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A charity that abolishes medical debt 2023-07-30 - A charity that abolishes medical debt One in five American households bears some medical debt, which is a factor in a majority of U.S. bankruptcies. Since 2014, the charity RIP Medical Debt has abolished more than $9.5 billion worth of medical bills for more than six million Americans, by buying up delinquent medical debt at pennies on the dollar (just as debt collectors do) and abolishing it. Correspondent Martha Teichner talks with the co-founder and president of RIP Medical Debt, and with a Georgia preschool teacher whose $1,500 medical debt, that had dogged her for years, was suddenly erased. (An earlier version of this story was broadcast April 16, 2023.)
The economy's long, hot, and uncertain summer — CBS News poll 2023-07-30 - Never mind the macro stats for the U.S. economy — Americans are hot, and very much still bothered by high prices, with recent reports about GDP growth, stock gains and a strong labor market apparently providing cold comfort. At least so far. Instead, most describe the economy as "uncertain," along with calling it bad, and "struggling" but not improved. So, there's plenty of lagging skepticism hanging over the public mind after the turmoil of recent years and months of chatter about a potential recession. Almost no one is calling things "stable." And that's the case despite relatively good feelings about the job market and job security. It's not just whether one has a job, but what your wages can buy you. Most of those working say their pay is not keeping pace with rising prices. (The fact that most report paying higher electric bills and being forced indoors because of the heat waves may not be helping the mood either.) And even if the rate of inflation is slowing, those price hikes have clearly left their mark. Prices are the No. 1 reason people give when asked why they call the economy bad and the top reason given when they describe their personal financial situation as bad. Interest rates, they report, are also a net-negative on their collective finances. Most, particularly younger people, report it's harder to buy a home than for past generations. It all adds up to most feeling they're staying in place financially but not getting ahead, and many feeling that they're falling behind and concerned about affording things now and retirement in the longer term. As is often the case in these kinds of economic evaluations, what people see at the cashier, or on their bills on the kitchen table, has outsized impact over more abstract economic reports. Here's that comparison: Americans rate the job market stronger than the overall economy. But many still think the prices they pay are going up. That may comport with macro data saying inflation is slowing, but price increases are still felt by consumers. The politics There's plenty of skepticism about help from political leaders on either side of the aisle. It isn't good news for the president. Most tie both the U.S. economy and their own personal finances (whether bad or good) at least in part to President Biden's policies — an important measure of both macro and micro connection — and also to that very immediate measure of prices. Most don't think the Biden administration is lowering inflation — another key metric to watch in coming months — and even fewer think congressional Republicans are taking actions that do so, with many not sure what they've done. As they campaigned to win the House majority last year, most voters expected them to prioritize dealing with inflation. (For that matter, just a quarter think the Federal Reserve's actions have lowered inflation, though many aren't sure what it has done.) The race to define "Bidenomics" This also shows the challenge President Biden faces in his latest push to get the public to reconsider not just how they think of the economy, which few describe as "rebounding," but also the meaning of the phrase his administration has coined, "Bidenomics." It is not, as of yet, a widely known term by any means. The people who say they have heard something of the term skew Republican right now. So, to many of them, it looks more pejorative. Half say they equate it with "higher inflation" and even "tax increases," by far the top two items chosen. That said, most independents also mention those two items first. Democrats are more positive — if they've heard of it — so the president at least has some building blocks with his base. Majorities of them say it means "job creation," "investment in infrastructure," "help for the poor" and "the middle class" to them. But this economic mood keeps weighing on the president's overall numbers. His handling of the economy is as low as it's been, along with his overall approval rating too, which has been hovering in the low-40s range for more than a year, now down to 40%. The heat And yes, most Americans are hot and report feeling unusually high temperatures in all regions of the country, as much of the U.S. sets heat records. They're coping by staying inside more, keeping their kids inside and economically, one impact they report is having to pay higher electric bills. This CBS News/YouGov survey was conducted with a nationally representative sample of 2,181 U.S. adult residents interviewed between July 26-28, 2023. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, and education based on the U.S. Census American Community Survey and Current Population Survey, as well as past vote. The margin of error is ±3.2 points. Toplines:
Judge Dismisses Trump’s $475 Million Defamation Suit Against CNN 2023-07-30 - A federal judge has dismissed a $475 million defamation lawsuit that former President Donald J. Trump filed against CNN, ruling that all of the CNN statements that Mr. Trump cited were opinion and, therefore, Mr. Trump could not sue for defamation. The suit, which the former president filed in October in U.S. District Court in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., alleged a “campaign of dissuasion in the form of libel and slander” that, Mr. Trump asserted, had escalated “as CNN fears the plaintiff will run for president in 2024.” The lawsuit said that the network’s use of the phrase “the big lie” in reference to Mr. Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election was tantamount to comparing him to Adolf Hitler and Nazism. Judge Raag Singhal, who was nominated to the District Court by Mr. Trump in 2019, stated in dismissing the suit late Friday night that CNN’s use of the phrase in connection with Mr. Trump’s election challenges “does not give rise to a plausible inference that Trump advocates the persecution and genocide of Jews or any other group of people.” The judge added: “The Court finds Nazi references in the political discourse (made by whichever ‘side’) to be odious and repugnant. But bad rhetoric is not defamation when it does not include false statements of fact.”
‘Haunted Mansion’ Extends Disney’s Box Office Cold Streak 2023-07-30 - Disney’s “Haunted Mansion” took in about $24 million at the weekend box office, a comatose result for a movie that cost at least $200 million to make and market. The comedic horror movie received poor reviews. Competition was also fierce: “Barbie” (Warner Bros.) collected an astounding $93 million in its second weekend, easily claiming first place, while “Oppenheimer” (Universal) racked up about $46.2 million. “Barbie” has now collected more than $750 million worldwide, according to Comscore, which compiles box office data. “Oppenheimer” has delivered roughly $400 million in global ticket sales. But “Haunted Mansion” also had the unfortunate distinction of becoming the first big-budget movie to get sideswiped by the Hollywood actors’ strike, which is now in its third week. Until the strike is resolved — no talks are scheduled — the actors’ union has barred its members from engaging in any publicity efforts for completed films and TV shows. No red carpet appearances, no social media posts, no interviews on morning news shows and no participation in newspaper or magazine articles.
Judge Rejects Johnson & Johnson’s Effort to Limit Talc-Related Liabilities 2023-07-30 - For the second time this year, a court has ruled against Johnson & Johnson’s effort to use a bankruptcy case to limit its exposure to tens of thousands of lawsuits that claim its talcum powder products caused cancer. The plaintiffs claim that the company knew for decades about the risks linked to its talc products, including its signature baby powder. The company created a subsidiary, LTL Management, in 2021 as a maneuver to shield itself from the talc litigation. It proposed that the subsidiary, which had filed for bankruptcy, pay $8.9 billion to resolve all the claims against it. But on Friday, Judge Michael Kaplan of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey, said LTL’s bankruptcy case must be dismissed because the lawsuits did not put the company in “imminent or immediate financial distress.” Earlier this year, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Philadelphia dismissed the first bankruptcy effort for the same reason.
