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Uvalde settles for $2m with school shooting victims’ families

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Uvalde settles for $2m with school shooting victims’ families

Announcement comes two days before the two-year anniversary of the massacre at the elementary school in the Texas city.

The city of Uvalde has reached a $2m settlement with most of the families of the victims of a mass shooting at an elementary school in Texas city, one of their lawyers has said.

The announcement on Wednesday came two days before the second anniversary of the massacre.

In one of the deadliest school shootings in US history, 19 children and two teachers were killed on May 24, 2022, when a gunman entered Robb Elementary School in Uvalde and barricaded himself inside adjoining classrooms with dozens of students.

A US Department of Justice review found local police ignored accepted practices by failing to confront the attacker, instead waiting outside the classroom for more than an hour despite calls for help from the children.

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“The city of Uvalde has agreed to pay its insurance of $2m, which is all that there was,” Josh Koskoff, who represented families of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, said at a briefing to announce the agreement.

He said the settlement involved the families of 17 of the children who were killed and two children who survived.

Another lawyer announced that the families of 19 of the victims launched a $500m federal lawsuit against nearly 100 state police officers who were part of the botched law enforcement response to one of the deadliest school shootings in United States history.

Families are suing 92 Texas Department of Public Safety officers who were at the incident, said Erin Rogiers, partner at Guerra LLP, who is representing families together with Koskoff and Bieder PC, in a statement.

State and federal officers made up the majority of the 376 law enforcement operatives who waited 77 minutes before confronting and killing the 18-year-old gunman, Koskoff said.

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The lawsuit, seeking at least $500m in damages, is the latest of several seeking accountability for the law enforcement response.

It is the first lawsuit to be filed after a 600-page Justice Department report was released in January that catalogued “cascading failures” in training, communication, leadership and technology problems on the day of the shooting.

The lawsuit notes that state troopers did not follow their active shooter training or confront the shooter, even as the students and teachers inside were following their own lockdown protocols of turning off lights, locking doors and staying silent.

“The protocols trap teachers and students inside, leaving them fully reliant on law enforcement to respond quickly and effectively,” the families and their lawyers said in a statement.

Families of victims filed a separate lawsuit in December 2022 against local and state police, the city, and other school and law enforcement officials seeking at least $27bn and class-action status for survivors.

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No fairytale return to Germany for Lewandowski

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No fairytale return to Germany for Lewandowski
Given Germany is where Robert Lewandowski forged his fearsome reputation, Euro 2024 would have been a fitting arena for the Polish poacher to add significant gloss to an illustrious career and potentially end his international playing days on a high.
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Medical intern surprises would-be sexual abuser with hidden talent: 'Those lessons saved my life'

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Medical intern surprises would-be sexual abuser with hidden talent: 'Those lessons saved my life'

A medical intern in Thailand fought off a drunk nurse who tried to grope her one night, busting out fighting skills that helped her kick her would-be assaulter to the curb. 

“I have been doing Muay Thai boxing since I was a kid,” Petcharaporn Phadungjai, 22, told reporters. “I know how to kick, knee and punch someone. I know how to wrestle with them. It was my instinctive reaction to protect myself.”

“I’m lucky my grandfather taught me self-defense skills when I was a young girl,” she added. “Those lessons saved my life.”

CCTV footage from around midnight shows the 30-year-old male nurse approaching Petcharaporn from behind as she picked up some food before leaving for the night. He first circles behind her as though just wandering around the area aimlessly before turning and reaching for her.

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ANIMAL CARETAKERS IN THAILAND ‘SHOCKED’ AFTER SURPRISE BIRTH OF RARE TWIN ELEPHANTS

Petcharaporn Phadungjai, a 22-year-old medical intern in Thailand, fought off a would-be sexual abuser with Muay Thai.  (ViralPress)

As soon as the nurse’s arms wrap around the intern, she grabs him and drives him back towards the far wall. He keeps a strong grip on her, but as soon as she faces him, she drives her knee into his groin, giving herself a chance to pull free.

