[FoxNews] DOJ agreed to $139M settlement for Nassar's victims, who accused the FBI of failing to investigate the Olympic doctor
The FBI’s $139 million settlement with more than a hundred victims of the disgraced Dr. Larry Nassar could set a precedent that would lift the chances of Jeffrey Epstein's accusers to prevail in a similar lawsuit, experts say.
"I think the Nassar settlement bodes well for the Epstein accusers," said Neama Rahmani, a Los Angeles-based trial attorney and former federal prosecutor. "It’s not easy to get damages from the government for its failure to act."
The Justice Department agreed last week to pay $138.7 million to settle 139 claims from victims who accused the FBI of mishandling sexual assault allegations against the disgraced former sports doctor in 2015 and 2016.
"Civil liability against government agencies or employees usually requires an affirmative act such as police brutality or a civil rights violation," Rahmani added. "The fact that the Nassar victims were able to secure a nine-figure settlement means the Epstein plaintiffs will try to follow the same playbook."
In 2022, the Justice Department paid a $127.5 million settlement in lawsuits over the 2018 Parkland, Florida, school shooting.
That is another example that could benefit Epstein’s accusers, according to former FBI agent Nicole Parker, who investigated the aftermath in Parkland.
"It's setting a precedent, as did Parkland, although that was not sexual in nature," she told Fox News Digital. "When the FBI drops the ball on these egregious violent crimes, that’s a problem."
However, she added, part of the blame in the Epstein case falls on federal prosecutors who handed him a virtual slap on the wrist for sex trafficking charges in 2008. He spent 13 months in jail, during which he was allowed work-release and allegedly continued to abuse victims.
There are some differences.
Nassar was convicted of his crimes, while Epstein died before going to trial. Despite a series of lawsuits against rich and powerful men in his orbit, only his right-hand woman, Ghislaine Maxwell, was criminally convicted. She is appealing.
Nassar worked at Michigan State University and was the team doctor at USA Gymnastics in Indianapolis. Several current and former athletes, including Simone Biles, McKayla Maroney, Aly Raisman and Maggie Nichols, all testified at a 2021 Senate hearing that the FBI failed to act on their complaints against him.
In February, a dozen Jane Does filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government, alleging that the FBI failed to properly investigate the financier's sex-trafficking crimes as far back as the 1990s.
"Jeffrey Epstein’s penchant for teenage girls was an open secret in the high society of Palm Beach, Florida and the Upper East Side of Manhattan which was disregarded by the FBI," reads the lawsuit on behalf of 12 Jane Does.
"Epstein orchestrated an illegal sex trafficking ring for the elite and the FBI failed to adequately investigate the abuse, failed to interview the victims, failed to investigate the crimes and did not follow routine procedure or offer victim assistance notwithstanding credible reports and tips."
Allegations of child sex trafficking emerged as early as 1996, according to the lawsuit, when Epstein accuser Maria Farmer told New York City police and the FBI that she and her sister had been victims of Epstein and Maxwell. However, the FBI allegedly "'hung up' on her and did nothing to investigate the report," according to the lawsuit.
Allegations continued to crop up until Epstein was arrested for having sex with a child prostitute in 2005. Even his bank, JPMorgan Chase, alerted the government of "suspicious transactions" around this time. However, that information remained secret for almost 20 years, according to the lawsuit.
"The FBI’s repeated and continued failures, delays and inaction allowed Epstein and others to continue their sex trafficking conspiracy for almost 25 years," lawyers for the Does allege.
The FBI has a policy of not commenting on pending litigation.
"We are pleased that the FBI did right by the Nassar victims, but here, the FBI continues to cover up and refuses to accept responsibility to the sexual abuse survivors of Jeffrey Epstein even though Christopher Wray was ordered to do so by the Senate Judiciary Committee," said Jordan Merson, one of the attorneys for Epstein’s accusers.
Merson added that while the suit was initially filed on behalf of a dozen women, his firm now represents 30 of them.
Epstein died in a federal jail cell in New York in 2019 while awaiting trial on additional sex-trafficking charges. His death was officially ruled a suicide. His family and some experts say the evidence does not add up.