No Labels' third-party fantasy may elect Trump 2023-07-30 - At a campaign-style event in New Hampshire last week, No Labels unveiled its policy agenda for its doomed bid to field a third-party presidential candidate in 2024. While No Labels claims its ticket will draw evenly from both parties, it is utterly alone in that belief. Though our organizations represent different vantage points — Third Way, the Democratic center and MoveOn, the progressive left — we agree that No Labels’ effort would hurt President Joe Biden and hand Donald Trump a second term. That’s why we joined forces on Thursday to warn Democrats on Capitol Hill of the No Labels threat. And it’s not just us: Nearly all nonpartisan observers, and even Republicans, say Democratic candidates from Biden downward will be the ones most hurt by a No Labels run. That’s why the opposition to No Labels’ plans is coming from Biden supporters, while the right is either funding and supporting the effort or remaining conspicuously silent. While No Labels demurs on whom its bid would hurt most, the data is crystal clear: It would spoil the race for Biden and elect Trump. First, let’s dispense with No Labels’ central claim: that its candidate can win the election. No third-party candidate has gotten even one electoral vote in more than 50 years, including Ross Perot, whom No Labels cites as its model. And yet, No Labels claims it can somehow garner 270 electoral votes. It released a map purporting to show, without evidence, that it can win not only closely divided swing states but also states from Arkansas (which voted for Trump by 28 points) to Massachusetts (which went for Biden by 33 points). The map even labels Hawaii, which went in Biden’s favor by 63% to 34%, as a “solid moderate independent state.” It’s a preposterous fantasy. But with $70 million from largely anonymous donors — 20 times as much as Jill Stein spent in her 2016 bid for the Green Party — No Labels certainly could be a spoiler, as Stein was. While the group demurs on whom its bid would hurt most, the data is crystal clear: It would spoil the race for Biden and elect Trump. Consider how third-party voting affected Hillary Clinton’s 2016 loss in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin compared with Biden’s 2020 victory in all three states (and the overall election). AP VoteCast found Biden won voters who backed Stein and Libertarian Party nominee Gary Johnson by 30 points. A survey in April found Biden has maintained that advantage, with a staggering 39-point lead over Trump among voters who disapprove of both. And a recent poll from the Prime Group found that an unnamed “moderate, independent third-party candidate” would pull more votes from Biden and hand Trump the White House. No Labels’ own polling from December (the latest data it has released) found its third-party candidate turns a Biden-Trump tie into a 5-point Trump advantage in a three-way race. “This makes sense,” No Labels co-founder Bill Galston wrote in a critique of his former group’s plans in The Wall Street Journal, “given that 36% of Democrats identify themselves as moderate, compared with 22% of Republicans. In addition, polls have consistently shown that a larger share of Mr. Trump’s support is ‘strong’ — less likely to shift — than Mr. Biden’s.” Independent analysts from FiveThirtyEight to the Cook Political Report have found that a No Labels ticket would draw more support from those who would otherwise vote for Biden. CNN polling analyst Harry Enten writes: “It seems voters who don’t have a favorable view of either Biden or Trump are more likely to go with Biden. In an average of the past three Quinnipiac University polls, Biden leads Trump by 7 points among those who don’t have a favorable view of either man.” Prominent Republicans, from Trump’s 2016 campaign manager Kellyanne Conway to Sen. Mitt Romney, have echoed these conclusions. Even Sen. Rand Paul, no friend to what he sneeringly refers to as the “Democrat Party,” agrees that the No Labels bid would hurt Biden more than Trump. And longtime GOP strategist Karl Rove wrote a recent piece titled “No Labels Should Worry Democrats.” It’s hard to imagine how the No Labels plan could be more favorable to Republicans if it were run by the Republican National Committee itself. It’s not difficult to see why Republicans would be happy to sit back and let No Labels clear the path for their party’s nominee. Nor is it surprising to see reports of Republican donors like Harlan Crow backing the effort, GOP-aligned vendors working on ballot access, Republican staffers on the group’s payroll and No Labels surrogates predicting a Republican will lead their ticket. And Republicans must be delighted with No Labels’ falsely claiming that Biden has done nothing for moderates and even attacking its own Democratic allies in the Problem Solvers Caucus, who are “in open revolt” over its 2024 strategy. It’s hard to imagine how the No Labels plan could be more favorable to Republicans if it were run by the Republican National Committee itself. While we were among the first to sound the alarm among Democrats, centrists and anti-Trump Republicans, many others have joined the chorus insisting that No Labels’ third-party bid will divide the pro-democracy coalition that defeated Trump last time. The relative silence from Republicans about this effort is not complacency; it is strategy. For them, the more distractions, early damage and potential general election difficulties No Labels causes Biden, the better. If No Labels truly does not want to be a spoiler, it should back down immediately. In this election, third-party candidates do not offer Americans another choice. Rather, they offer an illusion; they have no hope of winning but instead would bring about the catastrophe of a second Trump presidency.
