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LOS ANGELES (AP) — A high-ranking Roman Catholic official has been exonerated of clergy sex abuse allegations by a Vatican tribunal after a decade of investigation and is once more considered a priest in good standing with the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, church officials said Monday. The decision to reinstate Msgr. Richard Loomis is rare — particularly after so many years — and the move drew immediate condemnation from an attorney for the alleged victim and church critics who say the tribunal never reached out to the accusers of Loomis after they gave an initial account and didn't inform them of the decision. Loomis, 68, has been on inactive leave and living outside the church since allegations surfaced in 2003 that he molested a boy between 1968 and 1971 at a Catholic high school where he taught. Another boy told his parents in 1974 that he had been molested by Loomis, and the family reported it to a parish priest, according to church documents. Loomis has denied any w...

Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia. Within the boundaries of this heavily forested national park, 16 crystalline lakes tumble into each other via a series of waterfalls and cascades. The mineral-rich waters carve through the rock, depositing tufa in continually changing formations. Clouds of butterflies drift above the 18km of wooden footbridges and pathways which snake around the edges and under and across the rumbling water. It takes upwards of six hours to explore the lakes on foot, or you can slice two hours off by taking advantage of the park's free boats and buses (departing every 30 minutes from April to October). From Entrance 2, catch the bus to the top of the upper lakes and wander back down to the shore of Kozjak , the park's largest lake (about 4km in length). A boat will whisk you from here to the lower lakes, where the circuit culminates in the aptly named Veliki Slap , the tallest waterfal...

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Mirror Image Photograph by Torsten Muehlbacher, National Geographic Your Shot On a stretch of road between Söderhamn and Gävle on the Swedish coast, Your Shot member Torsten Muehlbacher noticed this small island reflected in a lake. "I drove to a nearby parking area and walked a few minutes for the perfect view," he writes. "I put my camera on a tripod and made a long-exposure shot for a better 'mirror' on the lake, because it was not windless." Muehlbacher's picture recently appeared in Your Shot's Daily Dozen. This photo was submitted to Your Shot. Check out the new and improved website, where you can share photos, take part in assignments, lend your voice to stories, and connect with fellow photographers from around the globe.

 Colorful Amsterdam

In Green Company: Aurora over Norway Image Credit & Copyright: Max Rive Explanation: Raise your arms if you see an aurora. With those instructions, two nights went by with, well, clouds -- mostly. On the third night of returning to same peaks, though, the sky not only cleared up but lit up with a spectacular auroral display. Arms went high in the air, patience and experience paid off, and the amazing featured image was captured. The setting is a summit of the Austnesfjorden fjord close to the town of Svolvear on the Lofoten islands in northern Norway. The time was early March. Our Sun has been producing an abundance of picturesque aurora of late as it is near the time of its maximum surface activity in its 11-year magnetic cycle.