DIED
Good Times actor,
singer and composer
Ja’Net DuBois, at
74, at her California
home, her family said
on Feb. 18.
ANNOUNCED
On Feb. 18 that
Saturday Night Live
cast member Kenan
Thompson would
host and that Netflix
comedian Hasan
Minhaj would be the
featured entertainer
at the White House
Correspondents’
Dinner on April 25.
PLEDGED
$10 billion, on
Feb. 17, by Amazon
CEO Jeff Bezos, the
richest person in
the world, to fight
climate change.
It’s roughly 8% of
Bezos’ wealth.
EXTENDED
The working vacation
visas of any visitors
to Australia who
stay to help wildfire
recovery efforts on
affected farms. The
six-month visas have
been extended to
one year.
ANNOUNCED
New post-Brexit
immigration rules, by
the U.K., on Feb. 19.
From 2021, the new
system requires
foreign workers
to pass an English
test. Applicants to
“shortage” jobs or
those paid more than
£25,600 ($33,170)
will be prioritized.
Businesses said the
move could hurt the
economy.
STOLEN
Six hundred rolls
of toilet paper,
on Feb. 17, in a
knifepoint robbery in
Hong Kong, which is
experiencing a short-
age due to panic
buying related to the
ongoing coronavirus
outbreak.
A boy scout wears a sash displaying his earned merit
badges at a ceremony in New York City in 2015DECLARED
Boy Scouts’ bankruptcy
Barraged by sex-abuse lawsuitsThoUSanDS oF men who Say They were SexUally abUSeD aS
boy scouts may finally get restitution, though likely not in the form
of a large payout. The Boy Scouts of America filed for bankruptcy
protection on Feb. 18, meaning accusers will watch the once hal-
lowed organization collapse, at least in its current form, under the
weight of claims that the Scouts enabled generations of pedophiles.
“It’s not about the money,” says James Kretschmer, 56, who has
lived for 44 years with the memory of his Scoutmaster crawling
into his sleeping bag and sexually abusing him. “It’s crucial that
the world sees how widespread this was.” Since the January 2019
revelation that 12,254 children had reported experiencing sexual
abuse in the Boy Scouts from 1944 to 2016, the organization has
faced a deluge of lawsuits—so many that their insurance compa-
nies have refused to continue making payouts, arguing that the
Boy Scouts could have reasonably prevented the widespread sex-
ual abuse. Kretschmer is among 1,900 survivors planning to make
a claim in bankruptcy court against the Boy Scouts. Though the
Boy Scouts’ assets exceed $1 billion, its significant debts and the
sheer number of claims mean payouts will likely be minimal.
Advocates are urging victims to come forward before the
chance expires: a court will set a deadline, likely one to two years
from now, for individuals to file claims. After that time, no one
will ever be able to sue the Boy Scouts for abuse again. Accuser
Gil Gayle, 58, says the bankruptcy filing could mean many allega-
tions will never be heard. “That wave of dread and anxiety is just
too overwhelming for a lot of people.” —eliana DocKTermanMilestones
DIED
Caroline Flack
U.K. flash pointcaroline FlacK, a briTiSh
TV presenter best known for
her work hosting the popular
reality show Love Island, died
by suicide on Feb. 15 at her
London home. She was 40.
Ahead of the premiere of
the show’s sixth run in Janu-
ary, Flack stepped down
from her role after being
charged with assaulting her
boyfriend. Flack pleaded not
guilty and was awaiting trial
in March. After her death,
her management criticized
prosecutors for orchestrat-
ing a “show trial,” saying
she had endured “signifi-
cant distress” because of the
allegations —and how they
were sensationalized by the
British press. Flack had long
been a tabloid fixture, and
her death prompted calls for
newspapers to stop publish-
ing invasive stories dissect-
ing celebrities’ private lives.
On Feb. 17, during a tele-
vised tribute, Love Island’s
narrator remembered Flack’s
“passion, warmth and infec-
tious enthusiasm” for the
show. “My only hope is that
we can all try and be kinder,”
he added. But in a culture of
relentless tabloid and social-
media scrutiny, few expect
kindness to prevail.
—alex reeS