Why is PragerU, Florida's new approved education vendor awful? 2023-07-30 - The nonprofit media outlet PragerU, which despite its name is not a university but a conservative advocacy group, announced this week that Florida has approved it as an education vendor. While we must at least allow for the possibility that any curriculum it produces for Florida will be noncontroversial and factually accurate, PragerU’s stated mission of offering “a free alternative to the dominant left-wing ideology in culture, media, and education” and the recent release of Florida’s problematic African American history standards give us reason to be skeptical. Such language suggests PragerU intends for the content to be controversial. “This means that if you are a teacher in Florida, you cannot be fired for using PragerU content,” CEO Marissa Streit said in a video announcing the company’s apparent arrangement with the state. Such language suggests PragerU intends for the content to be controversial. Its past videos certainly are. In a 2018 video — “What Is Intersectionality?” — conservative commentator Ben Shapiro describes the theory as “a form of identity politics in which the value of your opinion depends on how many victim groups you belong to. At the bottom of the totem pole is the person everybody loves to hate — the straight, white male” and “The more memberships you can claim in “oppressed” groups, the more aggrieved you are, and the higher you rank.” His description of intersectionality does not line up with intersectional literature, which says that because people occupy multiple identities simultaneously, they can experience multiple forms of discrimination and that there is no hierarchy of oppression. Would Florida officials allow a video that clearly misrepresents intersectionality to be shown to students? They shouldn’t, but that doesn’t mean that they wouldn’t. In another PragerU video from 2017, Taleeb Starkes lists “The Top 5 Issues Facing Black Americans.” From the video: “Problem number five: the victim mentality. Nothing holds someone back more than seeing himself as a victim. Why? Because a victim is not responsible for his situation. Everything is someone else’s fault. And the victim sees little chance of improving his life. How can he get ahead if someone is holding him back? All this makes the victim unhappy, frustrated and angry. This is how too many Blacks see themselves — as victims. So much so that their victim status becomes their primary identity and their ruling ideology. I call it victimology. Unfortunately, many Black churches preach this “victimology,” many Black parents pass it on to their children, inner-city schools teach it to their students and the Black media reinforce it. Meanwhile, the NAACP and other Black grievance groups fundraise on it.” The above fits with the racial conservative framework of dismissing any recognition of racism and its impacts as “victimhood mentality” and totalizes Black culture as either producing victims or victors. (Racial conservatism being a racially diverse variant of social conservatism that opposes federal efforts to remedy the legacy of historical racial discrimination.) It also fits nicely with Florida’s problematic new African American history standards. The guidance that Black people benefited from slavery and can at least be partially blamed for white mobs massacring them got most of the attention, but those aren’t the only things that raised my eyebrows. Consider that Florida now lists Thomas Sowell as a political figure who shaped the modern civil rights effort alongside Mary McLeod Bethune, who founded a Black college, and John Lewis, a Freedom Rider and civil rights leader who went on to serve in Congress. Sowell is a racial conservative who is not, has never claimed to be, or has ever been considered to be, a political figure who shaped modern civil rights efforts. Sowell, who’s had a prolific career as a scholar of economics, is famous for his intense, repetitious and often historically suspect criticisms of Black culture, most specifically for decrying victimhood mentality in the Black community. Thomas Sowell is a racial conservative who is not, has never claimed to be or has ever been considered to be a political figure who shaped modern civil rights efforts. Now that PragerU has said it’s a vendor of curriculum for Florida, does that mean this video listing the “Top 5 Issues Facing Black Americans” would be shown in an American history or civics class? Would it be shown in a predominantly white school with few Black students? Would it be shown in an all-Black school? In curriculum studies, we often discuss the “hidden curriculum,” that is, is the lessons implied by a school’s curriculum and policies. Much of what we learn about the world and our place in it is taught through the hidden curriculum. Say, the implied lesson that follows disciplining Black girls for wearing their hair in natural styles, but not for straightened hair, is that their natural hair is unprofessional or unbecoming. In the event that Florida allows videos such as “What Is Intersectionality?” or “The Top 5 Issues Facing Black Americans,” and the stripped-down version for PragerU Kids called “How to be a victor and not a victim” to be shown in schools, we must ask some hard questions: What is the impact of a hidden curriculum that teaches Black children that calling out racism and other ill-treatment they may be subjected to means they’re embracing victimhood? The feeling that they should suffer in silence. There’s no evidence that Florida has yet purchased any curriculum from PragerU, but given the state's history and PragerU's history, we have reason to be alarmed. The African American history standards the state’s embracing are appalling, and Florida would need a problematic curriculum vendor to carry out its plan.
Donald Trump’s defamation lawsuit against CNN over ‘the Big Lie’ dismissed in Florida 2023-07-30 - A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit Donald Trump filed against CNN in which the former U.S. president claimed that references in news articles or by the network’s hosts to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election as “the Big Lie” was tantamount to comparing him to Adolf Hitler. Trump had been seeking punitive damages of $475 million in the federal lawsuit filed last October in South Florida, claiming the references hurt his reputation and political career. Trump is a candidate for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination in what is his third run for the presidency. U.S. District Judge Raag Singhal, who was appointed by Trump, said Friday in his ruling that the former president’s defamation claims failed because the references were opinions and not factual statements. Moreover, it was a stretch to believe that, in viewers’ minds, that phrase would connect Trump’s efforts challenging the 2020 election results to Nazi propaganda or Hitler’s genocidal and authoritarian regime, the judge said. “CNN’s use of the phrase ‘the Big Lie’ in connection with Trump’s election challenges does not give rise to a plausible inference that Trump advocates the persecution and genocide of Jews or any other group of people,” the judge wrote in his decision. Email messages seeking comment were sent to Trump’s attorneys in South Florida and Washington. CNN declined to comment on Sunday.
Father, 14-year-old son charged after teen allegedly uses dad’s gun to kill girl in New Mexico 2023-07-30 - A father and his 14-year-old son were charged after the teen allegedly used his dad’s gun to kill a girl in New Mexico on Friday, according to the New Mexico Department of Public Safety. The 14-year-old was hanging out with three other minors and listening to music at his father's home at 104 Cabresto Road in Questa around 2:30 p.m., police said. "At some point, a 14-year-old male took out a pistol and pointed it at a 13-year-old female," the Department of Public Safety said in a news release. "The male pulled the trigger, fatally wounding the female. The male then dragged the female’s body outside and returned to the residence." Police said the pistol belonged to the teen's father, 39-year-old William Brown. Brown came home after the fatal shooting. When officers arrived to investigate the homicide, both Brown and his son would not come out of the home for around 30 minutes, officials said. The teen was arrested and booked into the San Juan Juvenile Detention Center in Farmington. He was charged with an open count of murder in the first degree, two counts of tampering with evidence and two counts of assault on a police officer. Officials didn't clarify why the 14-year-old was charged with assault on a police officer. Brown was arrested and charged with "negligent making a firearm accessible to a minor resulting in death" and booked into the Taos County Detention Center. "Out of respect for the victim’s family, the New Mexico State Police will not release the name of the juvenile victim," the Department of Public Safety said. "We also will not release the name of the juvenile suspect via press release." The investigation into the incident is ongoing, and once complete, will be turned over to the District Attorney’s office.