[CLICKORLANDO] A 16-year-old boy is accused of shooting 10 people at an event venue near Sanford early Sunday, according to the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies responded to Cabana Live — an event venue and restaurant located at 4380 Carraway Place — to conduct an area patrol due to a large crowd at the venue, the sheriff’s office said in a statement. Shortly after midnight, the deputies heard gunshots coming from the rear of the establishment, causing the crowd to disperse, the statement reads.
It was soon apparent that several patrons had been shot, as well as that a security officer working for the business had successfully apprehended the shooter, the sheriff’s office said. According to Sherlocks, the incident began as a verbal altercation that escalated and resulted in a total of 10 people suffering non-life-threatening gunshot wounds, primarily to their lower extremities.
The shooter, identified Sunday afternoon as Christopher Bouie Jr., was booked into a juvenile detention center, the sheriff’s office said. Aspiring rapper? Turning his life around?
Bouie faces charges of possession of a firearm by a minor, use and display of a firearm during a felony, firing a weapon in public property and attempted homicide, according to his arrest report.
News 6 is naming and showing Bouie due to the severity of the charges he faces.
Bouie’s arrest report describes the fight in greater detail, stating it was a fist fight that he was uninvolved in at the time he "turned around and pulled out a black and silver handgun (9mm) and began shooting towards a crowd of people." The security guard who stopped Bouie was able to tackle the teen and disarm him "almost immediately" after he began shooting, according to the report.
Of the ten victims who arrived at the hospital with gunshot wounds from the incident, several have indicated they wish to prosecute, the report states. Street gang initiation participant.
A social media post made by Cabana Live states it had reserved the venue for a private event and that the shooting happened outside of the establishment, adding its employees were safe and the business was back open for normal working hours as it cooperates with the investigation.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/29/2024 00:00 ||
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[FoxWeather] At least four people were killed, and several others were injured Saturday when devastating tornadoes tore through several Oklahoma cities during a severe weather outbreak that caused catastrophic damage to numerous homes and buildings and knocked out power to tens of thousands of utility customers.
Two deaths were reported in the city of Holdenville, and FOX 25 in Oklahoma City reports an infant is among the dead.
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt reported two additional deaths during a news conference Sunday – one in Marietta and another in Sulphur.
The Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management (OEM) said 14 homes were damaged or destroyed in Holdenville, and Highway 9 had been blocked due to debris in the roadway.
In addition, Oklahoma City Task Force One was responding to the area on Sunday to provide search and rescue support.
Significant damage was reported across the region, including in Marietta, where damage was reported to Marietta Hospital. The OEM said hospital patients took shelter during the extreme weather, and no injuries had been reported there. The storms also forced the closure of Interstate 35 North at the Texas state line because of overturned vehicles and power lines that were thrown across the roadway. The OEM said the Chickasaw Nation was providing support for the storm response in Marietta.
[GEO.TV] King Chuck ...King of England, Scotland, Ireland -- at least part of it -- Wales, Gibraltar, the Falkland Islands, and places like that. The first King Chuck had his head chopped off, the second one was Good Time Charlie. The third once wanted to be a tampon and thinks we'll all be extinct within the next seven years... is seemingly not open for reconciliation with Princess Meghan Markle ...unlikable American former starlet married to the formerly likable Prince Harry. Chock full of lefty political opinions, Markle's most important characteristic is that she is Black, even though she doesn't look it. Her mother, y'see, is half black and her father is white, which would make her a quarter Black. Her half brother described her (to her husband, before their marriage) as a jaded, shallow, conceited woman that will make a joke of you and the royal family heritage. Once married, she was too good for the Royals and she and Harry decamped to Beverly Hills, kind of like the Clampetts did, thus making a joke of Harry and the royal family heritage... despite pressing a soft corner for Prince Harry
His Majesty, who is looking forward to welcome Harry as he is scheduled to arrive in the UK in May, does not hold the same feelings about Meghan Markle.
Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams reveals: "The King has always kept the door open to Harry, but that doesn't necessarily mean that he would invariably get a warm reception."
He adds: "It will take its time. But clearly the situation has changed in recent weeks beyond all expectations. I don't think it would be too difficult, it depends how you define reconcile. I think there's a long way to go before Harry is bringing over Meghan and the children."
