Jan. 31--Members of St. Therese Catholic Church in Wilson pose in Washington, D.C. on Friday before the March for Life that afternoon. Photo taken Friday, January 27, 2017. Submitted photo

Members of St. Therese Catholic Church in Wilson pose in Washington, D.C. on Friday before the March for Life that afternoon. Photo taken Friday, January 27, 2017. Submitted photo

Along the route for the March for Life, marchers from Wilson stopped at the Russell Senate Building to speak with aides to Sen. Richard Burr. Pictured are, from left, Allison Dunkle, Susan Bane, Keisha Parker, aide to Senator Burr, and Riley Bane. Photograhed on Friday Photo taken Friday, January 27, 2017. Submitted photo

Along the route for the March for Life, marchers from Wilson stopped at the Russell Senate Building to speak with aides to Sen. Richard Burr. Pictured are, from left, Allison Dunkle, Susan Bane, Keisha Parker, aide to Senator Burr, and Riley Bane. Photograhed on Friday Photo taken Friday, January 27, 2017. Submitted photo

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Members of St. Therese Catholic Church exercised their right to demonstrate on the streets of Washington Friday.

Louise Bellavance, director of religious education at the church, said a total of 55 people made the bus trip for the March for Life event.

Some 35 youth from St. Therese were joined also by marchers from Barton College and St. Catherine Siena Catholic Church in Tarboro.

The group attended Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington.

"For most of them, it was the first time they went to Washington, D.C. to visit the basilica, so they were pretty impressed," Bellavance said.

For the Wilsonians, the march started at the Navy Memorial and traveled along Constitution Avenue by the Supreme Court and the U.S. Capitol before ending at St. Peter's on Capitol Hill Catholic Church.

Group members brought signs and marched along with several thousand others sympathetic to the cause.

"We want to let people know that there are lot of us that believe of the importance of life at every stage," Bellavance said. "The youth of St. Therese Catholic Church were proud to represent Wilson as witnesses to the sanctity of human life and the protection of the unborn."

Bellavance said the majority of marchers were young people who had a lot of enthusiasm.

"They were just happy and wanting to speak up. Many times they would sing little things to try to convey their message," Bellavance said. "They felt that there was a lot of solidarity and they felt that it was just a really good experience. I appreciated the fact that this was a very peaceful walk with no aggressive people."

Dr. Susan Bane, medical director of the Wilson Pregnancy Center and a professor at Barton College, joined the marchers. It was her second time attending the event.

"What is most impressive, I would say, is that 75 percent of the people at the march were young people in middle school, high school and college," said Bane. "One of their favorite chants is 'We are the pro-life generation,' and it is really encouraging to see that age group understand and be so passionate about the value of life. I think it is so important for all people, but particularly the young people, to try to understand what they believe and why they believe it and then use their right of protest in a peaceful way. The energy up there was fabulous."

Along the way, the group stopped at the Russell Senate Office Building to speak with Keisha Parker, a staff assistant to U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C.

Parker is a former student government association president at Barton College.

Bane took the lead in conveying the group's message.

'I told her that we should value life from conception to natural death and that I wanted Senator Burr to know that," Bane said. "I offered my assistance as an obstetrician-gynecologist in terms of why Roe v. Wade should be reversed should he ever want to talk about it, both from the scientific standpoint but also from a constitutional standpoint."

The landmark Roe case legalized abortion in the United States by striking down state laws that restricted it. Abortion rights opponents have sought to overturn the Jan. 22, 1973 Supreme Court decision ever since.

"In the 1970s when that decision was made, the science was very different from what we know now and then, from a constitutional standpoint, an abortion is the only medical procedure that is classified as a constitutional right, so I just offered my thoughts on that and just offered my assistance just as a medical professional," Bane said. "I offered, as he is trying to consider his votes in the future, should they come up, that I would be glad to give him my opinion."

President Donald Trump is expected to announce his pick to fill the Supreme Court seat of Justice Antonin Scalia at 8 p.m. today. According to the Associated Press, the short list of nominees includes Judge William Pryor, from the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. Pryor once described Roe v. Wade as the "worst abomination in the history of constitutional law."

Others considered for the job include Judge Thomas Hardiman, of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and Judge Neil Gorsuch, of the U.S. Court of Appeals in the 10th Circuit.

If confirmed, a new justice could shift the ideological balance on the high court. Anti-abortion advocates hope a conservative-leaning court would reverse the Roe decision.

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ST. LOUIS — Andrew C. Hubbard schemed with a cousin to give his mother laced drugs and cause an overdose so he could collect a $150,000 life insurance policy, prosecutors said in federal court Thursday.

The plan to lace crack cocaine with heroin or fentanyl didn't kill her, so the cousin shot the woman instead and dumped her body in a St. Louis alley, Hubbard admitted in U.S. District Court as he pleaded guilty.

Hubbard, 40, pleaded to murder-for-hire and conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire in connection with the death of his mother, Andreaia Worthem.

Worthem, 53, was shot in the chest, arm and face. Her body was found in the north alley in the 4400 block of Kennerly Avenue on the morning of July 7, 2023.

Others facing the same charges in connection with her death are the cousin, Eric Washington, 47, of Jennings; Justin R. Lee, 40, of Northwoods; and Hubbard's girlfriend, Kim Mosley, 33. Their cases are pending.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew A. Martin unveiled new details about the case as he read in court from a 14-page document.

Hubbard took out a life-insurance policy on his mother in 2019 and was the sole beneficiary.

His plan was to have Lee and Washington supply his mother with a "bad pack," crack cocaine laced with enough fentanyl to kill her, Martin said. Hubbard knew that his cousin had recently experienced a near-fatal overdose after ingesting drugs Lee had supplied.

In exchange, Washington would get $10,000, and Mosley would get $50,000, the prosecutor said.

Washington used Lee's phone to tell Hubbard, "It's done." Later, Hubbard asked if the "bad pack" caused a quick overdose. Washington admitted it didn't work, so he instead shot her, Martin said.

Mosley gave Washington $200 in exchange for the victim's cellphone, which was then destroyed, according to the plea agreement. Hubbard also gave Washington $450 cash and cocaine and marijuana, Martin said.

According to the plea agreement, Washington, impatient because he hadn't been paid the full $10,000, called Primerica, the insurance company, to ask when the policy would be paid.

Washington told the insurer that he had "done some work" for Hubbard and the insurance money would help cover what he is owed, the court document said.

When Hubbard found out Washington had made that call, he confronted his cousin and told him that it would lead the police to them.

The plea agreement didn't say whether Hubbard ever received the insurance money.

Hubbard, jailed in Illinois, lived in the 12200 block of Corrida Court in Maryland Heights.

U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey scheduled Hubbard's sentencing for Sept. 23.

Each charge is punishable by life in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. Federal prosecutors already announced they would not seek the death penalty.

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