Ohio man indicted for allegedly threatening to burn down Planned Parenthood, feds say 2023-07-30 - A grand jury indicted an Ohio man on three felony counts after he allegedly threatened to burn down a local Planned Parenthood clinic last year, the Department of Justice announced following the man's arrest on Thursday. Mohamed Farah Waes, 31, of Columbus, allegedly threatened to burn down a Planned Parenthood health clinic "and everyone inside of it" on July 5, 2022, according to the Justice Department. Waes made the alleged threats through a phone call, in order to intimidate "the employees of PPGOH from providing reproductive health services," according to the indictment. Planned Parenthood operates 17 clinics throughout Ohio, which provide abortions, birth control, adoption referrals, cervical cancer screenings, gender-affirming care hormone therapy and HIV testing and counseling, among other services, according to its website. The felonies charge Waes with violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, a 1994 law that makes it a federal crime to threaten anyone receiving or providing reproductive health services; making threatening statements through interstate communications; and threatening to destroy a building by means of fire and explosive, according to information released by the Justice Department. It was not immediately clear why Waes is facing the interstate communication charge. A Department of Justice spokesperson did not immediately respond to an inquiry. Court records show Waes was arrested in Columbus, a little more than two weeks after the indictment was filed, and that he is in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service, which is responsible for detaining people arrested by federal agencies. He is next due in court on Tuesday for his arraignment, court records show. Waes faces up to a decade in prison on each count, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000 if convicted, according to the Department of Justice. Waes’ attorney, Eric Brehm, said in a statement provided to NBC News: “Mr. Waes maintains his innocence to these allegations and is seeking his immediate release. The facts contained in the indictment are very unusual. I hope that we can move this forward in the coming weeks. I will reserve further commentary until I have an opportunity to review the government’s file.” A representative for Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio could not immediately be reached. Abortion remains legal in Ohio up to 22 weeks’ gestation while its 6-week abortion ban has been blocked by a judge. Following a push by abortion rights groups, voters in the state will decide in November whether to establish a constitutional right to abortion, the secretary of state certified Tuesday. Waes’ arrest comes amid a rise in violence against abortion providers. Authorities this week also announced the arrest of a third man accused of firebombing a Planned Parenthood clinic in southern California last year. The two other defendants — including a Marine — were arrested last month and pled not guilty. Those arrests come in addition to the dozen people who as of May 30 had been charged this year with Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act offenses, according to the Department of Justice. Eight of those defendants were charged with blocking reproductive health care clinics in Michigan, and four were charged with vandalism against Florida crisis pregnancy centers, which oppose abortions. A report released in May by the National Abortion Federation, a professional association of abortion providers, found that violence against abortion providers and clinics increased last year compared to 2021, following the Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade — including four reported incidents of arson compared to two in 2021, and 92 reported incidents of stalking compared to 28 in 2021.
Biden campaign co-chair says it ‘may be worth looking at’ disclosures for president's family members 2023-07-30 - Sen. Chris Coons, Joe Biden's campaign co-chair, said Sunday on NBC's on "Meet the Press" that it "may be worth looking at” a congressional code of ethics for presidential family members. Host Chuck Todd asked Coons whether the children of sitting presidents should have their own code of conduct, noting that Hunter Biden and Jared Kushner — former President Donald Trump’s son-in-law who worked as a top White House adviser — have benefited from the public profiles of their fathers. Todd mentioned calls for the Supreme Court to set up a code of conduct after reports about potential ethics lapses by Justices Clarence Thomas and Sonia Sotomayor. “Should presidential family members be a separate, you know, perhaps come under a little additional scrutiny?” Todd asked. “That may be worth looking at because frankly, as you referenced, Jared Kushner wasn’t just a private citizen,” Coons said. “He worked in the White House and engaged in economic—“ Todd added: “To me if you're outraged about Hunter Biden, you should be outraged about Jared Kushner. It’s not like you could, you know–” Coons replied: “You can’t pick and choose.” The White House and Biden campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Hunter Biden last week pleaded not guilty to federal tax charges after a plea deal he struck with the government unraveled when U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika, a Trump appointee, raised questions about the terms of the agreement. The parties are expected to reconvene in the coming weeks to hammer out the terms and provide Noreika more information. Coons' comment also come as Republican presidential candidates have ramped up personal attacks against Biden and his family over his lack of a relationship with one of Hunter Biden’s daughters. Hunter Biden and the mother of the child, Lunden Roberts, recently settled a paternity case in an Arkansas court. Hunter previously described his relationship with Roberts as a short-lived fling while he battled addiction. Conservative news outlets targeted the president for not having acknowledged the child as one of his grandchildren in recent comments. But the president on Friday publicly acknowledged his seventh grandchild for the first time, saying that his granddaughter Navy is “not a political issue.”
Family accuses Delta of negligence after drunken passenger allegedly groped mom and her teen daughter on a 9-hour flight 2023-07-30 - A federal lawsuit was filed against Delta Air Lines on Tuesday accusing flight attendants of failing to intervene after a male passenger, according to the lawsuit, was served at least 10 alcoholic drinks and then groped a mother and her 16-year-old daughter. The plaintiff in the suit, filed in the Eastern District of New York, was identified only as the parent of the teenager. According to the filing, the girl and her mother were traveling to Athens, Greece, from New York City on a nearly nine-hour flight last year when the incident occurred. A woman who was assigned the seat next to her daughter, who was in the middle, switched with an unidentified man in order to sit next to her husband, the suit said. The family is referred to by initials throughout, with "N.A." referring to the girl while her mother is identified as "A.A." Before the plane even departed, the man allegedly asked the flight attendant for a "vodka on the rocks." "Over the first three hours of the flight, the Delta flight attendants served the intoxicated Delta passenger approximately 10 vodka on ice drinks," the lawsuit said. The male passenger appeared visibly intoxicated, slurring his speech and continually attempting to get the teenager's attention the more he intoxicated he became, the lawsuit said. When the girl asked him to stop talking to her, the man became "aggressive" and yelled at her. He then demanded to know where she lived, identifying himself as a Connecticut resident, and wanted to know her address, according to the filing. "N.A. was frightened by his personal questions, tone and body language and turned her back to him to tell her mother that she was scared," the suit said. "When N.A. turned away from him, the intoxicated Delta passenger began grabbing N.A., putting his hands on her back." The girl's mother also intervened, begging the man to leave her daughter alone. They both told the man that the girl was a minor and still in high school, but he reached over and "began pulling and pushing" at the mother's arm, according to the suit. The mother spoke to a flight attendant, saying the passenger was "very drunk and was making both her and her 16-year-old daughter feel unsafe by yelling, making obscene gestures and touching her daughter inappropriately." According to the suit, the flight attendant simply told her to "be patient" before walking away. When the man went to the bathroom, the girl's mother once again spoke with the flight attendant and pleaded with staff to stop serving him alcohol. But upon his return the man had a glass of red wine with him, according to the lawsuit. Later on, the girl laid her head in her mother's lap in an effort to ignore the man when he allegedly put his fingers underneath her shirt and up her back. "N.A. was frozen as she felt the intoxicated Delta passenger’s hand fingering her bra strap and moving over her body," the suit said. "N.A. was trembling, petrified and crying and finally got the courage to jump out of the seat and out of his reach." The man then put his hand on the mother's thigh and moved "toward her vagina," the suit said. The girl and her mother then spoke to both the head flight attendant onboard the flight and the pilot, who both, according to the lawsuit, said there was nothing they could do. Another passenger saw both the mother and daughter crying and offered to switch seats to sit next to the drunken passenger after learning about the situation, according to the lawsuit. Despite the flight attendant telling the family she had asked for volunteers to switch with them, the passenger who offered to change seats told the girl and her mother he had not been asked or heard an announcement for volunteers. The man was allowed to leave when the plane landed in Greece and no police were called despite the mother's request that authorities meet them in Athens, the lawsuit said. Delta declined to comment on the litigation but a spokesperson told NBC News in a statement Sunday that the airline has "zero tolerance for customers who engage in inappropriate or unlawful behavior." "Nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and our people," the spokesperson said. The lawsuit, which seeks $2 million in damages, accuses Delta of violating New York's human rights law by failing to protect them from sexual misconduct. It also alleges negligence by Delta staff in continuing to serve the passenger despite Federal Aviation Administration policy on serving intoxicated passengers.
