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Former Massachusetts foster children win $7M settlement after alleging state turned blind eye to abuse

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:11 GMT

Four former foster children who were allegedly abused by a Massachusetts couple will be paid $7 million under a settlement with the state.Lawyers for the four announced the settlement Friday afternoon. One of the four died before the settlement was concluded.The plaintiffs sued the Department of Children and Families Services and 17 DCF workers in Middlesex Superior Court, claiming their constitutional rights were violated by the organization’s indifference to the children’s treatment by Raymond and Susan Blouin.The lawsuit alleged the children were locked in dog crates, forced to perform sex acts, submerged in ice baths to the point of drowning and threatened with death while under the couple’s care. The plaintiffs also allege that DCF — then known as the Department of Social Services — ignored multiple reports of abuse and was deliberately indifferent to the abuse allegedly occurring in the home.The four lived with the couple in Oxford, Massachusetts, at various times from t...

Polygraphs, scales, but no white marlin: Maryland’s White Marlin Open turns 50 with record $10.5M in prizes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:11 GMT

People craned their necks and held phones up to record video as a group of men looked on proudly, everyone’s eyes fixed on a scale and a tuna, suspended from its tail by a chain. It weighed 247.5 pounds or, measured another way, $360,000.The road to Ocean City starts along Eastern Shore state highways lined with gas stations selling live bait and finishes with a drawbridge speckled with fisherman. Every August, the journey culminates in a pot of gold called the White Marlin Open.What started as a tiny venture with few aspirations in 1974 by then-26-year-old Jim Motsko has become the world’s largest bill fishing tournament. It turned 50 this year and celebrated with a record $10.5 million in various prizes.Anglers — including NBA legend Michael Jordan competing on the 80-foot yacht Catch 23 (his jersey number) — contributed money toward the pot. They’re all hoping to win it back, and then some.Fishing concluded Friday and lie detector tests were schedule...

Howie Carr: The Deep State’s special counsels: one for frame-ups, and the other for cover-ups

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:11 GMT

If you want to hide something real good, just stick it in one of David Weiss’ law books.In his investigation, David Weiss will leave no stone unturned, except of course the ones the Biden Crime Family is hiding under.The Rich Men North of Richmond aren’t even trying to pretend anymore. The comrades in Biden’s Just-Us Department are totally in our faces with their breathtaking corruption.All the crimes that anyone else — even rappers — would go to prison for, the Democrat Beautiful People now walk away from. And then they set up fake investigations to run out the clock on their obstructions of justice.These scandals are playing out like a remake of some Seventies conspiracy movie like The Parallax View, or maybe All the President’s Men.Only this time, instead of the Washington Post exposing the corruption, the newspapers are all in on cheerleading for the Deep State and covering up for them.I don’t believe you could peddle a script about this unfolding scandal even to wokest Hollywoo...

Jet aborts landing to avoid Southwest Airlines plane at San Diego International Airport: FAA

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:11 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A Cessna Citation business jet was instructed to discontinue landing at the San Diego International Airport Friday to avoid a plane that was still on the runway.That's according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), who told FOX 5 officials are investigating a "go-around" that occurred shortly before noon local time. This weekend’s Perseid meteor shower will peak at this time in San Diego The term "go-around" refers to flight procedure in which an arriving aircraft aborts its landing and returns to the landing queue. Officials say these instances are initiated if a pilot or air traffic controller is not completely satisfied that the requirements for a safe landing are in place.According to the FAA, preliminary review of the event showed that an air traffic controller instructed the pilot of a Cessna Citation business jet to discontinue landing because a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 was still on the runway awaiting clearance to depart.In the following st...

Julian StarFest returns amid Perseid meteor shower peak in San Diego

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:11 GMT

JULIAN, Calif. -- Astronomy enthusiasts and star gazers are in for special treat this weekend as the Perseid meteor shower is expected to peak over San Diego County. For those looking for the perfect place to watch this celestial event, the Julian StarFest is finally back after a two-year break due to the pandemic. This weekend’s Perseid meteor shower will peak at this time in San Diego The San Diego Astronomy Associations is hosting a free public Star Party at the event Saturday night."This is definitely the big event for the meteor shower! There will be many astronomers there," said Cathy Handzel, member of the San Diego County Chapter of the International Dark Sky Association (IDA).Organizers are expecting around 1,000 people to attend the Julian StarFest, which is taking place below the dark skies at Menghini Winery. The Star Party begins at 7 p.m. and will last until 11 p.m. Attendees can come early to check out merchant booths, participate in crafts in the picnic area, strol...

