NEWS OF THE DAY
Slain teen lawsuit: The mother of a Connecticut teenager stabbed to death at her school has offered to settle lawsuit allegations against the city of Milford and its school district for $23 million. Lawyers for Donna Cimarelli-Sanchez filed the offer this week in Milford Superior Court. Maren Sanchez, 16, was killed at Jonathan Law High School in 2014, on the day of her junior prom. Police said her classmate, Christopher Plaskon, was upset that Sanchez had rejected his prom invitation. Plaskon, now 20, was sentenced to 25 years in prison last year after pleading no contest to a murder charge. Cimarelli-Sanchez filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Plaskon, his parents, the city and the school district last year. The lawsuit alleges Plaskon’s parents and school officials could have prevented the killing by taking appropriate steps to address his mental illness.
‘Star-Spangled Banner’: Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh says she has no plans to remove the city’s monument to Francis Scott Key that was recently vandalized. The words “Racist Anthem” were painted on the monument’s base on the anniversary of the battle that inspired Key to write the “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Pugh also has directed art preservation experts to determine the cost of cleaning it up. Key, who owned slaves, was inspired to write his verses by the Battle of Fort McHenry on Sept. 13 and 14, 1814, during the War of 1812. The seldom-sung third verse says: “No refuge could save the hireling and slave from the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave.” Many believe it refers to slaves who fought for the British.
Aviation safety rules: An influential industry committee recommended Thursday that the Federal Aviation Administration eliminate or scale back dozens of safety rules, including one on airline pilot qualifications. The FAA’s Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee said the recommendations are a response to comply with President Trump’s directives to cut government regulations. Pilots unions and safety groups oppose the recommendation on pilot qualifications. Regional airlines have been trying to roll back the pilot qualifications rule since it was adopted by the FAA in response to a sweeping aviation safety law passed by Congress after the last fatal crash of a U.S. passenger airliner in 2009 near Buffalo, N.Y. All 49 people on board and a man on the ground were killed after the captain responded incorrectly to safety systems, causing the plane to stall.
Princess Diana auction: A sterling silver card case that belonged to Britain’s late Princess Diana has sold at auction for nearly $21,000. The ornately designed case with leather interior pockets was a gift to Diana from her grandmother. It fetched the highest price out of 79 items connected to the British royal at an auction that ended Wednesday, conducted by Boston’s RR Auction. The case was among belongings Diana donated to charity months before her death on Aug. 31, 1997 in a Paris car crash.