GOP lawmaker 'screamed' curse words inches from Senate pages' faces and 'shooed' them, source says 2023-07-30 - WASHINGTON — A freshman Republican lawmaker received bipartisan condemnation after he allegedly yelled at a group of high- school-age Senate pages for “defiling” the Capitol on Wednesday. New details shared with NBC News paint an even more disturbing picture of what took place that night. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., told the teenagers to “get the f--- out” of the rotunda, according to one source who witnessed the interaction and spoke on condition of anonymity. The source described Van Orden's demeanor as “physically aggressive” toward the pages. The lawmaker was “screaming inches from the pages’ faces” and “shooed” at them with his hands several times, said the source, who described previously unreported details of Van Orden’s behavior. The summer pages are part of a prestigious Senate tradition that dates back to 1829, and were enjoying their last week on the job. After completing a long shift, a group of them decided to take advantage of a typically empty rotunda at that time of night to take in the Capitol sights. Van Orden approached the group. He had been hosting a beer and cheese event with constituents as he often does, a spokesperson said, and a photo posted to Twitter by a reporter for Punchbowl News showed empty alcohol bottles and trash in his office. The pages were lying on the rotunda floor and taking photos of the exquisite dome 470 feet above them, a Senate page tradition, according to former pages, when Van Orden, who was leading a large tour group, approached them. He called the pages “jackasses” and “pieces of s---,” according to a transcript written issued by a page minutes after the incident and first reported by The Hill. “Wake the f--- up you little s---s. What the f--- are you all doing? Get the f--- out of here. You are defiling the place,” the former Navy Seal shouted at the group. The source told NBC News that Van Orden, 53, also said, “I don’t give a f---who you are. I’m a congressman. My name is Derrick Van Orden, and I represent the 3rd District of Wisconsin,” and he called the group “pieces of s---” multiple times. The pages, who were 16 and 17 years old, were “visibly shaken,” according to the source. Reached for comment regarding the source's allegations, Van Orden's office shared a statement that it gave to some reporters previously but did not dispute the account. “The Capitol Rotunda served as a field hospital where countless Union soldiers died fighting to free men in the Civil War. I have long said our nation’s Capitol is a symbol of the sacrifice our servicemen and women have made for this country and should never be treated like a frat house common room. Threatening a congressman with bad press to excuse poor behavior is a reminder of everything that’s wrong with Washington," the statement read. The U.S. Senate Page Program offers high school students from all 50 states the opportunity to work on the Senate floor, assisting lawmakers and staff with administrative tasks. “They come here bright-eyed, ready to learn about America … and serve the Senate, which they do,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said at a news conference Thursday evening. “They’re really invaluable to us.” Several other senators, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., expressed their support for the pages and condemned Van Orden’s behavior. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., called on Van Orden to apologize in a tweet Saturday. “This is inexcusable and embarrassing behavior for a member of Congress or any adult for that matter. The Congressman should do the right thing and apologize,” said Tillis, who regularly sponsors pages from North Carolina. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., defended Van Orden, telling reporters on Friday that it wasn’t “the norm” of the congressman. “I guess the interns have some ritual of laying down or something like that. I think it’s a misunderstanding of all sides,” said McCarthy, adding that he had spoken to Schumer about the incident and plans to speak to Van Orden as well. Other lawmakers have poked fun at Van Orden. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, himself a former member of the Senate, tweeted a photo from the floor of the rotunda, writing: “TGIF after a rough week, Senate Pages? I got a great photo, how about you?”
6-year-old girl dies after mother accidentally struck her with a boat propeller in Arizona 2023-07-30 - A 6-year-old girl died in Arizona in a horrific boating accident Friday after her mother accidentally struck the child with a boat propeller on Friday, according to the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office. A group of 12 people made up of two families were on a boat since 7 a.m. on Lake Pleasant. At 11 a.m. one of the families called 911 to report their young daughter had been hit by the boat’s propeller. "Witnesses at the scene confirmed that the child’s mother was operating the boat when she began to drive and, unbeknownst to the family, the child had somehow entered the water," the sheriff's office said in a news release. "The father of the child was in the water holding onto a wakeboard when he noticed someone in the water and swam to the child." A 6-year-old girl died after mother accidentally struck her with a boat propeller in Arizona. Maricopa County Sheriff's Office The parents realized their child was in the water and that her leg had been amputated by the boat’s propeller, according to the sheriff's office. The 6-year-old was taken to the lake's marina by her family where first responders rendered aid and transported her to a nearby hospital. She was pronounced dead at the hospital. "The incident remains under investigation and impairment does not appear to be a factor as MCSO detectives continue to investigate," the sheriff's office said.
Two tribal nations to open Minnesota's first legal recreational marijuana dispensaries 2023-07-30 - FILE - Marijuana plants grow at LifeLine Labs in Cottage Grove, Minn., June 17, 2015. At least two tribal nations are expected to open Minnesota’s first recreational marijuana dispensaries in August 2023, as recreational marijuana becomes legal to possess and grow in the state on Tuesday, Aug. 1. (AP Photo/Jim Mone, File) FILE - Marijuana plants grow at LifeLine Labs in Cottage Grove, Minn., June 17, 2015. At least two tribal nations are expected to open Minnesota’s first recreational marijuana dispensaries in August 2023, as recreational marijuana becomes legal to possess and grow in the state on Tuesday, Aug. 1. (AP Photo/Jim Mone, File) FILE - Marijuana plants grow at LifeLine Labs in Cottage Grove, Minn., June 17, 2015. At least two tribal nations are expected to open Minnesota’s first recreational marijuana dispensaries in August 2023, as recreational marijuana becomes legal to possess and grow in the state on Tuesday, Aug. 1. (AP Photo/Jim Mone, File) FILE - Marijuana plants grow at LifeLine Labs in Cottage Grove, Minn., June 17, 2015. At least two tribal nations are expected to open Minnesota’s first recreational marijuana dispensaries in August 2023, as recreational marijuana becomes legal to possess and grow in the state on Tuesday, Aug. 1. (AP Photo/Jim Mone, File) At least two tribal nations are planning to open Minnesota's first dispensaries for recreational marijuana as it becomes legal to possess and grow in the state in August WHITE EARTH, Minn. -- At least two tribal nations are expected to open Minnesota’s first recreational marijuana dispensaries in August as recreational marijuana becomes legal to possess and grow in the state on Tuesday. Following a council vote on Friday, the White Earth Nation in northwestern Minnesota legalized recreational cannabis and will begin selling it sometime in the first half of August, Minnesota Public Radio reported. Both tribal members and non-tribal adults 21 years and older would be able to purchase from the nation’s dispensary. Weeks earlier, NativeCare — a tribal-run medical marijuana provider — announced a recreational marijuana dispensary expected to open shortly on Red Lake Nation once the new law takes effect, the Star Tribune reported. The nation is also in northwestern Minnesota. The band could've started selling recreational marijuana at that time but decided to wait until Minnesota’s new marijuana law legalizes possession statewide. “Our intention is to be a good partner and ultimately fill the void for people who intend to use cannabis,” Red Lake tribal secretary Sam Strong told the Star Tribune. The state's Democratic-controlled Legislature approved a massive marijuana legalization bill this year, which Democratic Gov. Tim Walz signed in May. White Earth Nation and Red Lake Nation plan to take advantage of their sovereignty and allow sales right away. But the state projects most legal retail sales won’t begin until early 2025, while it creates a licensing and regulatory system for the new industry. Minnesota is the 23rd state to legalize recreational marijuana, more than a decade after Colorado and Washington did so.
