DETROIT (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union is taking aim at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and its ethical guidelines for Catholic hospitals.

The ACLU filed a lawsuit in federal court in Michigan accusing the bishops of being negligent for barring certain treatments or the mention of the treatments such as abortion.

The lawsuit was filed in the case of a pregnant woman whose life was at risk from premature labor. The ACLU says Mercy Health Muskegon hospital didn’t tell her that she should consider terminating her pregnancy because the bishops’ guidelines barred mention of abortion.

The lawsuit was filed amid a wave of mergers between Catholic and secular hospital systems. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops says it can’t comment because it hasn’t been officially notified of the lawsuit.

WASHINGTON, Ill. (AP) — A dog and his owner have been reunited after the animal was found under a pile of rubble more than a week after a tornado ripped through a central Illinois city.

Jacob Montgomery of Washington and his dog Dexter were separated when the Nov. 17 tornado damaged Montgomery’s third floor apartment.

Montgomery is a member of the Illinois National Guard.

A guard spokesman says a neighbor sent Montgomery a Facebook message nine days later to tell him Dexter had been found under debris where the apartment used to be.

An animal rescuing organization had coaxed the 6-month-old puppy out of the rubble with hot dogs.

A veterinarian found Dexter to be malnourished, but without any major injuries.

Montgomery says as soon as the dog saw him “his tail started going.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — An experimental device is letting paralyzed people drive wheelchairs simply by flicking their tongue in the right direction. But they had to get their tongue pierced first.

The system is being developed by a Georgia Tech engineer, in hopes of offering the severely disabled more mobility and independence. Wednesday, researchers reported that 11 people paralyzed from the neck down rapidly learned to use the Tongue Drive System to pilot wheelchairs through an obstacle course. And the device operated a computer, too.

Here’s how the system works: The tongue is pierced with a magnetic stud that resembles jewelry. A headset detects the tongue’s position when the user flicks that stud. The headset beams that information to a smartphone. An app then commands the wheelchair or computer cursor to move.

(AP) — The parents of a 6-year-old Philadelphia boy who starved to death after returning to their care have been sentenced to 30 to 60 years in prison.

A prosecutor Tuesday called the slow, torturous death of Khalil Wimes “a crime against humanity.”

Khalil had thrived with relatives who raised him until age 3. But Tina Cuffie and Latiff Hadi won him back despite losing custody of five other children.

Common Pleas Judge Barbara McDermott called Khalil nothing but a pawn to them.

She had convicted them of third-degree murder after hearing they locked Khalil in a room, beat him, and made him run laps the day before he died.

Hadi says he keeps a picture of his son in his cell. And Cuffie, the mother of 11 children, says other inmates call her “mom.”

(AP) — The mother of a Florida girl who committed suicide after complaining about being bullied is asking lawmakers to pass new state and federal anti-bullying legislation.

Tricia Norman and her attorney said Monday at a news conference that current laws don’t do enough.

Norman’s daughter, 12-year-old Rebecca Sedwick, jumped to her death at an abandoned concrete plant in September.

A month later, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office arrested two of her classmates, ages 12 and 14, on charges of aggravated stalking.

Those charges were dropped last week because of insufficient evidence.

Norman says she was saddened by the dismissal of the charges because it sends a message that is bullying is acceptable.

Norman and her attorney indicated they are working on a lawsuit but declined to provide details.

(AP) — San Antonio’s police chief has decried the allegations against an officer accused of raping a handcuffed 19-year-old woman, saying it’s “unthinkable.”

Chief William McManus told reporters over the weekend he was “angry” and “outraged” after Officer Jackie Len Neal, an 11-year department veteran, was arrested Saturday on a sexual assault warrant.

According to an arrest affidavit, Neal asked the woman to step out of her vehicle about 2 a.m. Friday after tailing her for several blocks.

The affidavit says Neal told the woman her vehicle had been reported stolen. The document says the woman produced a sales slip, but Neal patted her down, ignoring a request for a woman to do that.

The affidavit says Neal placed the woman in handcuffs and raped her in the back of his car.

(AP) — Money, star power and Hollywood are awaiting President Barack Obama on a West Coast trip.

The swing will feature a bit of official business, but it’s mostly fundraising for a Democratic Party eager to go on offense after a tough stretch.

Obama heads out Sunday afternoon for Seattle, with later stops in San Francisco and Los Angeles.

He’s raising money for House and Senate Democrats and the national party.

Big-money events include a reception at the home of retired basketball star Earvin “Magic” Johnson.

The president also will use the trip to push Congress to overhaul immigration laws and he’ll promote his economic agenda.

(AP) — The number of homeless people in the U.S. has declined for a third straight year.

That’s according to a new government survey. The Obama administration says the drop is due in part to more people getting government vouchers that help pay housing costs.

The survey says more than 610,000 people were homeless last year. That was down from more than 630,000 the previous year — a 4 percent drop.

The study by the Housing and Urban Development Department counted people at a given point in time last January.

The number of homeless military veterans was under 58,000, down 8 percent from the previous year. The number of chronically homeless people declined 7 percent, to about 93,000.

Since 2010, the number of homeless people has dropped 6 percent.

(AP) — An 85-year-old American veteran of the Korean War has been detained in North Korea since last month.

The son of Merrill Newman told the San Jose Mercury News on Wednesday his father was taken off a plane set to leave North Korea on Oct. 26. Jeffrey Newman said no reason was given.

Newman, from Palo Alto, Calif., was traveling with Bob Hamrdla, who was allowed to return. In a statement, Hamrdla said it was “a terrible misunderstanding” and asked the North Korean government to quickly release his friend.

The U.S. State Department wouldn’t confirm the detention, and North Korea’s state media has yet to comment.

The detention comes about a year after North Korea detained another American. The State Department recently warned Americans against travelling to the country.

North Korea has detained at least six other Americans since 2009.