Free Republic

SALEM, N.J. (AP) — The family of NHL hockey player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew listened in pain Tuesday as lawyers debated whether the men's own drinking contributed to their deaths when they were hit by an allegedly drunken and enraged driver as they cycled at night. After nearly two hours of argument, a judge agreed the issue was moot under New Jersey criminal law — upholding all of the charges against the driver, including manslaughter and vehicular homicide. “There’s no credence in the argument there was contributory negligence on the part of the cyclists,” said Superior Court Judge...

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The NFL and lawyers for thousands of retired NFL players have reached an agreement to end race-based adjustments in dementia testing in the $1 billion settlement of concussion claims, according to a proposed deal filed Wednesday in federal court. The revised testing plan follows public outrage over the use of “race-norming,” a practice that came to light only after two former NFL players filed a civil rights lawsuit over it last year. The adjustments, critics say, may have prevented hundreds of Black players suffering from dementia to win awards that average $500,000 or more.

The Associated Press has been one of the few national media outlets providing at least some coverage of the Kermit Gosnell trial, presumably from their local partners, so they certainly deserve some credit for going where their competitors wouldn’t — at least not until recently.  As with most news outlets following an ongoing story, the AP started looking for fresh angles to frame their stories.  Last night, though, the AP sent out a wire story headlined “Philly abortion workers saw few options,” in which Maryclaire Dale focuses on the employment woes of Gosnell’s co-defendants to explain why they followed Gosnell’s orders...