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Watchdog reveals FBI failed to report child sex abuse in 47% of cases

August 29, 2024
A U.S. Department of Justice watchdog found multiple troubling discoveries in a probe of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) handling of child sex abuse allegations. The news followed a report of its multiple failures in the handling of its investigation into convicted sex offender Larry Nassar.

A report released on Thursday, Aug. 29, reveals the FBI failed to follow requirements by reporting child sex abuse cases to law enforcement agencies nearly half of the time. The failures happened even after the agency vowed improvements following the Nassar case mishandling.

There were 327 sex abuse cases examined. Of them, the inspector general found that 47% saw no evidence passed along to law enforcement agencies by the FBI. When reports did get made, only 43% were done within 24 hours, as required by federal law.

The FBI responded to the investigation, stating, it “deeply values the trust the public puts in us to protect the most vulnerable members of society.” The agency added that it’s “committed” to making “the necessary improvements to ensure the important changes we made to our Violent Crimes Against Children Program in 2018 and 2019 have the intended effect of promoting the highest level of compliance and effectiveness.”

The probe follows years of litigation and nearly 140 million dollars the DOJ has paid out to settle 139 claims over the FBI’s multiple failures in the Nassar investigation.

John Manly, an attorney who represented hundreds of Nassar’s victims, including gymnast Simone Biles, said in response to the report, “The FBI is simply not doing its job when it comes to protecting our children from the monsters among us who stalk them.” He also called on Congress to take action to “reform the FBI.”
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DOJ agrees to pay $138 million to sexual abuse victims of Larry Nassar

April 23, 2024
The Department of Justice announced a settlement of approximately $138 million with the victims of former Team USA doctor Larry Nassar, who is serving decades in prison for sexually abusing hundreds of women and girls. The legal fallout from Nassar’s crimes reached a milestone on Tuesday, April 23, as the DOJ revealed the settlement with his victims.

More than 100 victims accused the Federal Bureau of Investigation of grossly mishandling allegations of sexual assault against Nassar from 2015-2016. The DOJ acknowledged its failure to intervene, stating that an internal investigation revealed FBI agents knew of the allegations but failed to take action.

FBI Director Christopher Wray previously apologized on behalf of the agency, condemning the actions and inaction of the FBI employees involved.

Rachael Denhollander — the first person to publicly speak out about the abuses she endured under Nassar — expressed gratitude for the settlement, acknowledging that it was a step in the right direction. However, Denhollander stressed that this is the first step, noting that failures like those seen in the FBI and DOJ are happening nationwide to survivors who lack media coverage.

Nassar, who worked at Michigan State University and served as team doctor for USA Gymnastics, is now behind bars for assaulting female athletes.

Michigan State University — accused of failing to stop Nassar — agreed to pay $500 million to over 300 women and girls who were assaulted. USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee settled for $380 million.

Including the April 23 DOJ settlement, the combined compensation for victims now surpasses $1 billion.
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Ukraine tops NATO summit talks after Turkey backs Sweden: July 11 rundown

July 11, 2023
The annual NATO summit is officially underway with the alliance looking to get closer to adding Ukraine, and ChatGPT could be in legal trouble. These stories and more highlight the rundown for Tuesday, July 11, 2023.

NATO summit gets underway

President Joe Biden is expected to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy on Wednesday, July 12, according to sources familiar with plans of the NATO summit, which got underway Tuesday. Once again, the main topic at hand is Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

NATO is expected to approve its first comprehensive plans to defend against any attack from Russia since the Cold War. Ukraine could also get closer to NATO membership, despite the division on the subject among NATO’s 31 members.

The division likely means there will not be a straightforward invitation for Ukraine to join at the NATO summit. However, NATO’s Secretary General said Ukraine would get a positive message on the path to membership on Tuesday.

The summit has already kicked off with a bang, with Turkey withdrawing its objections to allowing Sweden to become a member of NATO. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he would ask Turkey’s parliament to approve Swedish membership. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, another holdout, is expected to take a similar step.

Grand Jury selection underway in Trump Georgia probe

A couple dozen Atlanta-area residents will be selected Tuesday to be part of a grand jury that will likely consider whether to indict former President Donald Trump on criminal charges related to the 2020 election. The grand jury is the culmination of an investigation examining whether former President Trump tried to overturn the election results in Georgia.

The Fulton County district attorney has previously said any potential indictments would likely come in August. The first 2024 Republican presidential debate will be Aug. 23. Trump is the GOP’s current favorite in the race.

Former USA gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar stabbed in prison

Larry Nassar, who was convicted of sexually abusing Olympic and college female gymnasts, was stabbed multiple times by another inmate at a federal prison in Florida on Sunday, July 9. Nassar was stabbed six times in the back and in the neck.

He received substantial injuries including what appears to be a collapsed lung, according to sources who spoke with ABC News. Nassar was reported to be in stable condition following the stabbing.

Hundreds of thousands in Israel protest judicial changes

Hundreds of thousands of people marched in the streets of Tel Aviv in protest over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s proposed judiciary changes. This, after Israel’s legislature gave initial approval Tuesday.

Protestors claim the bill restricts Supreme Court power and undermines democracy. They blocked highways leading to Jerusalem and other cities. Unrest is expected to continue, with Prime Minister Netanyahu saying he plans to advance the legislation in October.

NOAA predicts marine heatwave

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration warned half of the world’s oceans may experience a marine heatwave by September. Researchers with the federal agency said such widespread high temperatures across the sea surface would be a first.

Typically, a marine heatwave means about 10% of the world’s oceans are warmer than usual. But to reach 40-50% of the ocean recording high temperatures would be unprecedented, according to the agency.

Global sea temperatures in May and June reached record highs. That was before El Nino, which is associated with high ocean temperatures and is now returning.

Sea ice levels, fisheries, and coral could be negatively impacted by the upcoming marine heatwave.

Comedian sues OpenAI and Meta over copyright infringement

OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, is being sued by author and comedian Sarah Silverman. She said OpenAI copied and ingested her book, “The Bedwetter” in a case of copyright infringement.

Silverman has also filed suit against Meta. Silverman, as well as the other authors that part of the suit, could seek out changes to ChatGPT programming to better respect intellectual property.
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