Midday Roundup: Duggar parents tell of family anguish

Speaking out. Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar opened up in an interview on Fox News Wednesday night about allegations of sexual abuse in their family that surfaced two weeks ago. The parents from the reality show 19 Kids and Counting acknowledged their oldest son, Josh Duggar, fondled four of his sisters and a babysitter when he was a teenager. Police investigated the accusations, but the legal timeframe to bring charges had already passed. Michelle Duggar said her daughters didn’t understand what had happened until long after the fact. They “have been victimized more by what has happened in the last couple of weeks than they were 12 years ago,” she said.

Save the date. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has set a date to announce his candidacy for president. He plans to officially kick off his campaign during a June 15 event at Miami Dade Community College, shortly after he returns from a European trip. The Republican establishment so far favors Bush in a field of more than 20 likely GOP presidential hopefuls, though he faces tough competition from conservative candidates such as Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.

Recovery mission. Rescuers have recovered about 75 bodies from the overturned Chinese cruise ship in the Yangtze River. No survivors have been found since 14 people were rescued not long after the accident. There ship had 456 people onboard, most of them elderly. The Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party has issued a directive for officials to control public opinion about the disaster response. It ordered them to “understand the sorrow of the families” and “concretely preserve social stability.”

What cease-fire? Fighting has again broken out in Eastern Ukraine, where 21 people were reported dead in violence this week. Though Russia denies fanning the flames of conflict in the region, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko claims there are 9,000 Russian troops in rebel-controlled areas of the country. The February cease-fire brokered in Minsk between the Ukrainian government and pro-Russian rebels now exists in name only.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.