Amid Costly Sex Abuse Lawsuits, Boy Scouts Raising Annual Youth Membership Fees by More Than 80%

Facing a potentially ruinous wave of new sex-abuse lawsuits, the Boy Scouts of America is increasing its annual youth membership fee by more than 80%.

The group says the move, which has dismayed many of the Scouts’ adult volunteer leaders who warn the increase is prohibitively steep for some, is needed to meet rising operating costs, notably for the liability insurance that covers all official Scouting activities.

For years, the BSA has been entangled in costly litigation with plaintiffs who said they were abused by scout leaders in their youth. Hundreds of lawsuits may lie ahead with the recent enactment of laws in New York, New Jersey, Arizona and California making it easier for victims of long-ago abuse to seek damages. read more »

Uber driver sentenced to death for rape and murder of British embassy worker

Tarek Houshieh receives sentence in Lebanon over 2017 killing of Rebecca Dykes

An Uber driver has been sentenced to death for raping and murdering a British embassy worker in Lebanon.

The Mount Lebanon criminal court sentenced Tarek Houshieh on Friday, according to Lebanon’s national news agency.

The body of Rebecca Dykes, 30, was found dumped on the side of a road north of Beirut in December 2017. She disappeared after spending an evening with friends at a bar in the Gemmayzeh district in the Lebanese capital.

Houshieh picked her up while working as a taxi driver despite having a criminal record, and after twice being arrested for alleged harassment and theft, according to Agence-France Presse. read more »