PARIS (AP) — French Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu said France is to deliver “hundreds” of armored vehicles by the beginning of next year to Ukraine as part of a new package of military aid for the country that just entered its third year since the Russian invasion.
In an interview with the French newspaper La Tribune’s Sunday edition, Lecornu said that “to hold such an extensive front line, the Ukrainian army needs, for example, our armored personnel carriers. It’s absolutely key for troop mobility.”
The French military is currently replacing its old VAB armored personnel carriers that started being used in 1979 by a new generation of armored vehicles. “This old equipment, still operational, is going directly to Ukraine in large quantities. We’re talking about hundreds (of vehicles) in 2024 and early 2025,” Lecornu said.
Lecornu also said France will provide Ukraine with more anti-aircraft missiles.
The move comes as France’s government is pushing its military industry to boost its production to meet Kyiv’s urgent needs for ammunition.
Lecornu on Tuesday said France will soon be able to deliver 78 Caesar howitzers to Ukraine and will increase its supply of shells.
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Find more of AP’s coverage of Russia and Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
Members of an NBC News team in Rafah saw hundreds of vehicles on the road, as well as some in a parking area and more at a tunnel crossing in Ismailia, roughly four hours and 125 miles from the border crossing. Satellite images from the last week also show trucks on the road and parked near the crossing.
According to Nossair, at the time, roughly 100 to 120 trucks enter Gaza per day — about half the number able to be processed by Israel, and a fraction of prewar levels. (Aid agencies and the U.N. say Gaza needs between 500 and 600 trucks a day carrying both humanitarian aid and commercial goods.)
Unclear restrictions imposed by Israel have resulted in an average of 20 to 25 trucks turned away every day, about a fifth of the number that end up crossing into Gaza, he said.
Supplies taken in wooden crates are rejected outright regardless of what is inside, Nossair said. If pallets of aid don’t fit the exact dimensions approved by the Israeli government, he says, those trucks are also rejected.
The Israeli government agency responsible for allowing aid into Gaza, Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories, or COGAT, told NBC News that 99% of the aid trucks are approved after being screened.
COGAT has said it places “no limit” on the amount of aid entering Gaza but subjects some items to higher security scrutiny.
“The State of Israel will continue facilitating humanitarian solutions for the Gaza Strip, however, it has no intention to compromise in any way when it comes to its citizens’ security,” the department said in a statement to NBC News.
Egyptian Red Crescent trucks loaded with aid queue outside the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip on March 23.Khaled Desouki / AFP – Getty Images
A recent NBC News request for permission to travel to the Kerem Shalom border crossing to report on this story has been refused by Israeli officials. Both Kerem Shalom and Rafah in Egypt are restricted areas that require permission to access.
Israeli officials have also blamed the U.N.’s Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) for a failure to distribute aid. According to COGAT, UNRWA has not requested convoys north for six weeks.
A representative for UNRWA did not respond to a request for comment on the allegation.
UNRWA, meanwhile, also accuses Israel of obstructing aid efforts by rejecting convoys and turning away trucks for carrying items such as scissors included in medical kits.
Israeli accusations that at least a dozen UNRWA staffers took part in the Oct 7. Hamas terror attack prompted key donors to pull funding from the group and triggered a raging debate about the limited evidence Israel has produced.
The problem with freezers
Sometimes the issue is not the item itself, but what it is stored in, Nossair said.
For example, he said, Israeli officials have turned back insulin because it is kept in freezers.
COGAT has a list of what it considers “dual-use” items that are subject to stricter scrutiny, which mostly include chemical products, cement, metal and construction items. The list does not include coolers, painkillers, anesthetics or medical equipment, yet Nossair said everything from anesthesia to paracetamol is rejected.
Dual-use items are not under a blanket prohibition, COGAT said.
“They are subjected to security screening, since the Hamas terrorist organization cynically uses these means for the advancement of its terrorist objectives,” COGAT said in a statement when asked why certain items, and thus whole truckloads of aid, were sometimes denied entry and sometimes not.
