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On this date in: 1613: Mikhail Romanov, 16, was unani- mously chosen by national assembly to be czar, beginning a dy- nasty that would last three centuries. 1862: Nathaniel Gordon became the first and only American slave-trader to be executed under the U.S. Piracy Law of 1820 as he was hanged in New York. 1945: During the World War II Battle of Iwo Jima, the escort carrier USS Bis- marck Sea was sunk by kamikazes with the loss of 318 men. 1958: The USS Gudgeon (SS-567) became the first American submarine to complete a round-the-world cruise, eight months after departing from Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.

TODAY IN HISTORY For the latest lottery drawings, plus news and jackpot details, go to APP.com/lottery LOTTERIES The bankruptcy of the Boy Scouts of America Tuesday will allow the 110-year old organization to put scores of lawsuits alleging sexual abuse by adult scout leaders on hold. The Chapter 11 by the organiza- tion, once headquartered in North Brunswick, in federal bankruptcy court in Wilmington, Delaware, sets in mo- tion what could be one of the biggest, most complex bankruptcies in the history. Though the may temporarily delay the lawsuits, the organization could eventually be forced to sell some of its vast property holdings, in- cluding campgrounds and hiking trails, to raise money for a compensation trust fund that could surpass $1 billion. Jay Mascolo, a partner with the Somerville and New Brunswick law of Rebenack Aronow Mascolo, is representing several men who alleged they were abused by scout leaders. But Mascolo warned that time be shortened if the bankruptcy judge orders an earlier deadline for abuse survivors to claims in the bankruptcy court.

If peo- ple come forward after that deadline they will be too By for bankruptcy, people who have lawsuits against the Boy Scouts will likely have to a complaint with the bankruptcy court by a deadline set by the judge or will likely lose their right to seek compensation for damages from the Boy Scouts. Rebenack Aronow Mascolo and Pfau Cochran Vertetis Amala, of Taco- ma, Washington, have jointly 30 lawsuits against the Boy Scouts in New Jersey. Most of those cases are pending in Middlesex County Superior Court because at the time of the alleged abuse, the headquarters was on Route 1 in North Brunswick. The organization is now headquartered in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. The allegations of Douglas Parker, who grew up in Middlesex County, are representative of the lawsuits by Rebenack Aronow Mascolo.

Parker alleges he was sexually abused from 1961 through 1964 by an assistant scoutmaster. The sexual abuse occurred during ac- tivities sponsored by the Boy Scouts of America, including camping trips to Camp Watchung which, at that time, was in Lebanon Township near Glen Gardner, the lawsuit alleges. The assistant scoutmaster his position of trust and to Parker and to sexually abuse him multiple times, according to the lawsuit. The assistant scoutmaster, not named as a defendant, was a sexual predator of The lawsuit also alleges that the Boy Scouts of America the sexual in order to their own bad acts in failing to protect from the assistant scoutmaster. Because of the sexual abuse, the law- suit contends, Parker sustained cal and psychological includ- ing emotional and psychological dis- tress, humiliation, fright, dissociation, anger, depression, anxiety, family tur- moil and loss of faith.

The Boy was so shocking and outrageous that it exceeds the reasonable bounds of decency as measured by the what the average mem- ber of the community would the lawsuit argues. Though the lawsuit was Dec. 1, 2019, the Boy Scouts have yet to a re- sponse. In its bankruptcy the Boy Scouts listed its assets at between $1 bil- lion and $10 billion, and its liabilities at $500 million to $1 billion. programs will continue throughout this process and for many years to Boy Scouts of America said in a statement.

councils are not for bankruptcy because they are legally separate and distinct organi- The have been strained in recent years by declin- ing membership and sex-abuse settle- ments. The number of youths taking part in scouting has dropped below 2 million, down from a peak of more than 4 million during the 1970s. The organization has tried to counter the decline by admitting girls, but its membership rolls took a big hit Jan. 1 when The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for dec- ades a major sponsor of Boy Scout units cut ties and withdrew more than 400,000 scouts in favor of programs of its own. The outlook worsened last year after New York, Arizona, New Jer- sey and California passed laws making it easier for victims of long-ago abuse to claims.

Teams of lawyers across the U.S. have been signing up clients by the hundreds to sue the Boy Scouts. are outraged that there have been times when individuals took ad- vantage of our programs to harm inno- cent said Roger Mosby, the Boy president and CEO. we know nothing can undo the tragic abuse that victims we believe the Chapter 11 process, with the pro- posed trust structure, will provide equi- table compensation to all victims while maintaining the important mis- Founded in 1910, the Boy Scouts have kept since the 1920s listing and volunteers implicated in sexual abuse, for the avowed purpose of keeping predators away from youth. Ac- cording to a court deposition, the as of January listed 7,819 suspected abus- ers and 12,254 victims.

Until last spring, the organization had insisted it never knowingly allowed a predator to work with youths. But in May, The Associated Press reported that attorneys for abuse victims had identi- multiple cases in which known predators were allowed to return to lead- ership posts. The next day, Boy Scouts chief executive Mike Surbaugh wrote to a congressional committee, acknowl- edging the previous claim was untrue. Contributing: Associated Press Email: Boy Scouts bankruptcy could stall abuse lawsuits Mike Deak Central Jersey Courier News USA TODAY NETWORK NEW JERSEY Rapper Pop Smoke fatally shot during home break-in Pop Smoke, a rising Brooklyn rap- per who had a breakout year of hit songs and albums that made some of the biggest names in hip-hop his fans and collaborators, was fatally shot during a break-in Wednesday at a Hollywood Hills home, his label said. Los Angeles police did not announce any arrests.

are devastated by the unex- pected and tragic loss of Pop said a statement from Republic Rec- ords, the label of the 20-year-old whose legal name was Bashar Barakah Jackson. prayers and thoughts go out to his family, friends and fans, as we mourn this loss of- found a victim shortly before 5 a.m. after responding to a 911 call from someone who reported intruders, in- cluding one armed with a handgun, were breaking in, police Capt. Steve Lurie said. Millie Bobby Brown: last few years been On her 16th birthday, Millie Bobby Brown on growing up in the spotlight.

