Catholic News 2

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The U.S. economy grew at a slightly faster rate in the fourth quarter than previously estimated, boosted by stronger consumer spending. Consumers may be providing more lift to the economy in the current January-March period....

Sharon Johnson calls herself an addict, although she's been sober for three years now. She started by smoking pot and eventually moved to crack cocaine. Her daughter has tried heroin and "I believe I'm going to pull her out of the gutter someday," Johnson laments....

JERUSALEM (AP) -- Thousands of Catholics and Protestants are commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ by following the path in Jerusalem's Old City where, according to tradition, he walked on the way to the cross....

NEW YORK (AP) -- Donald J. Trump's first book was a memoir/manifesto dedicated to a life of big-time negotiating. Hillary Clinton debuted with a call for community involvement in raising the young. Trump was a brash star in New York real estate who agreed to a six-figure contract for "Trump: The Art of the Deal." For "It Takes a Village," then-first lady Clinton accepted no advance and donated most of the royalties to charity....

NEW YORK (AP) -- Two New York City siblings are among the dead in the attacks in Brussels, their family said Friday....

BRUSSELS (AP) -- Police raided Brussels neighborhoods again Friday in an operation a local official said was linked to both the airport and subway bombings and to the arrest in the Paris suburbs of a man who may have been plotting a new attack in France....

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) -- Syrian state media and opposition activists say heavy fighting is underway between government troops and Islamic State militants on the outskirts of Palmyra, with the two sides exchanging artillery and gunfire....

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- Losing in the NCAA Tournament is downright painful. Several teams still in the hunt for the title are using the unpleasant memories of the past as good lessons that have helped them move into the Elite Eight....

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Earl Hamner Jr., the versatile and prolific writer who drew upon his Depression-era upbringing in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia to create one of television's most beloved family shows, "The Waltons," has died. He was 92....

BRUSSELS (AP) -- The Latest on the suicide bombings this week in Brussels (all times local):...