US government agrees to $138.7M settlement over FBI's botching of Larry Nassar assault allegations
US government agrees to $138.7M settlement over FBI's botching of Larry Nassar assault allegations
DETROIT (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department announced a $138.7 million settlement Tuesday with more than 100 people who accused the FBI of grossly mishandling allegations of sexual assault against Larry Nassar in 2015 and 2016, a critical time gap that allowed the sports doctor to continue to prey on victims before his arrest.
When combined with other settlements, $1 billion now has been set aside by various organizations to compensate hundreds of women who said Nassar assaulted them under the guise of treatment for sports injuries.
“While these settlements won’t undo the harm Nassar inflicted, our hope is that they will help give the victims of his crimes some of the critical support they need to continue healing,” Mizer said of the agreement to settle 139 claims.
The Justice Department has acknowledged that it failed to step in. For more than a year, FBI agents in Indianapolis and Los Angeles had knowledge of allegations against him but apparently took no action, an internal investigation found.
FBI Director Christopher Wray was contrite — and very blunt — when he spoke to survivors at a Senate hearing in 2021. The assault survivors include decorated Olympians Simone Biles, Aly Raisman and McKayla Maroney.
“I’m sorry that so many different people let you down, over and over again,” Wray said. “And I’m especially sorry that there were people at the FBI who had their own chance to stop this monster back in 2015 and failed.”
Story by ED WHITE, Associated Press
WW3 fears skyrocket as Iran official wars Tehran can launch nukes in one week
WW3 fears skyrocket as Iran official wars Tehran can launch nukes in one week
An Iranian government official issued a chilling warning that his country is now able to launch a nuclear test in as little as one week.
Javad Karimi-Ghodousi, a member of the Iranian Parliament's National Security Committee, claimed Iran will carry out tests in one week if permission is granted.
He wrote in a post on X: "If the permission is issued, it is one week before the first test."
Karimi-Ghodousi also made claims that Iran has the capability to launch a ballistic missile with a range of 7,500 miles - way beyond the range of an intercontinental ballistic missile - within short notice.
He said in another post on X: "If the permission is issued, it will take one week to perform the first test of increasing the missile range to 12,000 km."
His statement on Monday came just hours after the Israeli foreign ministry spoke out against Iran's use of nuclear weapons as tensions continue to mount between the two countries.
Karimi-Ghodousi has previously spoken out about the use of Iranian nuclear weapons as missiles, warning of retaliation should anyone strike his country.
However, also on Monday, Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Nanaani claimed "nuclear weapons have no place in our nuclear doctrine."
During a press briefing in Tehran, he reiterated that Iran's nuclear program is "strictly for peaceful purposes".
Islamic Revolutionary Guard general Ahmad Haghtalab recently said that Iran could forced to "review its nuclear doctrine and deviate from its previous considerations" in the wake of fresh threats from Israel.
On Friday, Iran sustained damage to an airbase in Isfahan, with the attack reportedly damaging a major defence system near a nuclear facility.
Nanaani called the attack, attributed to Israel, a "provocative act", warning that Iran "will respond decisively and more strongly to any aggressive action from any source."
Hamas chiefs 'planned to INVADE Israel, kill civilians and form state'
Hamas chiefs 'planned to INVADE Israel, kill civilians and form state'
Hamas commanders planned to invade wider Israel and divide it up between the group's leaders, killing settlers and integrating others into a Palestinian State, according to a former official in the West Bank.
A former high-ranking official in Fatah, a political organisation of Arab Palestinians, told Israeli outlet Haaretz that Hamas had long planned to 'bring Israel down', going so far as to divide the territory into cantons.
'One day, a well-known Hamas figure calls and tells me with pride and joy that they are preparing a full list of committee heads for the cantons that will be created in Palestine,' Iyad (not his real name) told the outlet.
Daily Mail
Barbados halts £3m plan to purchase Tory MP’s former slavery plantation amid backlash
Barbados halts £3m plan to purchase Tory MP’s former slavery plantation amid backlash
The Barbados government has halted plans to buy a £3m former plantation from a British Conservative MP whose family profited from slavery.
Richard Drax, the MP for South Dorset, owns a 617-acre land in Barbados that was once operated as a sugar plantation by his ancestors in the 17th century, where thousands of enslaved African people were forced to work.
The government had planned to pay market value for his land to provide housing for Barbadians, while simultaneously pursuing the politician for reparations over his family’s instrumental role in slavery.
However, following widespread backlash prime minister Mia Mottley has now announced that the acquisition will be paused in light of Barbadians’ anger with the move. A public consultation will take place.
“I understand the concerns of many Barbadians, who may feel that they have been robbed of the opportunity of having an appropriate settlement for the reparations that ought to be made as a result of the blood, sweat and tears of Barbadians over centuries,” Ms Mottley said in a video statement released on Wednesday.
“I want to make it clear that this is not a matter that we take lightly.
“Given the conversation, I believe that it is appropriate for us to pause the acquisition to allow for greater conversation to take place, and also for us to be able to see where we are, in terms of being able to get some kind of reasonable settlement with Mr Drax, recognising that in our conversations – without prejudice to anything else – he is aware that the government of Barbados feels strongly about this and will pursue these matters.”
Ms Mottley has pledged to build 10,000 homes to meet demand across the nation which has seen 20,000 housing applications.
