The Advocate's Top Headlines

with Jennifer Wadsworth | Assistant metro editor

Good morning. Some of our top headlines today:

'They dropped the ball'

A child sex abuse case has prompted public outcry, criminal charges and now sharp rebuke against the Department of Child and Family Services, which critics say has failed to protect victims for years. 

"Every person that investigated this matter, every agency needs to be investigated for their policy and procedure and how they dropped the ball," state Sen. Katrina Jackson said in a recent hearing. "Over and over again, this child was screaming for help."

Lea Skene has the story.

Search suspended

Rescue crews combed 100 miles of the lower Mississippi River for 32 hours before suspending their search for a crewman who fell off the American Queen steamboat, David Mitchell reports. 

Wrenching testimony

A woman who authorities say was raped by an ex-SWAT team leader and his mistress gave wrenching testimony Thursday about how traumatic it was to find out the assault was captured on video.

James Finn, who's been covering the trial, filed this report after Thursday's proceedings, which pick back up this morning with closing arguments. 

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