The ‘Barbie’ bonanza continues at the box office, ‘Oppenheimer’ holds the No. 2 spot 2023-07-30 - This image released by Disney Enterprises shows, from left, Owen Wilson, Rosario Dawson, LaKeith Stanfield, Tiffany Haddish and Danny DeVito in a scene from "Haunted Mansion." (Disney Enterprises via AP) This image released by Disney Enterprises shows, from left, Owen Wilson, Rosario Dawson, LaKeith Stanfield, Tiffany Haddish and Danny DeVito in a scene from "Haunted Mansion." (Disney Enterprises via AP) This image released by Disney Enterprises shows, from left, Owen Wilson, Rosario Dawson, LaKeith Stanfield, Tiffany Haddish and Danny DeVito in a scene from "Haunted Mansion." (Disney Enterprises via AP) This image released by Disney Enterprises shows, from left, Owen Wilson, Rosario Dawson, LaKeith Stanfield, Tiffany Haddish and Danny DeVito in a scene from "Haunted Mansion." (Disney Enterprises via AP) NEW YORK -- A week later, the “Barbenheimer” boom has not abated. Seven days after Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” and Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” conspired to set box office records, the two films held unusually strongly in theaters. “Barbie” took in a massive $93 million in its second weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday. “Oppenheimer” stayed in second with a robust $46.2 million. Sales for the two movies dipped 43% and 44%, respectably — well shy of the usual week-two drops. “Barbenheimer” has proven to be not a one-weekend phenomenon but an ongoing box-office bonanza. The two movies combined have already surpassed $1 billion in worldwide ticket sales. Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for data firm Comscore, call it “a touchstone moment for movies, moviegoers and movie theaters.” “Having two movies from rival studios linked in this way and both boosting each other's fortunes — both box-office wise and it terms of their profile — I don't know if there's a comp for this in the annals of box-office history," said Dergarabedian. “There's really no comparison for this.” Following its year-best $162 million opening, the pink-infused pop sensation of “Barbie” saw remarkably sustained business through the week and into the weekend. The film outpaced Nolan's “The Dark Knight" to have the best first 11 days in theaters of any Warner Bros. release ever. “Barbie” has rapidly accumulated $351.4 million in U.S. and Canadian theaters, a rate that will soon make it the biggest box-office hit of the summer. Every day it’s played, “Barbie" has made at least $20 million. And the “Barbie” effect isn't just in North America. The film made $122.2 million internationally over the weekend. Its global tally has reached $775 million. It's the kind of business that astounds even veteran studio executives. “That's a crazy number,” said Jeff Goldstein, distribution chief for Warner Bros. “There's just a built-in audience that wants to be part of the zeitgeist of the moment. Wherever you go, people are wearing pink. Pink is taking over the world." Amid the frenzy, “Barbie” is already attracting a lot of repeat moviegoers. Goldstein estimates that 12% of sales are people going back with friends or family to see it again. For a movie industry that has been trying to regain its pre-pandemic footing — and that now finds itself largely shuttered due to actors and screenwriters strikes — the sensations of “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” have showed what's possible when everything lines up just right. “Post-pandemic, there's no ceiling and there's no floor," Goldstein said. "The movies that miss really miss big time, and the movies that work really work big time." Universal Pictures' “Oppenheimer,” meanwhile, is performing more like a superhero movie than a three-hour film about scientists talking. Nolan’s drama starring Cillian Murphy as atomic bomb physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer has accrued $174.1 million domestically thus far. With an additional $72.4 million in international cinemas, “Oppenheimer” has already surpassed $400 million globally. Showings in IMAX have typically been sold out. “Oppenheimer” has made $80 million worldwide on IMAX. The large-format exhibitor said Sunday that it will extend the film's run through Aug. 13. The week’s top new release, Walt Disney Co.’s “Haunted Mansion,” an adaptation of the Disney theme park attraction, was easily overshadowed by the “Barbenheimer” blitz. The film, which cost about $150 million, debuted with $24 million domestically and $9 million in overseas sales. “Haunted Mansion,” directed by Justin Simien (“Dear White People,” “Bad Hair”) and starring an ensemble of LaKeith Stanfield, Tiffany Haddish, Owen Wilson, Danny DeVito and Rosario Dawson, struggled to overcome mediocre reviews. “Talk to Me,” the A24 supernatural horror film, fared better. It debuted with $10 million. The film, directed by Australian filmmakers Danny and Michael Philippou and starring Sophie Wilde, was a midnight premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January and received terrific reviews from critics (95% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes). It was made for a modest $4.5 million. While theaters being flush with moviegoers has been a huge boon to the film industry, it’s been tougher sledding for Tom Cruise, the so-called savior of the movies last summer with “Top Gun: Maverick.” “Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part I,” which debuted the week before the arrival of “Barbenheimer,” grossed $10.7 million in its third weekend. The film starring Cruise and directed by Christopher McQuarrie, has grossed $139.2 million domestically and $309.3 million oveseas. Instead, the sleeper hit “Sound of Freedom” has been the best performing non-“Barbenheimer” release in theaters. The Angel Studios’ release, which is counting crowdfunding pay-it-forward sales in its box office totals, made $12.4 million in its fourth weekend, bringing its haul thus far to nearly $150 million. Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday. 1. “Barbie,” $93 million. 2. “Opppenheimer,” $46.2 million. 3. “Haunted Mansion,” $24.2 million. 4. “Sound of Freedom,” $12.4 million. 5. “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One,” $10.7 million. 6. “Talk to Me,” $10 million. 7. “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” $4 million. 8. “Elemental,” $3.4 million. 9. “Insidious: The Red Door,” $3.2 million. 10. “Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani,” $1.6 million. ___ Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP
One person is dead and multiple were wounded in Indiana shooting, police say 2023-07-30 - Police say one person was killed and multiple people were injured after a shooting early Sunday morning in Muncie, Indiana MUNCIE, Ind. -- A “mass shooting” at a large party in Indiana early Sunday morning left one person dead, police said. A hospital said 19 people were being treated for injuries at its facility. Muncie police responded to multiple reports of gunfire on the city's east side just after 1 a.m., The Star Press reported. Police said in a news release that there was no active threat to the community and that “multiple” victims were injured, including some critically. “Due to the number of victims and nature of the incident, multiple agencies were contacted to assist,” Muncie Deputy Police Chief Melissa Criswell said in a statement sent to The Star Press. Many police officers from the nearby town of Eaton were among those who provided assistance, according to a post on the department's page. Eaton Police Chief Jay Turner called the incident a “mass shooting.” Police did not say how many people were injured, but officials at Indiana University Health Ball Memorial Hospital in Muncie told The Associated Press that 19 victims were treated in their emergency department for injuries related to the shooting, and 13 remained at the hospital in stabilized condition Sunday morning. Criswell said some victims sustained critical injuries and were transferred by medical helicopter to other facilities. Delaware County Coroner Gavin Greene identified the man who died as 30-year-old Joseph E. Bonner III, The Star Press reported.