Distribution of aid within Gaza is also a struggle, particularly in the northern area of the strip, where aid has been inconsistent. The World Food Programme has described convoy journeys to the north as dangerous due to desperate crowds and checkpoint delays that often leave teams open to violence. And even when convoys do make it to the area, they can be denied access by the Israeli military.
UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said Sunday that Israel will no longer approve the agency’s convoys to travel to the northern area of Gaza.
“This is outrageous & makes it intentional to obstruct lifesaving assistance during a man made famine,” Lazzarini said in a post on X. “These restrictions must be lifted.”
COGAT responded to Lazzarini on social media, saying Israel facilitated more than 350 trucks of aid to northern Gaza in the last month. It also invoked Israel’s allegations that UNRWA workers had ties to terrorism.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification initiative, or IPC, released a report earlier this month warning that “famine is imminent,” particularly in northern Gaza, where the first deaths due to malnutrition were reported last month. COGAT wrote in a thread on X that the information used by the IPC was outdated and that aid has significantly improved in recent weeks.
Nevertheless, the World Health Organization warned earlier this month that children were dying from the combined effects of malnutrition and disease and that Gazans will face long-term health ramifications.
“This compromises the health and well-being of an entire future generation,” the WHO said in a statement following the IPC report.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO’s director-general, warned that famine is looming amid the bombardment of Gaza even after increased efforts to deliver aid.
“Starvation and illness continue ravaging the population,” Tedros said on X. “Immediate, concerted action is needed now.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Arab leaders in Cairo last week, where he said the group of diplomats agreed more needs to be done to ensure the surge of aid from recent weeks is sustained over time and that “Israel needs to do more.”
The new 2024 edition of Samsung’s Frame TV is here. You can get it from Samsung’s website, but right now, Amazon is offering all sizes of the Frame at a discount. And if you’re not already an Amazon Prime member, when you join, you’ll save an additional $100 off the purchase price of the TV.
As an added bonus for everyone, just like on Samsung’s website, when you order one of the new Frame TVs, you also get a free, 65-inch Samsung UT690T smart TV for free (a $530 value). This offer expires April 11 (or as long as supplies last), so don’t wait.
Meanwhile, over at Best Buy, you can order any size of the new Samsung Frame smart TV and receive a Samsung UT690T smart TV for free. However, if you’re a Best Buy Plus or Best Buy Total member, you’ll save an additional $100 off the purchase price, and get free, two-day shipping, plus an extended 60-day return window.
Samsung
An already-wildly-popular smart TV just got better. Right now, you can grab the new, 2024 edition of Samsung’s Frame TV and benefit from all of its exciting features. In addition to a matte finish which greatly reduces glare, for the first time, the Frame TVs are Pantone validated for color accuracy. This makes art look even more realistic. And right now, when you purchase the 2024 edition of Samsung’s Frame TV in any size, you’ll get a free 65-inch Samsung TU690T smart TV (a $530 value).
Demand is climbing, so If you’ve been eyeing Samsung’s 2024 Frame smart TV, we recommend ordering soon, or you could wind up waiting a long time for delivery.
The Frame QLED 4K smart TV now comes in five sizes — 43 inches ($999), 50 inches ($1,299), 55 inches ($1,499), 65 inches ($1,999) and 75 inches ($2,999). It has a handful of features that have been updated from last year’s bestselling model, as well.
Is the 2024 Samsung Frame TV worth it?
In a word, yes. For the first time, all sizes of the Frame TV are now Pantone validated. Are on the screen looks even more authentic and like an actual painting — just as the artist intended. You’ll see more detail and more accurate colors than ever before.
Even better: Samsung is offering a curated selection of 20 art pieces each month that Frame owners can display for free. But if you subscribe to Samsung’s Art Store ($5.99 per month), it now includes access to more than 2,500 artworks from world-renowned museums and galleries.
