Biles breaks down as she blames ‘entire system that enabled Larry Nassar’s sex abuse’
Simone Biles broke down in tears as she told Congress the FBI and gymnastics officials turned a “blind eye” to former team doctor Larry Nassar’s sexual abuse of her and other women.
Testifying before the Senate judiciary committee, she said “enough is enough” as she and three other US gymnasts spoke about the lasting toll Nassar’s crimes have taken on their lives.
Politicians are examining the shortcomings in the FBI investigation into Nassar, including delays that allowed him to abuse more athletes.
An internal Justice Department investigation report in July said the bureau made fundamental errors in the probe and did not treat the case with the “utmost seriousness” after USA Gymnastics first reported the allegations to the FBI’s field office in Indianapolis in 2015.
Biles said she felt the FBI “turned a blind eye to us”. Pic: AP
Biles, considered one of the greatest-ever gymnasts, said that after reading the report, she felt the FBI “turned a blind eye to us”.
Biles, who has won 25 world championship medals and seven Olympic medals, said she believed the abuse happened because organisations created by Congress to protect her as an athlete – USA Gymnastics and the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee – “failed to do their jobs”.
Hundreds of girls and women said Nassar sexually abused them under the guise of medical treatment when he worked for Michigan State and Indiana-based USA Gymnastics, which trains Olympians.
Biles, who declared herself a survivor of sexual abuse, said: “I blame Larry Nassar and I also blame an entire system that enabled and perpetrated his abuse.”
She said USA Gymnastics and the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee “knew that I was abused by their official team doctor long before I was ever made aware of their knowledge”.
Appearing alongside other athletes, including Aly Raisman, McKayla Maroney and Maggie Nichols, Ms Biles was visibly emotional.
She said: “We have been failed and we deserve answers.”
Disgraced former team USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar, pictured in 2018
The hearing will examine why the FBI failed to carry out an investigation sooner into Nassar, 58, who is accused of abusing up to 150 women.
A report from Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz in July found the bureau made a series of failures in its handling of allegations against him when they were made aware of the abuse.
Biles is considered one of the world’s greatest-ever gymnasts
During the hearing, Ms Biles also opened up about how the abuse had affected her during the Tokyo Olympic Games this summer, which saw her withdraw from five final events due mental health reasons.
She added she travelled to Japan without her family due to COVID-19 restrictions.
She said: “As the lone competitor in the recent Tokyo Games who was a survivor of this horror, I can assure you that the impacts of this man’s abuse are not ever over or forgotten.
“This meant I would be going to the gym, to training, to therapy, living daily among the reminders of this story for another 365 days.”
Biles during practice at the US Olympic trials
FBI director Christopher Wray, who was not leading the agency during the original investigation, told the Senate panel that the actions of the agents who botched the investigation are inexcusable, and he announced one of the agents “no longer works for the bureau in any capacity”.
Nassar was sentenced in federal court in 2017 to 60 years in prison on charges of possessing child sex abuse material.
A year later, he was also sentenced up to 175 years and up to 125 years in two separate Michigan courts for molesting female gymnasts under his care.
Joe Biden and Donald Trump have agreed to two head-to-head live televised debates in June and September.
After months of speculation about whether the traditional presidential debates would go ahead, the US broadcaster CNN has announced that a primetime debate will take place at its global headquarters in Atlanta on 27 June at 9pm.
ABC will host a second debate, scheduled for 10 September, just under two months before the election on 5 November.
For weeks, former President Trump has been using social media and rallies to goad President Biden into taking part in a debate.
“Anytime. Anywhere. Anyplace,” Mr Trump has repeatedly said.
Amid speculation over whether President Biden would be prepared to expose himself to the pressure and jeopardy of a live debate, the president used a radio interview in late April to confirm he would be “happy” to.
“I am happy to debate him,” he said. “I am, somewhere. I don’t know when,” he told SiriusFM radio host Howard Stern.
That revelation prompted back-channel conversations between staff from the two campaigns to agree a format.
The debates will bypass the presidential debate commission that traditionally coordinates the process.
Biden and Trump during a presidential debate in Nashville in 2020. Pic: Reuters
Mr Biden’s team have insisted that the two debates do not include a live audience, a move the Trump team are understood to have agreed to.
An hour before CNN announced that it would host the first debate, President Biden released a clip on X confirming his willingness to take part.
“Donald Trump lost two debates to me in 2020. Since then, he hasn’t shown up for a debate,” President Biden said.
“Now he’s acting like he wants to debate me again. Well, make my day, pal. I’ll even do it twice. So let’s pick the dates, Donald.”
