Dallas County Jury Awards $1.1 Billion in Child Abuse Case Against Stepfather Tied to Early Humble Oil Fortune A Dallas County jury awarded $1.1 billion to a young child and his family on Wednesday after finding his stepfather responsible for severe abuse that left him with life-altering injuries. The verdict included approximately $291 million in compensatory damages and $810 million in punitive damages. The case centers on Charles Brooks, Jr., the child’s stepfather, who was accused of causing catastrophic harm to the child, now 7 years old, during a 2021 incident. According to the lawsuit, Brooks, an unemployed trust fund beneficiary, assaulted the child, resulting in injuries that left him in a wheelchair and requiring lifelong medical care. The child’s mother, Madison Ball, alleged that Brooks lied about the circumstances of the incident. Ball claimed Brooks told her he had to visit his grandfather in the hospital in Dallas and took her 2-year-old son with him. However, the lawsuit states that Brooks did not visit the hospital and instead beat and abused the child, nearly killing him. Ball’s account details how Brooks told her the child had fallen off a kitchen table and was “non-responsive.” During a FaceTime call, Ball saw her son barely breathing, prompting her to demand immediate action. Brooks allegedly reassured her that the child had already been revived in an ice bath and would “sleep it off.” Despite her pleas, Brooks refused to call an ambulance and threatened her, saying he would “snap her neck” and “f*ing kill her” if she contacted authorities. Ball ultimately called an ambulance, but the lawsuit claims Brooks attempted to prevent her from doing so.#exxonmobil #charles_brooks_jr #madison_ball #humble_oil #texas_children
Iranian attacks have severely damaged 17% of Qatar’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) export capacity, potentially sidelining 12.8 million tons per year of LNG for three to five years, according to QatarEnergy CEO Saad al-Kaabi. The CEO revealed that two of Qatar’s 14 LNG trains and one of its two gas-to-liquids (GTL) facilities were damaged in unprecedented strikes, which he described as an attack by a “brotherly Muslim country” during Ramadan. The damage is expected to result in an estimated $20 billion in annual revenue losses and disrupt supplies to Europe and Asia. Al-Kaabi stated that QatarEnergy will declare force majeure on long-term LNG contracts for up to five years, affecting shipments to Italy, Belgium, South Korea, and China. The damaged facilities, which include LNG trains S4 and S6, are owned in part by U.S. oil giant ExxonMobil, which holds 34% and 30% stakes in the affected units, respectively. The CEO emphasized that repairs will require hostilities to cease, with some facilities taking up to a year to restore. The attacks have also impacted Qatar’s exports of condensate, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), helium, naphtha, and sulfur, with reductions of 24%, 13%, 14%, and 6% respectively. These losses affect industries ranging from Indian restaurant sectors reliant on LPG to South Korea’s chipmakers using helium. The damaged facilities, which cost approximately $26 billion to build, have delayed Qatar’s North Field expansion project by more than a year. Al-Kaabi criticized the geopolitical tensions, stating that the attacks on Gulf oil and gas infrastructure are a regional issue between Iran and Israel, urging all nations to avoid targeting energy facilities. He warned that the damage has set the region back 10 to 20 years, damaging Qatar’s reputation as a safe haven.#iran #qatar #qatarenergy #saad_al_kaabi #exxonmobil