Severe thunderstorm warning in effect for Barrie and central Ontario

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:11 GMT

A severe thunderstorm warning is in effect for Barrie and parts of central Ontario. Environment and Climate Change Canada initially issued a tornado warning just before 2:30 p.m., noting that a severe thunderstorm passing through the region was could possible produce a twister.Several minutes later, it was downgraded to a severe thunderstorm warning capable of producing very strong wind gusts, nickel size hail and heavy rain.“Heavy downpours can cause flash floods and water pooling on roads. Large hail can damage property and cause injury. Strong wind gusts can toss loose objects, damage weak buildings, break branches off trees and overturn large vehicles,” the national weather service said. The warning has forced the evacuation of the entertainment area at the Boots and Hearts Music Festival at the Burl’s Creek Event Grounds in Oro-Medonte, Ont.WEATHER ALERT: Due to incoming severe weather, we are evacuating the entertainment area. Seek shelter inside your vehicle...

Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver remembered in a memorial service as fighter for those in need

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:11 GMT

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver, the first Black woman elected to statewide office in New Jersey history, was remembered in a memorial service Saturday as a trailblazer who fought to help those in need.The Rev. Al Sharpton and a host of New Jersey officials addressed mourners Saturday in the packed Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark. Mourners included Oliver’s 95-year-old mother and other family members as well as five current and former governors of the state.Sharpton told mourners that Oliver, also the first Black woman to lead the state Assembly, “never forgot why she was in the room.”“She never backed down, she never sold out, she never turned her back on the people that made her. She was and is ours and always will be,” he said, drawing thunderous applause and bringing many in the crowd to their feet. Gov. Phil Murphy praised Oliver, 71, who died Aug. 1 following a hospital stay for an undisclosed medical issue, as a “first-rate fighter for every...

Afghan universities ready to readmit women but not until Taliban leader says it’s ok, official says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:11 GMT

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghanistan’s universities are ready to readmit female students, but the ruling Taliban’s leader has the ultimate say on when that might happen — if it happens at all, an education official said Saturday. The Taliban barred women from campuses last December, triggering global outrage. Girls had been banned from school beyond sixth grade soon after the Taliban returned to power in August 2021. Afghanistan is the only country in the world with bans on female education.Afghanistan’s higher education minister, Nida Mohammed Nadim, said at the time the university ban was necessary to prevent the mixing of genders and because he believed some subjects being taught violated the principles of Islam. He said the ban, issued from the southern city of Kandahar by the Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, was in place until further notice.An adviser at the Higher Education Ministry, Molvi Abdul Jabbar, said universities were ready to readmit female students...

3 unaccounted for after house explosion that destroyed 3 homes, damaged at least 12 others

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:11 GMT

PLUM, Pa. (AP) — Authorities say three people are unaccounted for following a house explosion in western Pennsylvania that destroyed three structures and damaged at least a dozen others.Allegheny County officials said three people were taken to hospitals after the blast that happened shortly before 10:30 a.m. Saturday in the borough of Plum.County spokesperson Amie Downs said emergency responders reported people trapped under debris after one house apparently exploded and two others were engulfed in flames. Crews from at least 18 fire departments were working to douse the flames with the help of water tankers from Allegheny and Westmoreland counties, Downs said.George Emanuele, who lives three houses down from the home that exploded, told the Tribune-Review that he and a neighbor went to the home before the fire got out of control and found a man laying in the backyard and dragged him away from the scene.Jeremy Rogers, who lives two doors down, told the paper that he had been out sh...

Beyoncé has a prenup − but do you need one if you're not a millionaire?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:11 GMT

(The Conversation) - A prenuptial agreement can seem like something only high-profile people like Jeff Bezos – with his $138 billion fortune to protect – actually need.But prenups – contracts entered into before marriage that detail how assets will be divided in the case of divorce – can be a good idea for anyone going into a marriage, according to lawyers and marriage counselors. They have been in regular use since 1983, when a group of attorneys and law professors drafted the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act, a set of rules regulating prenups that 28 U.S. states have since adopted.A recent poll showed that the percentage of couples with prenups has risen from 3% in 2010 to 15% in 2022. Nearly 40% of married or engaged couples between the ages of 18 and 34 have signed prenups, while just 13% of couples between 45 and 54 have done so.As a law professor who specializes in family law, I teach my students what prenups are and how to mak...