Brown shared a two-minute video to Instagram on Wednesday, set to the tune of Justin song The video highlighted clips from her life, including screenshots of articles criticizing the star as well as shots of her signing autographs and being photo- graphed by paparazzi. The video end- ed with Brown blowing out candles on a birthday cake. has felt like a long time coming. i feel like change needs to happen for not only this generation but the next. our world needs kindness and support in order for us children to grow and she captioned her post.

Brown admitted the last few years been easy for her and have made her feel insecure. last few years been easy, admit that. there are moments i get frustrated from the inaccuracy, inappropriate comments, sexualiza- tion, and unnecessary insults that ul- timately have resulted in pain and in- security for she said. Frankel to star in reality show Bethenny Frankel is bringing her business skills back to reality TV. The Skinnygirl founder, who previ- ously appeared on Real House- wives of New York and will star in an upcoming HBO Max series called Big Shot with the new streaming service announced Wednesday.

Similar to which starred real-estate-mogul-turned- president Donald Trump, se- ries will follow contestants as they take on tasks that challenge their cre- ativity and determination. The winner will join executive team. PEOPLE IN THE NEWS Struggling with your tax returns? The Asbury Park Press will host volun- teers from the New Jersey Society of Public Accountants who will answer tax questions for free from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday, March 8.

Call us during that time toll-free at 800-883-7737. In past years, hundreds of Press readers were able to get free tax advice through this call-in program. Asbury Park Press will help you with your tax returns Dennis P. Carmody Asbury Park Press USA TODAY NETWORK NEW JERSEY Restaurant owners are invited to submit information for our annual Dining Guide, a free listing in the 2020 Summer Guide, which will be pub- lished May 22 in the Asbury Park Press. To be in the guide, send the name, address and telephone number of the restaurant, along with the type of cui- sine; website address (if applicable); exactly which credit cards are accept- ed (V, MC, AE, D) and whether the res- taurant is handicapped accessible.

Email information to calen- by 5 p.m. March 13. Please write Dining Guide 2020 in the subject line. Be a part of this Dining Guide From Staff Reports Asbury Park Press USA TODAY NETWORK NEW JERSEY CAMDEN The coronavirus has af- fected the purchase of new FREEDOM Cards for the PATCO Hi-Speedline. A shipment of 30,000 fare cards set for Feb.

17 was halted because the Chi- nese company that manufactures them was abruptly shut down amid the virus outbreak, according to tran- sit line president John Hanson. He said PATCO has been able to lo- cate 10,000 blank cards in the United Kingdom. They have been sent to Ver- mont for printing as FREEDOM cards and are expected to arrive at PATCO of- on Friday. Paragon ID, the United Kingdom Company that has had the Freedom Card contract for more than 10 years. The cards, however, are manfactured by an company in China that PATCO believe is in Beijing.

had to scramble to get the last new cards PATCO general manager John Rink said after a PATCO board meeting Tuesday morning in Camden. Hanson said PATCO has received no information about when the manufac- turing plant might reopen. DRPA and PATCO were by Para- gon ID that this scheduled shipment of the 30,000 cards was be- ing cancelled because the plant had closed due to the coronavirus. informed PATCO that the situa- tion in Asia could potentially impact our card supply chain and agreed on a back-up said Paragon ID spokeswoman Thierry Burgess. used its international manu- facturing capabilities as well as alter- native sourcing and met needs.

Cards will be delivered this week per She said no Paragon ID customers have yet been adversely impacted by the Asian situation. Hanson reported the card supply is- sue at an earlier Tuesday morning board meeting of the Delaware River Port Authority, which also serves as the PATCO board. currently have little or no sup- ply of FREEDOM Cards in stock due to other delays in the contracting proc- he said in his monthly written re- port to the board. He that statement after the meeting later with further infor- mation that PATCO had about 500 Freedom Cards in stock as of Tuesday. need about 500 cards a week in order to issue new cards, replace lost cards or problem cards and replace other cards that have been in usage for up to 10 Rink said.

Hanson said he did not envision customers would have any problems if they visit the FREEDOM card centers at Broadway or Woodcrest stations to buy or replace cards since the card delivery is scheduled for Friday. want to make it clear we have not run out of FREEDOM cards although we only have a small he add- ed. He advised the board Tuesday that he had authorized a $37,700 purchase of the 10,000 cards under his emergen- cy powers as DRPA CEO. More than 70 percent of 20,000 daily round-trip PATCO commuters use the cards in- stead of paying cash for rides between Lindenwold and Philadelphia stations. Riders can automatically add mon- ey to the cards when their account bal- ances get low or become depleted.

Carol Comegno loves telling stories about South Jersey history and our military veterans. Her book, Bat- tleship USS New Jersey: From Birth to is the history of the battleship. If you have a story to share, call her at 856-486-2473 or email cco- Coronavirus delays FREEDOM fare cards Carol Comegno Cherry Hill Courier-Post USA TODAY NETWORK NEW JERSEY.