Once separated, she kicks him again, striking him in the stomach before setting into a defensive stance and yelling at him to back off. 

DOZENS ARRESTED AS THAI POLICE DISMANTLE CRIME NETWORK THAT FACILITATED LONG-TERM STAYS FOR FOREIGNERS

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Medical intern assault

A petite Thai medical intern used Muay Thai kicks to fight off a drunk male nurse assaulting her in a hospital. Speaking out publicly for the first time since the incident, Petcharaporn Phadungjai, 22 (pictured) said she was working a nightshift when the colleague crept up behind her and groped her in Samut Prakan, Thailand. But he was unaware that her hobby is Muay Thai boxing, and she kneed him in the crotch then kicked him in the stomach to subdue the alleged attacker. 

The hospital reported the incident to the police and fired the nurse as allegations that he had similarly harassed other female interns emerged, ViralPress reported. 

Petcharaporn said she had ordered dinner but could not pick it up herself, so the nurse, who was drinking at a neighboring food stall, offered to bring it to her. She had to go to the general ward, because men are not allowed in the women’s ward. 

THAI TOWN OVERRUN BY WILD MONKEYS LAUNCHES CAPTURE AND RELOCATION OPERATION

Bangkok tournament fighters

Muay Thai fighters warm up ahead of a Rajadamnern World Series Muay Thai tournament at Rajadamnern Muay Thai Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand on March 9, 2024.  (Valeria Mongelli/Anadolu via Getty Images)

“When he arrived, he told me to scan the QR code to pay for the food,” Petcharaporn said. “I placed the phone on the desk, and that’s when he grabbed me from behind.”

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She alleged that the nurse had flirted with her during her internship, often calling her “darling” or indicating he liked her, but she had treated it as teasing. She also revealed that she feared that he would try to rape her if she didn’t fight him off. 

Thailand suffers a significant sexual violence problem, with at least seven women sexually assaulted or abused per day, according to a report from the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand (NHRC). 

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Houthis claim attack on ship that docked in Israel

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Houthis claim attack on ship that docked in Israel

Houthis say the commercial vessel was targeted for using an Israeli port as they step up their campaign in support of Palestinians in Gaza.

The Houthis in Yemen say they launched attacks on a commercial vessel after it used an Israeli port, and on a US aircraft carrier ordered home after months of responding to sea attacks launched because of the war on Gaza.

Yahya Saree, the military spokesman of the Iran-aligned group, said in a televised announcement on Saturday the Liberia-flagged bulk carrier Transworld Navigator was directly hit by ballistic missiles in the Arabian Sea.

“The ship was targeted because the company that owns it violated the ban of entry into the ports of occupied Palestine,” he said, alluding to an earlier threat that all ships docking at Israeli ports would be considered targets.

The attack came after the sinking this week of the ship MV Tutor, which appears to mark a new escalation in the campaign against commercial vessels in vital maritime corridors.

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Saree also claimed an attack using ballistic and cruise missiles on the USS Eisenhower, which has led US Navy operations in the region since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza.

Saree said “the operation has achieved its objectives successfully” without elaborating. One unnamed US official told Reuters news agency the claim “is incorrect”.

The Houthis and social media accounts supporting them have repeatedly falsely claimed to hit or even sink the aircraft carrier in the Red Sea.

The announcement came shortly after US officials reportedly ordered the USS Eisenhower to return home after more than eight months of deployment, with another aircraft carrier operating in the Pacific set to replace it.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported on Friday that a vessel was attacked 126 nautical miles (233km) east of Aden in Yemen. It said the master reported “explosions in the vicinity of the vessel” and the crew is safe.

The Houthis pledged to continue their military operations, which they have said are in support of Palestinians and will only stop when the siege of Gaza is lifted.

The group has launched more than 60 attacks, sunk two commercial ships, seized another, and attacked dozens more since the start of the war.

In March, the Houthis killed three people after one of its antiship ballistic missiles set the Barbados-flagged True Confidence on fire.

The US and United Kingdom militaries have launched air raids across Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen to weaken the group’s military capabilities.

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