The TV is also more energy efficient. Thanks to a dynamic refresh rate, you use less electricity when you’re viewing art. (When watching video content, the TV’s regular refresh rate is 120Hz.) This works in conjunction with the TV’s motion sensor, which turns off the TV when nobody is in the room.
Everything we love about the Frame TV (see our full review of the 2023 edition) is still on offer in this updated 2024 version. You’ll enjoy a 100% color volume that takes full advantage of Samsung’s Quantum Processor 4K. TV shows, movies, sports or whatever you’re watching all showcase stunning, bright and accurate colors. The matte finish of the display virtually eliminates unwanted glare.
And thanks to the Frame’s broad viewing angle, wherever you’re sitting in the room, you’ll have a clear view. As always, you can buy an optional, magnetically attachable bezel to make the Frame TV look like it’s in a traditional picture frame. You can choose the bezel design (between $200 and $300 each) that matches the decor of any room. A company called Deco TV Frames also offers bezels for the Frame TV on Amazon.
To reward customers who order this mega-popular TV, you’ll receive a free Samsung 65-inch TU690T smart TV (a $530 value) when you order through Samsung, Amazon or Best Buy.
Jason R. Rich
Jason R. Rich (www.JasonRich.com) is an internationally recognized consumer technology expert with more than 30 years’ writing experience. He’s also an accomplished author and photographer. One of his most recently published books, The Remote Worker’s Handbook: How to Effectively Work From Anywhere ($24.99, Entrepreneur Books) is now available from Amazon and wherever books are sold.
The new 2024 edition of Samsung’s Frame TV is here. You can get it from Samsung’s website, but right now, Amazon is offering all sizes of the Frame at a discount. And if you’re not already an Amazon Prime member, when you join, you’ll save an additional $100 off the purchase price of the TV.
As an added bonus for everyone, just like on Samsung’s website, when you order one of the new Frame TVs, you also get a free, 65-inch Samsung UT690T smart TV for free (a $530 value). This offer expires April 11 (or as long as supplies last), so don’t wait.
Meanwhile, over at Best Buy, you can order any size of the new Samsung Frame smart TV and receive a Samsung UT690T smart TV for free. However, if you’re a Best Buy Plus or Best Buy Total member, you’ll save an additional $100 off the purchase price, and get free, two-day shipping, plus an extended 60-day return window.
Samsung
An already-wildly-popular smart TV just got better. Right now, you can grab the new, 2024 edition of Samsung’s Frame TV and benefit from all of its exciting features. In addition to a matte finish which greatly reduces glare, for the first time, the Frame TVs are Pantone validated for color accuracy. This makes art look even more realistic. And right now, when you purchase the 2024 edition of Samsung’s Frame TV in any size, you’ll get a free 65-inch Samsung TU690T smart TV (a $530 value).
Demand is climbing, so If you’ve been eyeing Samsung’s 2024 Frame smart TV, we recommend ordering soon, or you could wind up waiting a long time for delivery.
The Frame QLED 4K smart TV now comes in five sizes — 43 inches ($999), 50 inches ($1,299), 55 inches ($1,499), 65 inches ($1,999) and 75 inches ($2,999). It has a handful of features that have been updated from last year’s bestselling model, as well.
Is the 2024 Samsung Frame TV worth it?
In a word, yes. For the first time, all sizes of the Frame TV are now Pantone validated. Are on the screen looks even more authentic and like an actual painting — just as the artist intended. You’ll see more detail and more accurate colors than ever before.
Even better: Samsung is offering a curated selection of 20 art pieces each month that Frame owners can display for free. But if you subscribe to Samsung’s Art Store ($5.99 per month), it now includes access to more than 2,500 artworks from world-renowned museums and galleries.
The TV is also more energy efficient. Thanks to a dynamic refresh rate, you use less electricity when you’re viewing art. (When watching video content, the TV’s regular refresh rate is 120Hz.) This works in conjunction with the TV’s motion sensor, which turns off the TV when nobody is in the room.