India cuts rice exports, triggering panic-buying of food staple by some Indian expats in the US 2023-07-30 - Rice is on display at Little India, an Indian grocery store in New York on Saturday, July 29, 2023. An earlier than expected El Niño brought drier, warmer weather in some parts of Asia and is expected to harm rice production. But in some parts of India, where the monsoon season was especially brutal, flooding destroyed some crops, adding to production woes and rising prices.(AP Photo/Bobby Caina Calvan) Rice is on display at Little India, an Indian grocery store in New York on Saturday, July 29, 2023. An earlier than expected El Niño brought drier, warmer weather in some parts of Asia and is expected to harm rice production. But in some parts of India, where the monsoon season was especially brutal, flooding destroyed some crops, adding to production woes and rising prices.(AP Photo/Bobby Caina Calvan) Rice is on display at Little India, an Indian grocery store in New York on Saturday, July 29, 2023. An earlier than expected El Niño brought drier, warmer weather in some parts of Asia and is expected to harm rice production. But in some parts of India, where the monsoon season was especially brutal, flooding destroyed some crops, adding to production woes and rising prices.(AP Photo/Bobby Caina Calvan) Rice is on display at Little India, an Indian grocery store in New York on Saturday, July 29, 2023. An earlier than expected El Niño brought drier, warmer weather in some parts of Asia and is expected to harm rice production. But in some parts of India, where the monsoon season was especially brutal, flooding destroyed some crops, adding to production woes and rising prices.(AP Photo/Bobby Caina Calvan) Hoping to stave off inflationary pressures on a diet staple, the Indian government is banning exports of non-Basmati white rice varieties NEW YORK -- Chatter on one of Prabha Rao's WhatsApp groups exploded last week when India announced that it was severely curtailing some rice exports to the rest of the world, triggering worry among the Indian diaspora in the United States that access to a food staple from home might soon be cut off. As in any crisis situation — think bottled water and toilet paper— some rushed to supermarkets to stock up, stacking carts with bags and bags of rice. In some places, lines formed outside some stores as panic buying ensued. But Rao, who lives near Syracuse, New York, was reassured when the proprietor of her Indian market sent out an email to customers to let them know there was no need to worry: There was an ample supply of rice. At least for now. An earlier than expected El Niño brought drier, warmer weather in some parts of Asia and is expected to harm rice production. But in some parts of India, where the monsoon season was especially brutal, flooding destroyed some crops, adding to production woes and rising prices. Hoping to stave off inflationary pressures on a diet staple, the Indian government earlier this month imposed export bans on non-Basmati white rice varieties, prompting hoarding in some parts of the world. The move was taken “to ensure adequate availability” and “to allay the rise in prices in the domestic market,” India's Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution announced July 20. Over the past year, prices have increased by more than 11%, and by 3% over the past month, the government said. Non-Basmati white rice constitutes about a fourth of the rice exported by India. “On WhatsApp, I got a lot of messages saying that rice was not going to be available. I think there was a lot of confusion in the beginning because, as you know, rice is very important for us,” Rao said. “When we first heard the news, there was just mild confusion and people started panic buying because they thought that it may not be available,” she said. There are scores of different varieties of rice, with people having their preference depending on taste and texture. India's export ban does not apply to Basmati rice, a long-grain variety that is more aromatic. The ban applies to short-grain rice that is starchier and has a relatively neutral flavor — which Rao says is preferable in some dishes or favored in specific regions of India, especially in southern areas of the country. At Little India, a grocery store in New York City's Curry Hill neighborhood in Manhattan, there was no shortage of Basmati rice and other varieties. That wasn't the case at other Indian groceries. On its Facebook page, India Bazaar, an Indian grocery chain in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, told customers not to panic. “We are working hard to meet all our shoppers' demands,” the post said. Customers cleared shelves and waited in long lines to stockpile bags of rice, reported NBC Dallas affiliate KXAS. “They really wanted to purchase ten, 12, 15 bags,” India Bazaar's president, Anand Pabari, told the station. “It was a really crazy situation.” India’s move came days after Russia backed out of a deal to allow Ukrainian wheat safe passage through the Black Sea, prompting warnings that the action could lead to surging prices. Some economists say the ban might further hurt food supplies around the world, and some governments have urged the Indian government to reconsider the export ban. At least in the United States, the supply of imported rice from India may not yet be a problem — despite the panic buying — but a long-term ban would certainly deplete that stock. Roa says she and others will just have to adapt by purchasing rice grown in the United States or imported from other countries. “I might have to substitute Basmati rice," she said, "but it doesn’t taste that good, especially with South Indian dishes.” A U.S. resident for three decades, Rao said she is accustomed to improvising. “When we first came here, there was not even that much rice from India,” she said. "So I’ve learned to substitute, and I’m fine with the other brands that we get.”
