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This legal argument could be the key to future gun lawsuits · Apple News Today

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  Duarte Geraldino, Narrating: Good morning! It's Wednesday, February 16th. I'm Duarte Geraldino.
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  Shumita Basu, Narrating: And I'm Shumita Basu. This is "Apple News Today." Each morning, hear about some of the most fascinating stories in the news, and how the world's best journalists are covering them.
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  Geraldino: A long fight against a gunmaker is now over. The families of Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims settled with Remington Arms for 73 million dollars. "The Trace" covers gun violence in America. And it has a comprehensive look at the broader significance of this settlement. It says this particular case provides a template for successfully suing the gun industry. Now, this industry has often been able to avoid being held responsible in courts. Nicole Hockley's son, Dylan, he was killed at Sandy Hook.
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  Nicole Hockley: For eight long years, we've continued our fight to hold Remington accountable for its role in prioritizing profit above safety and using reckless marketing techniques to appeal to at-risk and violence-prone young men.
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  Basu: What she said about marketing was crucial to the outcome of this lawsuit. We've talked before about how a 2005 law shields gunmakers in the U.S. from being sued over crimes committed with their weapons. But there was an exception that allowed lawsuits over violations to relevant state laws. The Sandy Hook families accused Remington of violating a Connecticut law against deceptive trade practices, by intentionally marketing its guns to unstable men.
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  Geraldino: Ads portrayed the semiautomatic rifles as signs of masculinity. One ad in particular appealed to buyers with this slogan: "Consider Your Man Card Reissued." Remington said it didn't target at-risk youth and that there was no evidence connecting their marketing to the Sandy Hook shootings. It fought this suit for years. But ultimately, it settled.
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  Basu: "The Trace" points out this is only the second time in more than two decades that a major gun manufacturer settled a lawsuit over shootings committed with its weapons. And it's one of the only cases to win a payout for victims. Some legal observers think that even though it never made it to a jury, it could shape the way future court cases try to go after gunmakers.
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  Geraldino: There's another major legal settlement in the news. Prince Andrew settled the sexual assault civil case filed against him by Virginia Giuffre. She accused him of sexually assaulting her three times when she was 17 years old. He has repeatedly denied this.
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  Basu: "The Guardian" has the details of the settlement. Prince Andrew does not admit guilt. He does say he regrets his association with Jeffrey Epstein and commends Giuffre and others for standing up for themselves. The settlement also says he "never intended to malign" her character and recognizes that she suffered as a victim of abuse and public attacks. The settlement amount was not disclosed. In a court filing, Prince Andrew said he would make a "substantial donation" to Giuffre's charity in support of victims' rights.
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  Geraldino: This deal comes weeks before Prince Andrew was supposed to give a sworn deposition. Now he's not going to have to testify under oath in the civil trial. There are, however, more questions about his friendship with Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell. She was convicted in December of charges including sex trafficking and conspiracy.
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  Basu: George P. Bush was once believed to the be the future of the Bush family dynasty. At 45 years old, he's relatively young. He's a photogenic Mexican American who many thought could appeal to a growing population of Latino voters. His dad is Jeb Bush, which makes George W. his uncle and George H.W. his grandfather. Some family insiders thought George P. Bush was destined to become president himself one day.
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  Forrest Wilder: He had the money, he had the connections, he had the name.
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  Geraldino: That's Forrest Wilder over at "Texas Monthly." His latest article looks at George P.'s biggest political test yet. He's running for Texas attorney general. But he's having a hard time getting traction in a crowded field. And that has some political observers wondering if the Bush line is going end with George P.
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  Wilder: A lot of the people in the grassroots that I talk to are like, "Bush, no, I'm done with the Bushes. I don't believe in dynasties. You know, the Iraq War was a disaster."
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  Basu: Donald Trump has been harsh on the Bush family over the years. Still, George P. has embraced him. His political future now depends on convincing Republican primary voters that he is loyal to Trump. But there's one big problem: Trump did not give George P. his endorsement for the AG race. Instead, he backed the incumbent, Attorney General Ken Paxton.
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  Wilder: Basically, he's trying to position himself as somehow the Trump guy that doesn't have the Trump endorsement. And in terms of how that's being received by voters, charitably, I can say it's a mixed response. A lot of the of folks who are the most engaged voters, the sort of activist base, the real grassroots, they see Bush as, essentially, kind of a phony, and they have other options.
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  Geraldino: Given all of that, George P. is still trying to convince voters he's a Trump guy. His campaign features a photo of the two of them shaking hands. And George P.'s policy positions are very much in line with Trump's. He's tough on immigration and promises to finish the border wall if he's elected as AG.
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  Basu: And yet, all of that might not be enough. The Bushes once dominated national politics. Now, one may not even be able to win a race in a state that used to love them.
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  Wilder: The brand itself, at least in Texas GOP World, is tainted now at best. The Bush name is seen as the establishment that Trump helped destroy.
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  Geraldino: A woman in New York may soon join a small and rare club of people who have been cured of HIV. "NBC News" reports, doctors consider her HIV to be in remission.
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  Basu: She got a very specific type of treatment for people with both HIV and cancer. It basically replaces a person's immune system with a donor's. See, there's this rare genetic abnormality that makes some people naturally resistant to HIV. So, for this treatment, that person is the donor, and their stem cells are transplanted to the patient. It worked three times before, but it has failed for many others.
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  Geraldino: What's different about this latest treatment is that the woman was given transplants from two different donors. This was to get around a challenge with that rare genetic defense against HIV. It's largely found in people with northern European heritage. So, it's hard to make it a match for people with a different genetic background. The cutting-edge move, combining different donors, as they did here, could open the treatment up to more people.
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  Basu: Doctors involved here say, in a few years, if she shows no signs of HIV, they will consider her cured. And they're hopeful this type of treatment could work for roughly 50 patients a year.
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  Geraldino: You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app.
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  Basu: And when you're in the app, keep listening to hear narrated articles from our News+ partners.
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  Geraldino: We'll talk with you again tomorrow.
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