In a jibe at Mr Trump’s court case in New York, which doesn’t sit on Wednesdays, Mr Biden added: “I hear you’re free on Wednesdays.”
‘He can’t put two sentences together’
Donald Trump responded with a lengthy statement on his own social media platform, Truth Social.
“Crooked Joe Biden is the WORST debater I have ever faced – He can’t put two sentences together! Crooked is also the WORST President in the history of the United States, by far,” he said.
“It’s time for a debate so that he can explain to the American People his highly destructive Open Border Policy, new and ridiculous EV Mandates, the allowance of Crushing Inflation, High Taxes, and his really WEAK Foreign Policy which is allowing the World to ‘Catch on Fire.'”
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The former president continued: “I am Ready and Willing to Debate Crooked Joe at the two proposed times in June and September.
“I would strongly recommend more than two debates and, for excitement purposes, a very large venue, although Biden is supposedly afraid of crowds – That’s only because he doesn’t get them. Just tell me when, I’ll be there. ‘Let’s get ready to Rumble!!!'”
The summer and autumn clashes, to be moderated by as-yet unannounced star anchors, promise to be box office occasions with huge jeopardy for both candidates.
US
Rust weapons supervisor Hannah Gutierrez appeals against conviction over fatal shooting on Alec Baldwin film set
The weapons supervisor for the Western film Rust is appealing against her conviction for involuntary manslaughter over the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on set, according to court documents.
Hannah Gutierrez was jailed in April after being found guilty by jurors following a trial in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in the US.
She was in charge of weapons during the production of the film in October 2021, when a Colt 45 revolver fired by actor and co-producer Alec Baldwin went off during a rehearsal.
Alec Baldwin, pictured on the Rust set, faces a separate trial
Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins died, while director Joel Souza was injured.
A defence lawyer for Gutierrez, who is serving an 18-month sentence at a prison for women in New Mexico, filed a shortly worded appeal notice on Monday.
Her legal team has 30 days to submit detailed arguments. They previously requested a new trial following the verdict.
Hannah Gutierrez, pictured during her trial, is appealing against her conviction
Gutierrez’s trial was told she unwittingly brought live ammunition to the set, where it was expressly prohibited, and failed to follow basic gun safety protocols.
During her sentencing hearing, she told the court she had tried to do her best while working on the production, despite not having “proper time, resources and staffing”.
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What the conviction means for Alec Baldwin
Prosecutors say Baldwin had ‘no control’ of emotions on set
Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins died after the gun went off. Pic: Shutterstock
Alec Baldwin case latest
Baldwin, who was a producer for the film as well as its star, has also pleaded not guilty to a charge of involuntary manslaughter.
He maintains he pulled back the gun’s hammer – but not the trigger – before it fired, and is set to face trial in July. He denies any wrongdoing.
The 66-year-old was originally charged in January 2023, more than a year after the shooting, but those charges were dropped a few months later. He was charged again in January this year.
His legal team has filed a motion calling for the charges to be dropped. Prosecutors responded with a 32-page document claiming that footage of the star on set shows he had “absolutely no control of his own emotions” and “no concern for how his conduct” affected those around him.
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Assistant director David Halls, who also faced charges, entered a plea bargain for negligent use of a deadly weapon last year, receiving a six-month suspended sentence.
Filming of Rust resumed last year in Montana – with Baldwin reprising his role as the main character – after an agreement made Ms Hutchins’s widower an executive producer.
A man who scooped a $1.35bn lottery win is said to be embroiled in a legal battle – with his own family.
The Mega Millions winner, who has not been named but is believed to hail from the US state of Maine, won the fourth-largest jackpot in US history last year (worth around £1.07bn).
But the story has only grown more complex since then, and the man is now involved in legal proceedings with two members of his family, US media outlet The Daily Beast reports.
He is said to have sued his daughter’s mother for allegedly revealing his newfound wealth to other members of his family in what he claimed was a violation of a non-disclosure agreement.
The lottery winner has also reportedly demanded hundreds of thousands of dollars in penalties, claiming that his child’s mother told his father, sister and stepmother about his big windfall.
But in recent court filings, the woman alleged that the man himself told his father and stepmother about the win, The Daily Beast reported.
Her lawyers said this “shatters the remaining shards” of the lawsuit.
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The unnamed lottery winner’s father has also now apparently become involved in the legal proceedings, alleging that his son misled him about a number of things since the win.
“I understand that my son has stated that he told me nothing about his money ‘other than the simple fact that I had won.’ That is not true,” he is quoted as saying in a declaration.
His dad adds that his son “told me a number of things he planned on doing with his money,” even though he never asked him for anything, The Daily Beast also reported.
These allegedly included building a new garage for his father as well as buying old cars to fix up.
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