

Her appeal was earlier denied by regional church leaders in Virginia, where she used to live. She now lives in Kenya.

Kelly was found guilty of apostasy, defined as repeated and public advocacy of positions that oppose church teachings.

Ordain Women was founded in 2013 to push for women to be allowed in the all-male lay clergy. The group staged demonstrations outside two church conferences in Salt Lake City, drawing criticism from church leaders.

Chicago on low end of Moody’s rankings

CHICAGO – Moody’s Investors Service has downgraded Chicago’s credit rating to two levels above junk status, citing the city’s $20 billion mountain of unfunded pension liabilities.

The agency said Friday that it lowered the rating on $8.3 billion in general obligation debt from Baa1 to Baa2. Moody’s also maintained its negative outlook for Chicago, indicating another downgrade could occur even if recent efforts to address the city’s pension problems survive legal challenges.

“Regardless of outcome of the legal challenges to pension reforms, we expect Chicago’s unfunded pension liabilities – and the costs of servicing those liabilities – to continue to grow, placing significant strain on the city’s financial operations,” Moody’s said.