Latest news with #survivors
CBS News
7 hours ago
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center in Skokie, Illinois, temporarily closing for renovations
The Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center in the north Chicago suburb of Skokie is temporarily closing for a major renovation project. The museum, at 9603 Woods Dr. near the site where the Edens Expressway crosses over Gold Road, closed all its exhibitions Monday. The museum will remain open for public programs and training sessions by reservation only through the end of the month, and will close completely on July 1. During the closure, the Skokie museum will be renovated to build a new lobby that can hold "vastly more guests of all ages and abilities." Also planned are a new visitor welcome center, a redesigned auditorium, and a reflection space in the Karkomi Holocaust exhibition. While the main Skokie museum will be closed, the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center will open a downtown satellite location featuring some of its most popular exhibitions. This satellite location will be in the former Museum of Broadcast Communications space at 360 N. State St. in River North. The State Street location will open this summer, and will remain open for a year. It will feature several award-winning exhibitions — including the museum's Virtual Reality and Holographic Theatres, and stories of survivors of the Holocaust and genocides around the world. The main Skokie museum will partially reopen on Jan. 2, 2026, with limited content that will be announced at a later time, and will fully reopen in the summer of 2026 with a grand reopening.
BBC News
9 hours ago
- General
- BBC News
Grooming survivors to speak to Newsnight
Update: Date: 21:56 BST Title: Phillips apologises for delay to grooming gang report Content: Earlier today Home Office Minister Jess Phillips apologised to MPs for a delay to the publication of a report on grooming gangs. In January, the government asked Baroness Louise Casey to lead a "rapid" three-month audit into the data and evidence on the nature and scale of group-based child sexual abuse. Asked about the status of the review in the House of Commons earlier, which was due to be published in May, Phillips said she was sorry for the wait and that Baroness Casey requested a short extension, adding that it was expected "very shortly". "When we have the report the government will respond to it and lay out its plans with all the evidence in hand,' she told MPs. Update: Date: 21:50 BST Title: What's in store on tonight's programme? Content: Victoria Derbyshire presents tonight's programme You'll be able to watch tonight's programme live as Victoria Derbyshire is joined by five survivors in the studio from 22:30 - we'll share some background on their stories before the programme begins. We'll also hear from England and Wales' most senior police officer on grooming, Deputy Chief Constable Becky Riggs, on how authorities are responding. Before we begin, a reminder that some of the details we'll be sharing tonight will be distressing to hear. Update: Date: 21:45 BST Title: Survivors of grooming to speak to BBC Newsnight Content: Victoria DerbyshireNewsnight presenter Tonight, live, in a specially-extended programme, we have brought together survivors of gangs and individuals who groomed and raped women when they were young girls and teenagers. Their abusers were mostly British Asian men and they operated in plain sight in towns and cities like Rotherham, Telford, Bradford, High Wycombe and Manchester, over a decade and half through the late '90s and 2000s. It's an epidemic that has wrecked the lives of thousands of victims – these women included. They are here tonight to tell you about what happened to them, and because they say that some of the men who abused and raped them, and some of those in authority who totally failed to protect them, have still not been held accountable - and they want that to change. Expected in the next week or so is a government-commissioned "rapid" national audit of grooming gangs, led by Baroness Louise Casey. The government has promised it will uncover the "true scale of grooming gangs in the UK, including looking at ethnicity". As you'd expect, our conversation is going to be frank, open and it will involve details of sexual abuse. We're incredibly grateful to the incredible women for speaking to us tonight - Jade, Chantelle, Fiona, Kate and Zara. You'll be able to watch the programme live on the page from 22:30.
CBS News
14 hours ago
- General
- CBS News
Survivors claim Baltimore City teacher sexually assaulted students in 1970s
New lawsuits announced Monday claim a Baltimore City Public School teacher sexually assaulted students in the 1970s. The lawsuit, filed by Baltimore-based law firm Murphy, Falcon & Murphy, accuses the district of allowing special education teacher Alvin Hunt to abuse students in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The alleged abuse resulted in severe trauma and left one victim pregnant, according to the law firm. Revised Child Victims Act in effect The new lawsuits come just after revisions to Maryland's Child Victims Act went into effect on June 1. The law, which was initially passed in 2023, eliminated the statute of limitations for sexual abuse survivors, allowing them to receive a payout of $890,000 for each claim. In April, Maryland passed revisions to the law that limit the amount of financial compensation that survivors can get to $400,000 for claims against public institutions and $700,000 for claims against private institutions. The revised Child Victims Act sparked controversy among advocates and survivors as they faced a deadline to file lawsuits before changes took effect. Similar lawsuits in Maryland Since the Child Victims Act first went into effect, there have been nearly 4,500 similar abuse lawsuits filed against schools, the state Department of Juvenile Services and the Catholic church, lawmakers said in April. In April, a New York-based law firm said 650 lawsuits had been filed against juvenile detention centers in Maryland within a year and a half. "These cases demonstrate that this was not an isolated or historic issue, but a persistent, generational crisis," attorneys from Levy Konigsberg said. In March, a lawsuit alleged the former dean of a Baltimore County private school abused students in the 1960s. That lawsuit was the fourth one filed against the school under the Child Victims Act. The filing claimed the school failed to protect its students. In 2023, Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown reported that more than 600 children were abused by at least 165 priests, teachers and employees under the Catholic Church's supervision. More than 1,000 claims have been filed against the church.