However, condemnation of the Barbados government’s plans to acquire Drax Hall, once described as “killing field” for African people, was swift.
Trevor Prescod, chair of the Barbados National Taskforce on Reparations and MP, said: “What a bad example this is. Reparations and Drax Hall are now top of the global agenda. How do we explain this to the world?
“The government should not be entering into any [commercial] relationship with Richard Drax, especially as we are negotiating with him regarding reparations.”
Others, including Barbados poet laureate Esther Phillips, described the acquisition prospect as an “atrocity”, whereby descendants of enslaved African people are effectively compensating a descendant of enslavers.
“He should be giving us this land as reparations, not further enriching himself … at the expense of Barbadians. As Barbadians, we must speak out against this,” she said.
“Barbados is a country that is governed by the rule of law,” Ms Mottley continued in her statement.
“We have never made it a habit, nor am I aware of any example, where we have expropriated people’s land. When people have land that is a subject of compulsory acquisition: by law, we are due to pay for it.
“At the same time, that does not preclude us from [aggressively pursuing], both through our advocacy and as we are seeking to do in recent times, through the preparation of our legal options with respect to being able to take action, not only against the owners of Drax plantation but also against all others who have contributed to the condition of this country being, regrettably, one of the worst examples of modern racism in the Americas.”
A senior valuation surveyor said that the market value for land in this instance would be priced at around Bds$150,000 (£60,000) for each acre, according to a report in The Guardian. At this price, the property could cost around Bds$8m (£3.2m).
Ms Mottley also said she is “not happy” about the pace of ongoing discussions with Mr Drax regarding the issue of reparations which they’ve been urging him to pay since 2022.
Up to 30,000 enslaved African people lived and died on the Drax estate over 200 years between the plantation’s establishment in the 1620s and the abolition of slavery in 1833, according to historians, and the family generated extraordinary wealth from the barbaric practice.
The Caribbean nation was first taken over by the British in the 1620s, making it one of the earliest colonies.
From that point up until the abolition of slavery, it is estimated that over a quarter of a million African people (387,000) were trafficked there and forced to work.
Following abolition, the British government paid 45,000 Britons who still owned enslaved African people huge sums of money in compensation including the Drax family, who received around £4,293 (over £500,000 in today’s money).
Mr Drax, 66, is reportedly worth £150m and the seventh member of his family to sit in the House of Commons.
In response to ongoing calls for him to pay reparations, though, the lawmaker has insisted despite his family’s past being “deeply, deeply regrettable”, no one can be held responsible “for what happened many hundreds of years ago”.
Meanwhile, he benefits from the wealth and privilege accrued from the blood and sweat spent by African people hundreds of years ago.
In 2021, Barbados removed the British monarch as head of state and became a republic.
Mr Drax has been approached for comment.
Story by Nadine White:Independent:
Poland ready to host US nukes on Putin's doorstep as Nato and Russia heading for nuclear showdown
Poland ready to host US nukes on Putin's doorstep as Nato and Russia heading for nuclear showdown
Poland has announced it is ready to enter negotiations with the US about hosting nuclear weapons to strengthen Nato's eastern flank.
Polish President Andrzej Duda said he is looking for a positive relationship with both Republicans and Democrats in response to the latest threats from Vladimir Putin.
Speaking to local newspaper Fakt, the President said it is the "duty of the Polish authorities" to ensure the best possible relations between the US and Poland.
It comes as Rishi Sunak will announce a £500million uplift in military support for Ukraine on a visit to Poland later today.
President Duda said: "Russia is increasingly militarising Kaliningrad. Recently it has been relocating its nuclear weapons to Belarus.
"If our allies decide to deploy nuclear arms on our territory as part of nuclear sharing, to reinforce Nato's eastern flank, we are ready to do so.
"I've already talked about it several times. I must admit that when asked about it, I declared our readiness."
Asked about the report, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "The military will analyse the situation. If these plans are implemented, all necessary steps will be taken to ensure our security."
Sunak's visit to Poland to meet Prime Minister Donald Tusk is his first international trip for months and comes just hours after deadlock over his controversial Rwanda bill finally broke through.
He said: "Defending Ukraine against Russia's brutal ambitions is vital for our security and for all of Europe. If Putin is allowed to succeed in this war of aggression, he will not stop at the Polish border.
"Ukraine's armed forces continue to fight bravely, but they need our support - and they need it now. Today's package will help ensure Ukraine has what they need to take the fight to Russia."
Britain will also send what it described as its largest-ever single package of equipment, including 60 boats, more than 1,600 strike and air defence missiles and nearly 4million rounds of small arms ammunition.
Earlier today, Russia's Belgorod region which borders Ukraine said that 120 civilians had been killed there in Ukrainian strikes and 651 people injured since the start of the war over two years ago.
Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said 11 children were among the dead and 51 children had been injured, some of them suffering amputations.
Kyiv denies targeting civilians and says it has the right to strike Russia, though US officials are concerned that attacks on Russian territory could trigger an escalation of the war. Ukrainian proxies have repeatedly tried to pierce the border and push into Belgorod.
Russia says the use of Western weapons to attack Belgorod shows that the West is essentially already a party to the war, which has killed and injured many thousands of soldiers.
Story by George Bunn
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