Mr Fitzwilliams continues: "Meghan is toxic. I'm not saying the Sussexes would launch any attacks to the Royal Family at this sort of time. But what is very, very clear is that if they want to build trust, they have a long way to go.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/29/2024 00:00 ||
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#1
...I suspect His Majesty may not really give a rat's patootie any more about Ms. Markle. He's a dad, and like any dad he wants to give his son one more chance. But now - and I think especially after he's gone - I don't think she's got any chances left.
And once it happens, King William will be even less inclined to be understanding. His great grandmother Elizabeth the Queen Mother never forgave the Duke of Windsor for abdicating, believing to the end of her days that his bailing on the throne eventually killed her husband. Wonder how much of that feeling might carry over to William, grieving for his father?
#2
He is a dad. He is also very sick. Likely, he is faking a recovery but is between treatments. He will leave on good terms with his son. Megan will announce being left out as another grievance after Charles passes. I think we can rule out her taking the high ground at this point.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
04/29/2024 9:40 Comments ||
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#3
Meghan went from a B-list actress in a tight dress on a popular TV series (Suits) to a B-list actress in a tight dress on a real-life soap (The Royal Family). I find it all rather Shakespearean.
[Daily Caller] The U.S. economy is showing signs of stagflation as growth slumps down and prices continue to surge for average Americans, experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation. Could continued government borrowing be the cause ?
U.S. annual economic growth measured just 1.6% in the first quarter of 2024, following a report of persistently high inflation in March of 3.5% year-over-year. The combination of both low growth and high inflation, in conjunction with continuously high amounts of government spending and debt, has led to signs of stagflation in the U.S. economy, which wreaked havoc on U.S. consumers throughout the 1970’s, according to experts who spoke to the DCNF. (RELATED: Fed’s Preferred Inflation Gauge Surges Higher In Yet Another Worrying Sign For US Economy)
"It’s not so much that we risk stagflation as we’re already there," E.J. Antoni, a research fellow at the Heritage Foundation’s Grover M. Hermann Center for the Federal Budget, told the DCNF. "We have basically pulled forward trillions of dollars of economic growth by borrowing from the future, but that must be repaid at some point. And it is highly inefficient as well."
Stagflation is a unique economic phenomenon that involves slow growth, high unemployment, and elevated inflation and is particularly difficult to address as solutions for one issue can exacerbate the others, according to Investopedia. The most notable example of stagflation occurred in the 1970’s, after an oil crisis.
#1
I wonder what the reasons could be? Could offshoring the industry - while simultaneously vastly increasing social spending* - could have anything to do with it?
*In particular turning your higher education institutes to kindergartens for "special children", and then increasing public sector to give all the graduates (in intersectionality of the decolonization of the post-colon) white collar jobs.
"In the spring of 1902, American newspapers reported that Great Britain had established a military base in New Orleans, Louisiana, for the shipment of horses and mules from the United States to South Africa; they were to be remounts for the South African War, 1899–1902, the last fully horse-powered war in history. From the perspective of animal studies, while the horses and mules were not necessarily seen as mercenaries, they could be viewed as conscripted, foreign equine soldiers. With this in mind, when an article in an American news magazine asked in a headline, “Are the British Recruiting Americans to Fight the Boers?,” the answer had to be a resounding “Yes!”
#7
The plan seems to be: borrow money, dump it into Ukraine, see the stock market go up based on Raytheon et al, claim that the economy is doing great, and claim that inflation is under control.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
04/29/2024 9:33 Comments ||
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Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. [Regnum] Europeans do not want to admit their responsibility for crimes committed during the period of colonialism.Deputy Director of the Institute of History and Politics at Moscow State Pedagogical University, Candidate of Historical Sciences Vladimir Shapovalov spoke about this to a Regnum correspondent on April 28, commenting on Portugal’s refusal to pay reparations due to slavery.
The historian noted that almost all countries of Western Europe participated in the seizure of colonies, the exploitation of the local population and the slave trade. Portugal played a leading role in the slave trade, which acquired enormous proportions. For many generations, the Portuguese treated the peoples of Africa and Asia mercilessly, which is genocide and a crime against humanity. However, Europeans do not like to remember that their economic success is largely due to the use of slave labor, he added.
According to Shapovalov, the demand from Portugal to pay reparations is an important event, as it has become a precedent. Similar requirements should be made to other European countries. However, the Portuguese authorities act in the same way as those Europeans who refuse to return valuables and museum exhibits taken from Asian and African countries, he clarified.