Everything we love about the Frame TV (see our full review of the 2023 edition) is still on offer in this updated 2024 version. You’ll enjoy a 100% color volume that takes full advantage of Samsung’s Quantum Processor 4K. TV shows, movies, sports or whatever you’re watching all showcase stunning, bright and accurate colors. The matte finish of the display virtually eliminates unwanted glare.
And thanks to the Frame’s broad viewing angle, wherever you’re sitting in the room, you’ll have a clear view. As always, you can buy an optional, magnetically attachable bezel to make the Frame TV look like it’s in a traditional picture frame. You can choose the bezel design (between $200 and $300 each) that matches the decor of any room. A company called Deco TV Frames also offers bezels for the Frame TV on Amazon.
To reward customers who order this mega-popular TV, you’ll receive a free Samsung 65-inch TU690T smart TV (a $530 value) when you order through Samsung, Amazon or Best Buy.
Jason R. Rich
Jason R. Rich (www.JasonRich.com) is an internationally recognized consumer technology expert with more than 30 years’ writing experience. He’s also an accomplished author and photographer. One of his most recently published books, The Remote Worker’s Handbook: How to Effectively Work From Anywhere ($24.99, Entrepreneur Books) is now available from Amazon and wherever books are sold.
Australia’s grassland earless dragon is no bigger than a pinkie when it emerges from its shell, but the little lizard faces an enormous challenge in the years ahead: avoiding extinction.
As recently as 2019, scientists in Canberra counted hundreds of grassland earless dragons in the wild. This year, they found 11.
In other areas of the country, the lizard has not been seen for three decades.
The earless dragon — which is light brown and has long white stripes down its body — measures about 15 centimeters, which is roughly the size of a $1 bill, when fully grown. It lacks an external ear opening and functional eardrum, hence the name.
This picture taken on March 25, 2024, shows a grassland earless dragon lizard at the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve on the outskirts of Canberra.
DAVID GRAY/AFP via Getty Images
Australia has four species of earless dragons. Three are critically endangered, the highest level of risk, while the fourth is endangered.
Last year, the Australia government said it was using “specially trained detection dogs to sniff out dragons and a breeding program to ensure the species is not lost again.”
The critically endangered dragons will likely be extinct in the next 20 years without conservation efforts, experts say.
“If we properly manage their conservation, we can bring them back,” said University of Canberra Professor Bernd Gruber, who is working to do just that.
“Sense of hope”
Australia is home to thousands of unique animals, including 1,130 species of reptile that are found nowhere else in the world.
Climate change, invasive plants and animals, and habitat destruction — such as the 2019 bushfires, which burned more than 46 million acres — have pushed Australia’s native species to the brink.
In the past 300 years, about 100 of Australia’s unique flora and fauna species have been wiped off the planet.
To save the earless dragons, there are several breeding programs underway across Australia, including a bio-secure facility in Canberra’s bushlands, which Gruber is overseeing.
On shelves are dozens of tanks that house the lizards — one to each container — with a burrow, grass and heat lamps to keep them warm.
The biggest problem is matchmaking, with the territorial female lizards preferring to choose their mates.
This means that scientists must introduce different male lizards to the female until she approves.
If that was not hard enough, scientists must also use genetic analysis to determine which lizards are compatible together and ensure genetic diversity in their offspring.
At any one time, the breeding programs around Australia can have up to 90 earless dragons, which will eventually be released back into the wild.
At the moment, Gruber is looking after more than 20 small lizards that have just hatched. Scientists almost missed the tiny eggs until three weeks ago.
“There is a sense of hope looking over them,” he told AFP.
“An important role”
Despite the efforts of scientists, the lizards are contending with a shrinking habitat and a changing climate.
Australian Conservation Foundation campaigner Peta Bulling said the lizards only live in temperate grasslands, most of which have been destroyed by urban development.