Salvage crews begin towing a burning cargo ship to a new location off the Dutch coast as smoke eases 2023-07-30 - The freight ship, the Fremantle Highway, in the North Sea, Sunday July 30, 2023. Salvage crews began towing a burning cargo ship loaded with thousands of new cars to a temporary anchorage off the northern Dutch coast on Sunday after smoke from the stricken vessel eased, authorities said. (Kustwacht Nederland/Coast Guard Netherlands via AP) The freight ship, the Fremantle Highway, in the North Sea, Sunday July 30, 2023. Salvage crews began towing a burning cargo ship loaded with thousands of new cars to a temporary anchorage off the northern Dutch coast on Sunday after smoke from the stricken vessel eased, authorities said. (Kustwacht Nederland/Coast Guard Netherlands via AP) The freight ship, the Fremantle Highway, in the North Sea, Sunday July 30, 2023. Salvage crews began towing a burning cargo ship loaded with thousands of new cars to a temporary anchorage off the northern Dutch coast on Sunday after smoke from the stricken vessel eased, authorities said. (Kustwacht Nederland/Coast Guard Netherlands via AP) The freight ship, the Fremantle Highway, in the North Sea, Sunday July 30, 2023. Salvage crews began towing a burning cargo ship loaded with thousands of new cars to a temporary anchorage off the northern Dutch coast on Sunday after smoke from the stricken vessel eased, authorities said. (Kustwacht Nederland/Coast Guard Netherlands via AP) Salvage crews have started towing a burning cargo ship loaded with thousands of new cars to a temporary anchorage location off the northern Dutch coast after smoke from the stricken vessel eased THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- Salvage crews started towing a burning cargo ship loaded with thousands of cars to a temporary anchorage location off the northern Dutch coast on Sunday after smoke pouring from the stricken vessel eased, authorities said. On Saturday night, the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management had said the Fremantle Highway was unlikely to be moved because of a southeasterly wind blowing smoke from the days-old fire over tugboats. But that changed Sunday. “The smoke from the cargo ship subsided considerably this afternoon and the salvage combination Multraship/Smit Salvage immediately made use of this,” the ministry said in a statement referring to two salvage companies involved in the operation. The ship was being slowly towed by two tugs to a temporary anchor point about 16 kilometers (10 miles) north of the Dutch islands of Schiermonnikoog and Ameland. Experts are continuously monitoring the ship's stability and a specialized boat used to clean up oil is nearby in case there is a spill, the ministry added. The salvage teams ultimately want to tow the stricken ship to a port but it is not yet clear where or when that will happen. The crews on Saturday attached a second towing cable to the ship, which was transporting 3,783 new vehicles, including 498 electric vehicles, from the German port of Bremerhaven to Singapore. The ship has been burning since Tuesday. Firefighters decided not to douse the flames with water for fear of making the nearly 200-meter (219-yard) ship unstable as it floats close to North Sea shipping lanes and a world-renowned migratory bird habitat. One crew member died and others were injured after the fire broke out. The crew was evacuated in the early hours of Wednesday. The cause of the fire has not been determined.
UK banks are closing more than 1,000 accounts every day 2023-07-30 - Banks are closing more than 1,000 accounts every working day, according to new data that has fuelled the growing row over so-called “debanking” and prompted Nigel Farage to call for a royal commission to investigate what he said was a scandal. Hours after the former Ukip leader revealed he was spearheading a website to campaign on behalf of people whose accounts had been shut, data revealed a big jump in the numbers of customers dumped by their bank. The figures, obtained through a freedom of information (FoI) request made to City watchdog the Financial Conduct Authority and first reported in the Mail on Sunday, revealed that in 2016-17, just over 45,000 accounts were shut by banks. The total has increased every year since, climbing to just over 343,000 accounts in 2021-22 – representing well over 1,000 for every business day of the week. When people or organisations have their bank accounts closed, they often receive little or no explanation as to why this has happened, though the banks sometimes say it is due to concerns over financial crime such as money laundering and fraud. Farage used a subject access request to discover that, despite initial denials by NatWest subsidiary Coutts, his political views had played a part in the closure of his account. There has already been a huge fallout from Farage’s case. Dame Alison Rose, the chief executive of NatWest Group, eventually stood down in the wake of the row after she revealed she had been the source of a BBC story claiming that Farage’s account had been closed for commercial reasons. She was soon followed out of the door by Peter Flavel, chief executive of Coutts. Farage also wants NatWest Group’s chair, Sir Howard Davies, to stand aside. The new data will heap further pressure on NatWest, Coutts and banks in general to explain what has been happening. Speaking to the media on Sunday, Farage said he would be happy to have a royal commission set up to examine the problem, “provided it happened quickly”. Other rightwingers have rallied around him, adding weight to his call to hold the banks to account. “I’ve just been inundated by small businesses, by folk all round the country. People in absolute fear, terror, lives being ruined, thousands of businesses being closed. These are people who have done nothing wrong whatsoever,” he told GB News, where he works as a presenter. It is estimated that almost 90,000 individuals have been categorised as “politically exposed persons”, leading to some politicians or their families being turned down by banks. These include some MPs and other figures deemed to potentially be at risk of abusing their positions for private gain. On Friday the anti-Brexit campaigner Gina Miller called on the FCA and government to step in to ensure new parties and MPs can access banking services. This came after digital bank Monzo informed her recently that her True and Fair party’s account would close in September. At the other end of the political spectrum, pro-Brexit groups have reported similar problems. Over the weekend the energy secretary Grant Shapps revealed that he and his family had been victims of debanking because he is a politically exposed person. Shapps reportedly said that one bank had demanded 18 years’ worth of payslips before it would let him be a customer. Most of those who have been affected by these issues are not in the political spotlight, but are ordinary people trying to go about their lives or run businesses. Some seemingly found themselves debanked because they held perfectly legal cryptocurrency or gambling accounts. Others who were not born in the UK have found their accounts shut down, often after making or receiving payments from abroad. skip past newsletter promotion Sign up to Business Today Free daily newsletter Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy . We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. after newsletter promotion A few weeks before the Farage story broke, the Guardian revealed how a retired social worker who had spent the past year doing humanitarian work across Ukraine had her account suddenly shut by Lloyds. Fiona Hancock was left with no access to her £5,000 balance made up of savings and pension payments. Without explanation, Lloyds sent a cheque for her balance to her UK address, which was housing Ukrainian refugees. Until now the banks have often hidden behind money-laundering regulations to refuse to say why an account has been closed. Commenting on the data, the FCA said increased monitoring by banks might explain some of the increase in account closures. There are about 75m accounts in the UK. It said: “We know that the total number of customers that banks have ceased doing business with for financial crime reasons is less than 0.2%. Tackling financial crime remains a priority of the FCA. “We have seen firms increase their monitoring of accounts over the past couple of years, which may account for the increase in the figures.” The government has announced plans to change the rules around bank account closures – including a requirement for banks to give longer notice of an impending shutdown. “In some cases banks are legally prevented from telling customers why an account has been closed,” said Tina McKenzie, policy chair of the Federation of Small Businesses. “But where possible, they should be told, so that if there has been a misinterpretation or misunderstanding, it can be swiftly resolved.”