Britney Spears wants her father charged with conservatorship abuse

Published

3 years ago

July 14, 2021

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Britney Spears has told an LA court that she wants her father charged with conservatorship abuse.

Addressing the court for the second time in less than a month, Spears demanded once again that Jamie Spears be removed from the legal agreement that has controlled most of her life for more than 13 years.

Giving evidence once again by phone, as supporters of the #FreeBritney movement protested outside the hearing, the star initially said she wanted the courtroom cleared, before changing her mind and saying she would speak publicly.

She listed a series of grievances, including that her hair vitamins and coffee had been taken from her. “Ma’am, that’s not abuse, that’s just f****** cruelty,” she tearfully told Judge Brenda Penny. “Excuse my language but it’s the truth.”

After taking a short break to compose herself, Spears called for her father be removed from the complex legal arrangement and be charged with “conservatorship abuse”.

The singer said she wants the conservatorship terminated without the need for a medical assessment, but made it clear her top priority was ousting her father from his role while allowing co-conservator Jodi Montgomery to remain in the meantime.

“My dad needs to be removed today and I will be happy with Jodi helping me,” the star said.

It comes following Spears’ explosive first testimony in open court in June, during which she got to have her say publicly for the first time.

At that hearing, the star told the court it was her “wish and dream for all of this to end”, and claimed she wants to be able to get married and have a baby, but that the conservatorship won’t allow it.

Much has happened in the three weeks since Spears’ first testimony, with the star’s long-term manager Larry Rudolph reportedly resigning and her court-appointed lawyer, Samuel Ingham III, also saying he intended to step down. The Bessemer Trust, a financial management company that was hired in 2020 to oversee Spears’s estate alongside her father, also pulled out of the arrangement, saying there had been “changed circumstances”.

The latest hearing took place inside a packed court in downtown Los Angeles, with around 60 masked journalists and fans in attendance.

Mathew S Rosengart, the high-powered Hollywood lawyer Spears wants to represent her, was also in attendance, and told the court his law firm was more than capable of handling a complex case.

His arrival is expected to signal a more aggressive approach to ending the conservatorship.

Speaking outside court, #FreeBritney supporter Derrin Stull, 25, said that now Spears has had her say publicly and there is “visibility”, action has to be taken.

“Well, I think Britney is just such a light in the world, she’s done so much for society, for music as a person, and it’s really sad that she was allowed to live in this type of situation for 13 years. So I think it’s really important that everyone support her.

“Now that there’s the visibility, there’s no excuse. So that’s really of the utmost importance that we just make sure that everyone knows that this is happening, that this is going on and it’s not right.”

Fellow supporter Christina Goswick, 40, said: “Like she said [at the previous hearing], I believe she’s traumatised. She can’t sleep. If you look at her, she looks tired. She just wants her life back and I understand that completely.”

US

Boeing facing fresh probe after employees ‘falsely claim tests had been completed’

Published

4 hours ago

May 7, 2024

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Boeing facing fresh probe after employees 'falsely claim tests had been completed'

Federal air safety regulators have opened a fresh investigation into the Boeing 787 Dreamliner – after the firm said several employees had committed “misconduct” by falsely claiming tests had been completed.

The probe will look into whether Boeing completed inspections to confirm adequate bonding and grounding where the wings of certain 787 Dreamliner planes join the fuselage, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said.

The investigation will also look at “whether company employees may have falsified aircraft records”, the US federal government agency added.

The FAA said Boeing is “reinspecting all 787 airplanes still within the production system and must also create a plan to address the in-service fleet” while the investigation is taking place.

Boeing shares were down 1.5% at $177.03 late on Monday afternoon.

‘Several people not performing required test’

In an email from 29 April, Scott Stocker, who leads Boeing’s 787 program, said that an employee saw what appeared to be an irregularity in a required 787 conformance test.

Mr Stocker wrote that after receiving the report “we quickly reviewed the matter and learned that several people had been violating company policies by not performing a required test, but recording the work as having been completed”.