BBC News
a day ago
- Health
- BBC News
Court transcripts: 'I want to know what went on in my rape trial'
A woman from East Sussex says she feels "kept in the dark" as she cannot access free transcripts from a trial in which her ex-partner was acquitted of raping her. Caroline - not her real name - did not attend the trial in person apart from to give evidence and feels a court transcript would help her understand how the jury came to their verdict. Victims of serious sexual assault in England and Wales whose attackers are found guilty no longer have to pay for transcripts of judge's sentencing remarks as part of a pilot scheme launched by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).The MoJ said: "We know the value transcripts can have for victims of rape and sexual offences." It said this was why the Lord Chancellor had confirmed that the pilot would be extended to improve transparency and support for Caroline's ex-partner was acquitted of the alleged rape and therefore did not receive sentencing remarks, she did not qualify for the scheme and would have had to pay £7,000 for the transcript. Caroline believes complainants whose trials do not result in guilty verdicts should also be eligible for a free copy of judge's summing up remarks."I don't know what went on in court," she said. "I don't know how the case was summed up. I don't know what the judge said. I'm completely in the dark about what went on," she said."We want to bring down the cost of transcriptions in criminal courts without compromising on accuracy and are looking at how to use emerging technology to do that," the MoJ spokesperson added. 'A right to choose' Caroline said she was advised by a police officer not to attend the trial, apart from to give evidence as it would "look odd" to the jury to have her sit in the public gallery after she had given evidence behind a of alleged sexual offences usually receive lifelong anonymity, including in court. Caroline felt that if she had attended court she would have had a better understanding of the trial. The Metropolitan Police said it was unable to comment on the claims around this case but it said there was no policy instructing officers to advise victims of rape, sexual or domestic abuse not to attend court after giving added that specially trained officers work with victims of rape, sexual and domestic abuse to ensure they feel safe and understand the process for giving evidence in court.A CPS spokesperson said: "Victims have a right to choose whether to attend the rest of a trial after they have given evidence and there is no CPS policy to advise them otherwise." If you are affected by any of the issues raised, help and support is available via the BBC Action Line. Caroline said she felt suicidal at the end of the investigated access to the transcript to help her try and process what had happened but could not afford the £7,000 quoted to be able to read the transcript of the whole trial - less if she were to buy just part of the transcripts pilot was launched for those whose cases were heard at a Crown Court and designed to tackle the financial barrier many survivors face when trying to access information about their month, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said she would make the scheme permanent, but under review, as part of a package of measures "in pursuit of a justice system that serves victims". Caroline said she was shocked she would have to "get a loan or to pay a lot of money" if she wanted to access the judge's summing up remarks."It just feels wrong," she said. "It feels like a slap in the face."Caroline added that she had not "healed or moved on" because of all the "unanswered questions".
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Tulsa mayor announces $105 million trust to address impact of 1921 massacre
(Reuters) - The mayor of Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Sunday announced more than a $100 million trust aimed at repairing and addressing the "systemic impacts" of the 1921 massacre that targeted African American homes and businesses. The announcement was made on the 104th anniversary of the massacre, which started on May 31, 1921 and ended the following day, leaving as many as 300 dead. "This is a critical step to help to unify Tulsans and heal the wounds that for so long prevented generations of our neighbors from being able to recover from the race massacre," Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols said. The trust, which is named after the city's Greenwood District, where the massacre took place, will be created with the goal of securing $105 million in assets. It aims to secure those funds by the 105th anniversary of the attack on June 1, 2026. Assets could include property transferred to the Trust, philanthropic funding and public funding, according to a statement from the city. The focus areas for the trust include a $24 million housing fund to benefit residents of Greenwood and North Tulsa, and a $60 million cultural preservation fund aimed at improving buildings, among other things. Another focus will be a $21 million legacy fund for the development of trust-owned land and acquisition of land for the benefit of survivors and descendants of the massacre. The first year of operation will focus on planning, the mayor said, adding initial staff will be hired for fundraising efforts. "The Greenwood Trust is really a bridge that connects what we as a community can bring to the table and what the community needs," Nichols said in a statement. "As we seek to make this framework a reality, I am eager to work alongside my fellow Tulsans and partners across the country to create a fundamental shift in how we further establish generational wealth, housing opportunities, and repair for so many Tulsans." The Biden administration's U.S. Department of Justice in January said while there are credible reports that law enforcement was involved in the attack, it had no avenue to prosecute the crimes that occurred, citing the expiration of relevant statutes of limitations and the youngest potential defendants being more than 115 years old. (This story has been refiled to add a missing word in paragraph 1)