Only 0.5% of grasslands present at the time of European colonization still exist.
Without the lizards, Australia’s alpine grasslands could look vastly different.
“We don’t understand everything the grassland earless dragons do in the ecosystem, but we can make guesses they play an important role in managing invertebrate populations. They live in burrows in the soil, so they are probably aerating the soil in different ways too,” she told AFP.
A Victoria grassland earless dragon pictured in October 2023.
Courtesy of Zoos Victoria
Bulling said that while it was important to bring the lizard back, it was also vital to protect their habitats, without which the newly saved lizards would have nowhere to live.
“They are highly specialized to live in their habitat but they will not adapt quickly to change,” she said.
Last year, scientists rediscovered a small number of another kind of earless dragons after 50 years in an area that is being kept secret for conservation reasons.
Resources are being poured into understanding just how big that population is and what can be done to protect it.
Species at risk worldwide
The earless lizard is just one of thousands of species that are endangered — or have already gone extinct. Deforestation, pollution and the effects of climate change are just a few of the reasons putting various animals and plants at risk.
In October, 21 species in the U.S. were taken off the endangered species list because they are extinct, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service.
According to a 2023 report by the World Wildlife Fund, 380 new species were discovered across Asia in just the last few years, and many are already at risk of going extinct.
Four years before that, scientists warned that worldwide, 1 million species of plants and animals were at risk of extinction.
Still, in the U.S., the Endangered Species Act, which was established in 1973, has largely been a success. An astonishing 99% of the threatened species first listed have survived — including bald eagles, grizzly bears and alligators.
Kids caught in the middle of political battle between N.Y., Texas over asylum seeker crisis
Kids caught in the middle of political battle between N.Y., Texas over asylum seeker crisis
02:23
Once a week in a midtown Manhattan hotel, dozens of Girl Scouts gather in a spare room made homey by string lights and children’s drawings. They earn badges, go on field trips to the Statue of Liberty, and learn how to navigate the subway in a city most have just begun to call home.
They are the newest members of New York City’s largest Girl Scout troop. And they live in an emergency shelter where 170,000 asylum seekers and migrants, including tens of thousands of children, have arrived from the southern border since the spring of 2022.
As government officials debate how to handle the influx of new arrivals, the Girl Scouts — whose Troop 6000 has served kids who live in the shelter system since 2017 — are quietly welcoming hundreds of the city’s youngest new residents with the support of donations. Most of the girls have fled dire conditions in South and Central America and endured an arduous journey to the U.S.
What is Troop 6000?
Launched by the Girl Scouts of Greater New York in 2017, Girl Scouts Troop 6000 is a program for girls living in the New York City Shelter System. There were 21,774 families living in the city’s homeless shelters in December 2023, according to data from the Coalition for the Homeless. Of those, 33,399 were children.
Last year, Troop 6000 opened its newest branch at a hotel-turned-shelter in Midtown Manhattan, one of several city-funded relief centers for migrants. Though hundreds of families sleep at the shelter every night, the Girl Scouts is the only children’s program offered.
Charter bus company to temporarily stop bringing migrants to NYC
00:22
Unflagging support amid anti-immigrant sentiment
Last January, the Girl Scouts expanded its Troop 6000 program to serve more than 100 young arrivals living in New York City Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Center, according to a statement at the time. The group began recruiting at the shelter and rolled out a bilingual curriculum to help scouts learn more about New York City through its monuments, subway system, and political borders.
One year later, with nearly 200 members and five parents as troop leaders, the shelter is the largest of Troop 6000’s roughly two dozen sites across the city and the only one exclusively for asylum-seekers.
Not everybody is happy about the evolution of Troop 6000. With anti-immigrant rhetoric on the rise and a contentious election ahead, some donors see the Girl Scouts as wading too readily into politically controversial waters. That hasn’t fazed the group — or their small army of philanthropic supporters. Amid city budget cuts and a growing need for services, they are among dozens of charities that say their support for all New Yorkers, including newcomers, is more important than ever.
