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Showing posts from February, 2021

The suicide of the ex-USA Gymnastics coach John Geddert who faced abuse charges was an 'escape from justice,' former gymnast says

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The  death of John Geddert , the US Olympic team coach who was charged with 24 felonies in connection with the abuse of young gymnasts, was an "escape from justice," said Sarah Klein, one of the many athletes who reacted to the news on Thursday. "He tortured and abused little girls, myself included, for more than 30 years and was able to cheat justice," said Klein, who had identified herself as the first to be abused by former USA Gymnastics team doctor  Larry Nassar . Geddert, who took his own life Thursday after news of the charges, was the former owner of Michigan's famed Twistars Gymnastics Club. It was one of the places Nassar had admitted to sexually abusing young female athletes. Twistars has since been sold and renamed. Klein also blamed officials at the top gymnastics organizations for "enabling" Geddert. "Geddert was a narcissistic abuser. His suicide is an admission of guilt that the entire world can now see. Also guilty are his enabler...

Biden Nominee Linda Thomas-Greenfield Confirmed To Be The Next United Nations Ambassador

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The Republican Party is never going to be like the Democrat Party in its uniform opposition to the opposing party and they proved it again. Many of them joined with Democrats on Tuesday to confirm the Senate nomination of Linda Thomas-Greenfield to be the United Nations ambassador for the administration of President Joe Biden, The New York Times reported . Thomas-Greenfield was confirmed by a vote of 78-20. When President Biden announced her nomination Thomas-Greenfield responded by saying, “America is back – Multilateralism is back. Diplomacy is back.” The nomination was held up by Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz who had fears that Thomas-Greenfield would not be tough on China. “I intend to vote against this nominee. I have been growing increasingly concerned over the last two weeks by what appears to be a concerted, coordinated pivot towards China by the new Biden administration. We’ve been seeing nominee after nominee embracing China more closely. We’ve seen multiple nominees refuse ...

Hassan Whiteside 'a possible target' for Lakers as a DeMarcus Cousins reunion is unlikely

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The Los Angeles Lakers cleared a roster spot Monday night when they decided to waive guard Quinn Cook, and with Anthony Davis still out due to injury, the immediate speculation was that they would look to add a big man to help deal with his absence. The most prominent available big man is DeMarcus Cousins, who spent part of last season on the Laker roster, and reports had already linked the two sides for a possible reunion. But according to Brad Turner and Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times , Cousins returning to the Lakers is unlikely at this point. They are reporting that the Lakers are not going to immediately fill Cook's spot, which makes sense. The Lakers are pressed up against the hard cap, and the longer they wait to fill their two vacant roster spots, the cheaper the pro-rated minimum contracts they offer free agents will be. That will allow them to keep a few extra dollars under the hard cap line in case they need to make a slightly unbalanced trade at the deadline. A poss...

A Man Just Willed His $2.4 Million Fortune To The French Village That Saved Him From Nazis

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Man wills fortune to town that saved him from the Nazis, archaeologists unearth golden-tongued Egyptian mummy, and historic Indigenous fort in Alaska reappears after 200 years. An Austrian Jew has left his fortune to a French village that hid his family from Nazi persecution, reported the BBC . When he died in December last year, Eric Schwam, who was 90-years-old, bequeathed a substantial sum to Le Chambon-sur-Lignon — a small town of about 2,500 people in the south of France. While the exact amount has not been disclosed, the town's mayor told AFP that it was "a large amount." His mayoral predecessor has suggested that the inheritance could total around two million euros ($2.4 million), according to France 3 . Identification papers that once belonged to Eric Schwam. Schwam arrived in Le Chambon-sur-Lignon in 1943 with his parents and grandmother, according to the BBC. His family had fled their home in Vienna to escape Nazis persecution, the BBC said. For an unknown peri...

Florida City Just Honored Former President Trump – They Named The First Week Of February ‘Donald J. Trump Week’

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While Democrats in Washington are trying to purge any trace of Donald Trump from their corrupt halls, the exact opposite is happening around the country. Millions of Americans voted for him. And they continue to celebrate and respect what he’s done for the country. Some Democrats have tried to pass bills that would outlaw naming things after the president. That sparked attempts to name a highway after him. But one city in Florida just trumped that. From Newsweek: Officials in the Florida city of Frostproof have voted for the first week of February to be known as “Donald J. Trump” week. The proclamation was discussed and passed during a city council meeting on Monday night… “Excited to honor former President Donald J Trump Monday night,” Gravley posted on Facebook ahead of the City Council meeting. As Democrats try to erase Trump from history, one Florida city just named a week after him. Frostproof, Florida just renamed the first week of February to be “Donald J. Trump” week. T...

Judge Throws Drunk Driver’s Mom In Jail For Laughing At Victim’s Family

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A Michigan judge did not put up with a drunk driver's family laughing in her courtroom. A woman sentenced to 93 days in jail after a judge caught her laughing during a family's victim statement at her daughter's deadly DUI sentencing has been released after giving a tearful apology in court. A Michigan judge threw a drunk driver’s mother in jail for 93 days after she refused to stop laughing at the family of the man her 25-year-old daughter killed in a head-on collision. According to NBC affiliate WDIV , Wayne County Circuit Court Qiana Lillard heard giggling while the family of Jerome Zirker was reading their statements to the court. The giggling came from the place where the family of defendant Amanda Kosal was sitting. The Wayne County Circuit Court judge kicked two people out of the room for laughing during a deadly DUI sentencing. In response, Lillard had a couple of choice words for the perpetrators, according to CBS News . “Whoever can sit here at a tragic moment lik...

Joe Biden channels Reagan in push for Covid relief

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In another time, Joe Biden might have been the emissary explaining to a president what is doable -- and what is not -- on Capitol Hill. He's done it before, as chairman of the Judiciary Committee, telling Ronald Reagan that the nomination of Robert Bork was going to be a big problem. And as vice president, he shepherded President Barack Obama's economic stimulus package to get a handful of GOP voters. After 36 years in the Senate, the dynamic of legislating is second nature to Biden. That was obvious after his two-hour session with moderate Republicans the other day. And on Wednesday, Biden will dial into House Democrats' weekly caucus meeting before he and Vice President Kamala Harris meet with Democratic senators in the Oval Office. He is a man who loves being in the room. But now, it's his room. It's his huge $1.9 trillion relief package . And it's his choice: How much to deal with moderate Republicans who support a package that would lower benefits substan...