In the email, addressed to employees in South Carolina where the 787 is assembled, Mr Stocker said Boeing promptly informed the FAA about what it had learned and said it is taking serious corrective action with “multiple” employees.

He added that “our engineering team has assessed that this misconduct did not create an immediate safety of flight issue”.

‘They are putting out defective airplanes’

It comes weeks after a Congressional investigation in April heard evidence on the safety culture and manufacturing standards at Boeing.

Sam Salehpour, a quality engineer at the company, told members of a Senate subcommittee that Boeing was taking shortcuts to bolster production levels that could lead to jetliners breaking apart.

He said of Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner, which has more than 1,000 in use across airlines globally including at British Airways, that excessive force was used to jam together sections of fuselage.

He claimed the extra force could compromise the carbon-composite material used for the plane’s frame.

“They are putting out defective airplanes,” he concluded, while adding that he was threatened when he raised concerns about the issue.

The engineer said he studied Boeing’s own data and concluded that the company is “taking manufacturing shortcuts on the 787 programme that could significantly reduce the airplanes’ safety and the life cycle”.

Boeing denied his claims surrounding both the Dreamliner’s structural integrity and that factory workers jumped on sections of fuselage to force them to align.

Two Boeing engineering executives said this week that its testing and inspections regimes have found no signs of fatigue or cracking in the composite panels, saying they were almost impervious to fatigue.

Boeing has been grappling with a months-long safety crisis since a panel blew out of a Boeing 737 MAX 9 plane mid-flight in January.

The Justice Department is conducting a criminal investigation into the mid-air emergency.

The National Transportation Safety Board has said four key bolts appeared to be missing from the plane.

Boeing has said it believes required documents detailing the removal of the bolts were never created.

US

US soldier detained in Russia, officials say

Published

4 hours ago

May 7, 2024

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US soldier detained in Russia, officials say

A US soldier was detained in Russia over the weekend while on a private trip, according to officials.

The soldier, who hasn’t been named, has been accused of stealing from a woman, Sky News’ US partner network, NBC News, reported, citing four US officials.

The White House is aware of reports of an American soldier being detained in Russia, national security spokesperson John Kirby said on Monday.

The soldier was arrested in the port city of Vladivostok on 2 May, “on charges of criminal misconduct,” US army spokesperson Cynthia O Smith said.

He had reportedly been stationed in South Korea and travelled to Russia for a personal trip and not on official duty, according to the US officials.

“The Russian Federation notified the US Department of State of the criminal detention in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations,” Ms Smith said.

“The army notified his family and the US Department of State is providing appropriate consular support to the soldier in Russia.

“Given the sensitivity of this matter, we are unable to provide additional details at this time.”

US

Pennsylvania: Man’s gun fails to fire after trying to shoot pastor during church sermon

Published

13 hours ago

May 6, 2024

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Pennsylvania: Man's gun fails to fire after trying to shoot pastor during church sermon

A man who tried to shoot a pastor during his service at a church was wrestled to the floor after his gun failed to fire, according to police.

Bernard J. Polite, 26, said “God made me do it” and planned to “wait to be arrested”, court documents reveal, when he entered the Pennsylvania church just after 1pm on Sunday.

Glenn Germany, who was giving a sermon being live streamed from Jesus’ Dwelling Place Church, told WTAE-TV in Pittsburgh that Polite smiled at him just before he pointed the gun.

He ducked out of the way as someone from the congregation tackled Polite, before he helped to wrest the gun away and keep him down until officers arrived.

“I am feeling grateful that I woke up this morning and that I am here, it could have gone an opposite direction,” Mr Germany said on Monday.

“But God has intervened and I am grateful for him.”

Polite was not known at the church, officials said, and court filings say he wandered over to the church after hearing music coming from there.

The body of a shooting victim was found in a home near the church in North Braddock, where Polite had been shortly before going to the church, county police said.

The county medical examiner’s office identified the body as Derek Polite, 56, of North Braddock, but did not confirm any specific relation to Bernard Polite.

Polite faces numerous charges, including aggravated assault and attempted homicide, and is in custody without bail.

State police said they don’t know if Polite has a lawyer, and county court records do not list one.