“There are some donors who would prefer their dollars go elsewhere,” said Meridith Maskara, CEO of the Girl Scouts of Greater New York. “I am constantly being asked: Don’t you find this a little too political?”
But Troop 6000 has also found plenty of sympathetic supporters, “If it has to do with young girls in New York City, then it’s not political,” Maskara said. “It’s our job.”
With few other after-school opportunities available, the girls are “so hungry for more” ways to get involved, said Giselle Burgess, senior director of the Girl Scouts of New York’s Troop 6000.
New York City, charities feeling the crunch
New York City has spent billions on the asylum seekers while buckling under the pressure of an existing housing and affordability crisis. That’s left little time to court and coordinate the city’s major philanthropies.
“It’s very hard to take a step back when you’re drinking out of a fire hose,” said Beatriz de la Torre, chief philanthropy officer at Trinity Church Wall Street, which gave the Girl Scouts a $100,000 emergency grant — plus $150,000 in annual support — to help expand Troop 6000.
With or without government directives, she said, charities are feeling the crunch: Food banks need more food. Legal clinics need more lawyers.
Since asylum-seekers began arriving to the city, around 30 local grant makers, including Trinity Church and Brooklyn Org, have met at least biweekly to discuss the increased demands on their grantees.
Together, they’ve provided over $25 million for charities serving asylum seekers, from free legal assistance to resources for navigating the public school system.
“It’s hard for the government to be that nimble — that’s a great place for nonprofits and philanthropy,” said Eve Stotland, senior program officer at New York Community Trust, which convenes the Working Group for New York’s Newcomers, and itself has distributed over $2.7 million in grants for recent immigrants.
“These are our neighbors,” said Stotland. “If a funder’s goal is to make New York City a better place for everyone, that includes newcomers.”
Hundreds of demonstrators at Supreme Court as justices hear abortion pill case – CBS News
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The Supreme Court is hearing arguments Tuesday in a case about access to the widely used abortion pill mifepristone. CBS News correspondent Natalie Brand has more on the case and the demonstrators who have come to the court to make their voices heard.
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A United Nations working group has voiced its support for what it says are “several hundred” sexual assault victims of late Japanese boy band producer Johnny Kitagawa, urging the Japanese government to deliver them justice.
Background: Kitagawa, a U.S.-born Japanese talent manager, was credited for launching the careers of some of Japan’s biggest male acts, including SMAP, KAT-TUN and Arashi.
Allegations of his sexually abusive behavior toward his talents have been around for decades, but they were largely ignored by Japanese mainstream media. Earlier this year, those claims saw a revival in global headlines after a BBC documentary presented them in detail. One alleged victim who came forward later is former J-pop idol Kauan Okamoto, who claimed that Kitagawa had sexually abused him at least 15 times over a course of four years beginning in 2012 at age 15.
What the U.N. is saying: The U.N. Working Group on Business and Human Rights first announced its plans to investigate the sexual abuse claims against Kitagawa last month. They arrived in Japan on July 24 and have since met government officials, companies, trade unions and human rights advocates.
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On Friday, the group’s chair, Damilola Olawuyi, told reporters that Kitagawa’s alleged victims may total several hundred, as per the Associated Press. Meanwhile, group member Pichamon Yeophantong urged the Japanese government to do more, calling for “transparent investigations of perpetrators” and “effective remedies” in the form of an apology or financial compensation for the victims.
What’s next: The working group is expected to present their full report to the U.N. Human Rights Council next June. While the head of Johnny & Associates — Kitagawa’s founded agency — has apologized in May, it remains to be seen whether the late producer’s alleged victims will find justice.
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The Diocese of Syracuse, New York, has agreed to a $100 million settlement with parishioners who claimed they were preyed on by priests, the biggest payout by a Roman Catholic diocese in the U.S. since at least 2018.
But, for now, not a dime of that money is coming from the six insurance companies that cover the Diocese of Syracuse, lawyers involved in the case said Friday.