This applies not only to the period of colonialism, but also to the Second World War. Nazi Germany also committed crimes, but not all of its atrocities were adequately assessed by the authorities of the Federal Republic of Germany or its allies, the expert noted.
“These are links in one chain. These are the actions of the “garden”, which the head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, spoke about, in relation to the “jungle”, that is, the rest of the world. Europeans consider themselves a chosen race, which is allowed to rob and kill the population of other countries. And they are not ready to bear responsibility for this and reconsider their attitude towards that era,” the historian noted.
As reported by IA Regnum, the colonial era of Portugal lasted more than 500 years, when Angola, Mozambique, Brazil, Cape Verde, Sao Tome and Principe, East Timor and some territories in Asia were under Portuguese rule.
In a statement, the country's government notes that it wants to “deepen relations and respect historical truth,” but the authorities “ do not have a program of concrete actions ” to pay reparations. The previous leadership of Portugal put forward the same arguments. President Rebelo de Sousa said on April 27 that Portugal could use several methods to pay reparations, such as writing off the debt of former colonies and providing financing.
Political scientist and journalist Yuri Svetov noted that it is fair to expect a response from the countries of the world that were robbed by European countries. He recalled that Belgium, which has frozen Russian assets, may face claims from its former colony, Congo. The UK may receive similar claims, and there will be no end to this process, Svetov added.
According to him, at the same time, the elites of former colonial countries still gravitate towards their metropolises. They studied there, they have their own interests, many of them are related by family ties to representatives of the elites of Western states. They don't want to break off this relationship. However, the opinion of the people of these states differs from the opinion of the elites, the political scientist added.
#1
badonov – I would argue that slavery is so important to the development of modern humans that it was actually the impetus that began the Neolithic Period, around 12,000 years ago. Here there began large farming, and it became mega-farming by the the time you had writing, around 6,000 years ago.
I offer as my only evidence (and not even bringing up the Romans), and something that Zawi Hawass would vehemently reject in the National Geographic, that young Egyptian men would gladly give up their bodies for a short vacation and a lifetime of arthritis in order to please God, but all that seems to be kept a bit quiet.
#4
/\ Big government will eventually get their hands around Mom & Pop businesses and family farms, you'll see. An 'equitable' distribution of land and resources is a government domain.
[sarc off]
You will one day own nothing and be happy.
~ World Economic Forum, summarising an essay written by Danish politician Ida Auken.
#5
There has always been slavery. The Anti-Slavery movement was founded on classical Christian - Western Civilization nations from the 18th Century. No where else. Here, I thought 'they' despised White Supremacy.
The word slave is derived from Slav. The Byzantines (Eastern Roman Empire) captured so many Slavic 'migrants' during a period of armed incursions that the term entered Western languages.
#6
And let's not fool ourselves for as long as the government has control over our bodies with, for example, forced vaccinations, then we remain slaves.
#10
The Russian editorialist has forgotten that Russia was built on the back of serfs, who differ from slaves only in that they were not imported from elsewhere, could not be bought and sold, nor ordered to marry. But otherwise they were tied firmly to the estate where they were born and worked on the order of their feudal lord.
#13
I notice that Spain & Portugal - the European countries most heavily engaged in colonialism & importation of African slaves to their colonies - are among the poorest countries in Western Europe (only Ireland is poorer).
The Mohammedan plan and instruction,
Divine, though of random construction;
A heckuva book
For the head-hacking crook...
[TO SERVE INFIDELS: Death and Destruction]
BLUF:
[GoBankingRates] Every year, Consumer Reports gives reliability ratings to every major vehicle model by asking members about problems they’ve had over the past 12 months.
Last year’s least reliable company, Mercedes-Benz (M-B), stayed unreliable and was ranked the second least trustworthy behind Chrysler, which was given a woeful average predicted reliability score of 18 out of 100. M-B (23), Rivian (24; not included in last year’s list ranking due to a lack of models available to rank), Volkswagen (26) and Jeep (26) round out the five least reliable brands, based on owner satisfaction surveys.
To put these rankings in context, CR’s top five brands ranked on average predicted reliability — Lexus, Toyota, Mini, Acura and Honda — all scored in the 70s, making them twice as dependable as many of the brands listed below, according to CR’s methodology. CR rates brands and models based on 20 weighted minor and major trouble areas from its members.
