Seven alleged Boy Scout sex abuse victims filed lawsuits in Arizona this week against The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), accusing its leaders of covering up decades of abuse. 

The seven lawsuits, one for each victim, allege that church officials informed of the abuse did not alert the necessary authorities, instead instructing victims to stay quiet while the church investigated, The Associated Press reported. 

But the lawsuit says Boy Scouts of America leaders involved in the allegations were permitted to stay in their positions or switch to another troop. 

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The allegations took place between 1972 and 2009 and involve seven troops that the church sponsored in Phoenix and Tucson, the victims’ attorneys told the AP. 

Hurley McKenna & Mertz, a firm that focuses on church sexual abuse, released a statement to the AP saying the church “must be held accountable in order to bring healing and closure to Mormon victims of childhood sexual abuse.”

The seven alleged victims are asking to be awarded an unspecified sum for their medical expenses, pain and suffering as well as punitive damages for the “outrageous conduct” of the church leaders. 

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints spokesman Sam Penrod said in a statement that the church has no tolerance for any abuse, adding that the lawsuit’s accusations demand examination. But he disputed that the church had access to lists of alleged abusive Scout leaders or had seen “public records” cited in the AP report.

“The claim that the church has had access to the [Boy Scouts of America] ineligible volunteer files for many decades is simply false,” Penrod said. “The church learned about the details of those files at the same time as the general public. These claims will be carefully evaluated and appropriately addressed.”

The attorneys filed the lawsuits ahead of Arizona’s deadline for the end of the year for current adults over 29 to file lawsuits against their alleged abusers and organizations that did not appropriately respond to abuse. Those under 30 can still take legal action after 2020 as long as it’s before their 30th birthday. 

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The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had been the largest sponsor for the Boy Scouts until officially breaking off its 105-year-old union last year. The cancellation of the partnership came as the Boy Scouts opened up to gay members and leaders, girls and transgender boys.

In the meantime, the Boy Scouts has been dealing with about 90,000 sexual abuse claims, according to the AP, leading the organization to file for bankruptcy protection in February.

Updated 6:20 p.m.

China approved a coronavirus vaccine for use Thursday, marking the first time a shot has been greenlighted in the country for general public use.

According to an article from state media that was posted on the websites for the National Health Commission and National Medical Products Administration, China gave conditional approval to a vaccine developed by state-backed pharmaceutical firm Sinopharm.

Clinical studies have shown the vaccine has an over 79 percent efficacy rate. The approval makes China the latest in a spree of countries to greenlight an array of shots as the world braces for an expected spike in cases over the winter months. 

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Zeng Yixin, vice-minister in charge of the National Health Commission, said that millions of doses are being prioritized for medical workers and those going abroad for their jobs.

The shot from Sinopharm has been authorized for emergency use in China since earlier this year, as have a number of other shots.

The approval of the vaccine marks a significant milestone for China, which was the first nation to be hit with the pandemic.

The coronavirus is believed to have originated in Wuhan at a wet market. While the country grappled with a serious outbreak in the early months of 2020, it has now tallied fewer confirmed cases than many smaller countries across the globe. China has tallied nearly 96,000 confirmed cases, and over 4,700 people there have died.

The coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University is not likely to be authorized for use in the U.S. until April, a top Trump administration health official said Wednesday.

“We project, if everything goes well, that the readout and emergency use authorization may be granted somewhere early in the month of April,” Moncef Slaoui, the chief science adviser for the administration’s Operation Warp Speed, told reporters.

The April estimate from Slaoui is a change from earlier this month, when he told reporters he expected an emergency authorization could come in February. The U.S. has already purchased 300 million doses of the vaccine.

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Britain on Wednesday became the first country in the world to authorize the vaccine for emergency use, but it was partly based on unpublished data because of the way the U.K. reviews the trial.

In an effort to push out as many doses of the vaccine as possible, British officials said they would not hold back doses. Instead, they will prioritize giving people the first dose and delay the second shot for as long as three months. 

The vaccine has the potential to be a global difference-maker in the fight against COVID-19. AstraZeneca has promised to make as many as three billion doses available in 2021, which is far more than any other manufacturer. The company has also pledged not to make a profit on the vaccine, so the cost is also much cheaper.

The vaccine also can be transported and stored for months with normal refrigeration, unlike the two authorized vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna.

In the U.S. though, health officials have raised questions after promising early results turned out to be the result of a dosing error. 

The shot has a 62 percent effective rate if given in two full doses 28 days apart like it was for most participants. The company found the drug to be 90 percent effective when a small group in the trial was mistakenly given half a dose initially, followed by a full dose.

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Slaoui expressed some concern with the data but indicated the ultimate decision would be up to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

“The biggest question mark, frankly, is efficacy in the elderly population. That needs to be further documented just because there were not enough … of the subjects recruited into trial,” Saloui said.

Slaoui also questioned the true efficacy of the drug. AstraZeneca has said that the combined “pooled” numbers amount to an average of 70 percent efficacy, but Slaoui said he thinks the FDA would not be satisfied with that explanation.

“We need a clear and concrete number, more than a number that is, you know, accumulated by putting together different trials with different schedules and different materials,” Slaoui said.

Monday’s post-SummerSlam edition of WWE RAW drew a 3.24 cable rating, up from last week’s 2.95. This was the best RAW rating since the night after WrestleMania 29, which drew a 3.45.

RAW averaged 4.298 million viewers, up 5% from last week. Here’s the hourly viewership breakdown:

– Hour 1: 4.076 million
– Hour 2: 4.485 million
– Hour 3: 4.333 million

RAW had strong viewership amongst the “Males 18-34” demographic, which was up 25% from the previous week. Overall, it’s a strong sign that fans were invested in the fallout of SummerSlam.

* Major WWE Storyline Plans Changed With John Cena Out Until 2014 (Full Details)