Instead, as part of its bankruptcy proceedings, the diocese itself will have to shell out $50 million, the parishes in the diocese will have to contribute $45 million, and other entities aligned with the diocese will pay $5 million, to settle the 411 abuse claims filed by 387 people, the lawyers said.
This means that, when the ushers pass around the collection baskets at Sunday Mass at churches across the Diocese of Syracuse, some of that money could be used to pay the victims, Danielle Cummings, a spokesperson for the diocese, confirmed.
“People do give money to the parishes in the general collection,” Cummings said. “And unless they specify that this donation is going to a special project, yes, it could wind up going towards the settlement.”
That said, Cummings added, the diocese intends to “pursue our insurers” while also looking into financing to pay the diocese’s portion of the settlement.
Also, individual parishes may have to tap their savings and investments, Cumming said.
“Statewide insurers have denied, delayed, and ducked their obligations,” attorney Jeff Anderson, who represented the priest sex abuse victims, said earlier in a statement. “It is yet another example of their nefarious strategies employed across the State of New York and the nation.”
Attorney Cynthia LaFave, who worked on the case with Anderson, and another lawyer involved in the settlement who spoke on background, said the Diocese of Syracuse was carrying insurance designed to protect the church from sex abuse lawsuits.
But because they are still negotiating a final settlement with the diocese, LaFave said she could not identify these insurers.
“Yes, they have carried insurance throughout the years, in fact, they have several insurers,” LaFave told NBC News. “But we’re not allowed to discuss that while we are in the midst of settlement discussions.”
In a statement, the diocese said the insurance companies have yet to reach an agreement with the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors, which is a federally appointed body that represents the interests of the victims.
“As we recently completed our third year of mediation, the assigned mediator in the case did not include insurance carriers in this proposal, as they have yet to agree on coverage issues with the Creditors Committee,” the statement said. “The mediator’s priority was to reach a settlement with the Diocese and its entities first and then pursue insurers.”
In an open letter to his flock Thursday, Bishop Douglas Lucia acknowledged the settlement will be a heavy lift for his diocese.
“I can tell you as shocking as the settlement amount may seem to leaders of our own parishes and Catholic entities, more appalling and heart-rending to me is the pain and mistreatment experienced by the survivors of child and adult sexual abuse at the hands of those they thought they could trust,” Lucia wrote. “I cannot apologize enough for the abuse which happened or for any neglect in dealing with it. This is why the final settlement will include commitments meant to strengthen our safe environment protocols to further ensure the past does not repeat itself.”
Kevin Braney, chair of the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors and a sex abuse survivor, said the settlement is a “significant step forward in the healing process.”
“I wish to extend my heartfelt gratitude to my fellow survivors and their families, for their endurance as they have patiently awaited this news,” Braney said in a statement to local media.
The proposed settlement, which still requires court and creditor approval, appears to be the largest in the U.S. since the $210 million settlement reached in 2018 by the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and 400 sex abuse survivors.
But $170 million of that money was paid out by the Minnesota archdioceses’ insurance companies, according to news accounts from that time.
The largest Roman Catholic priest sex abuse settlement thus far in the U.S. happened in July 2007, when the Archdiocese of Los Angeles agreed to pay $660 million to 508 victims.
Two months later, the Diocese of San Diego agreed in September 2007 to pay nearly $200 million to 144 priest abuse victims, according to news reports.
Those payouts were expected to be paid by a combination of the church’s cash and insurance.
The Diocese of Syracuse filed for bankruptcy protection in 2020 after the state of New York temporarily suspended its statute of limitations to give people who claimed they were sexually abused the chance to sue for damages.
Five of the seven other Roman Catholic dioceses in New York State have also sought bankruptcy protection after they were deluged by lawsuits filed by victims of predator priests.
Corky Siemaszko
Corky Siemaszko is a senior reporter for NBC News Digital.
