Meanwhile. . .

In the wake of the closure of the year-long window provided by the New York State Adult Survivors Act, over 2500 abuse lawsuits have flooded the legal system.  In the past three days, actor Jamie Foxx, New York Mayor Eric Adams, and musicians Sean “Diddy” Combs, and Axl Rose were accused of sexual assault.  Trial attorney and legal analyst Misty Marris explained that the expiration of the statute meant the closure of the window for survivors to file claims, extinguishing the statute of limitations.  “So oftentimes, you do see a whole barrage of cases coming in right at that filing deadline because otherwise, they would lose their right to bring a suit.”

Tesla owner and CEO Elon Musk and other company executives knew that its Model 3's autopilot system was defective, but they continued to tout its capabilities and sell it anyway. That's the ruling from a judge in Palm Beach County, Fla., which allows a lawsuit against Tesla to go to trial and adds to the company's legal woes over the technology. 

Thom Hartmann - We hear a lot about “the good old days,” as if to suggest that America was always an economically strong nation with a vibrant middle class. But the fact is that we got really, really rich—we being the bottom 90% of Americans—in just a few decades after World War II, as a result of Franklin Roosevelt putting into place the economic theories of Adam Smith and John Maynard Keynes, and those policies holding steady until the election of Ronald Reagan. In 1900, the average yearly household income was $4497— the equivalent of around $13,800 in today’s dollars. That kind of income today guarantees a life of want and poverty, and it did in 1900 as well. The only buffer then was the family farm; while today only 1% of Americans live and work on farms, in 1900 it was around 40%.

It’s a little-known fact that Juliette “Daisy” Gordon Low, the founder of the Girl Scouts of the USA, was hard of hearing for much of her life. Now, more than a century after she started the enduring nonprofit, there’s a Girl Scout troop in Orange County, California, that’s carrying on her legacy in more ways than one.  Troop 8542 is the only one of its kind, bringing together members of the Deaf and hard-of-hearing community in a cohesive group. It’s the brainchild of Girl Scouts alumna Natalie Westfall, who had the idea to create a troop centered on the Deaf community and American Sign Language as her Gold Award in high school — considered the highest achievement within the organization.  It took a few years to get off the ground, but her idea finally came to fruition in 2020, and Troop 8542 is now thriving, with 12 members ages 5-11. Though the girls have some activities incorporating ASL, they also do all the same things you’d associate with Girl Scouts.