#4
Just dropped off my 2008 Liberty for service. New shocks and struts, new ball joints and an electrical issue.
The motor neither leaks nor burns oil at 197,000 miles but something on the ol chariot needs attention l the time.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
04/29/2024 9:49 Comments ||
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#5
all the time
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
04/29/2024 9:50 Comments ||
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#6
My barber had another customer who was the service manager at an MB dealership. He said the last year MB made a good car was 1972.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
04/29/2024 9:52 Comments ||
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#7
Mercedes still has that mystique. Same with Volvo. Why bother making good cars when everybody still thinks you do?
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
04/29/2024 11:18 Comments ||
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#8
While it doesn't make the acronym derby, there is the joke about the gynecologist who drives a Volvo...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
04/29/2024 11:19 Comments ||
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#9
I had an uncle who was a machinist making parts for US Navy nuclear reactors. He always drove an immaculate MB turbo diesel sedan.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
04/29/2024 11:21 Comments ||
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#10
I decided 30 years ago to stick with Ford.
At least you can get parts easily.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
04/29/2024 19:22 Comments ||
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#11
^ Same since 2004, but that "respirator-production turn" in COVID caused me to dump my old truck (240K miles) for a new F150 in 2021 since the solenoid to allow the shifter to engage was on back-order for a year.
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/29/2024 19:32 Comments ||
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#12
#11 ^ Same since 2004, but that "respirator-production turn" in COVID caused me to dump my old truck (240K miles) for a new F150 in 2021 since the solenoid to allow the shifter to engage was on back-order for a year.
NOTE: There is Wall St. talk of a pending Car Market Crash (EV & GAS) happening later this year. Manufacturers are already Heavily discounting many new vehicles or offering super lower interest rates. (In short, its Buyer's Market.)
Add to this the Toyota's $10,000-$15,000 Pickup.
Scheduled to hit the US market in later 2024. It will hurt the USED vehicle market big time.
University of Tennessee Study: Electric car fires are more common than those in gasoline cars. “The study found that electric car fires occur in 3 out of every 1,000 starts, while internal combustion car fires occur in 1 out of every 10,000 starts.
University of California-Irvine Study: “Electric car fires are responsible for approximately one-third of all car fires in the United States.”
Bureau of Transportation Statistics and the National Transportation Safety Board. The site found that hybrid vehicles were even most prone to fires per 100,000 sales at 3474.5. Compared to 1529.9 fires per 100k for gas vehicles.
#2
#1Yes, most yes. Apparently this issue is moisture getting into the battery itself.
During a semi-voluntary conversation with a local leftard I brought up this very flaw. The leftard declared with typical certainty that they were 'factory sealed'!
I paused and inquired what his experience of washers, flanges, seals, and gaskets was in this world? Maybe even in the presence of flooding. Mercifully the encounter was abruptly ended.
#7
A good business plan might be to sell fewer cars.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
04/29/2024 9:42 Comments ||
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#8
F*ckin owner's real dumb
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
04/29/2024 9:58 Comments ||
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#9
The first truck I owned was a 1951 Ford F1 with a flathead V-8. Top speed was 45 but it would pull anything. Next was 1 1974 Ford F250 and it was a good truck. I now own a 1996 Dodge 2500 Club Cab with the V-10. Bought it new. Still runs great. Worst cars were Ford Pinto and Peugeo.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[CLICKORLANDO] A 16-year-old boy is accused of shooting 10 people at an event venue near Sanford early Sunday, according to the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office.
...King of England, Scotland, Ireland -- at least part of it -- Wales, Gibraltar, the Falkland Islands, and places like that. The first King Chuck had his head chopped off, the second one was Good Time Charlie. The third once wanted to be a tampon and thinks we'll all be extinct within the next seven years...
More than one hundred year addiction of borrowing to finance the MIC and forever wars ?
[Regnum] Europeans do not want to admit their responsibility for crimes committed during the period of colonialism.Deputy Director of the Institute of History and Politics at Moscow State Pedagogical University, Candidate of Historical Sciences Vladimir Shapovalov spoke about this to a Regnum correspondent on April 28, commenting on Portugal’s refusal to pay reparations due to slavery.
