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In a complaint Sept. 18, the U.S. claimed civil damages totaling $103,078,056 under the Rivers and Harbors Act, the Oil Pollution Act and general maritime law, according to the release. There are still dozens of outstanding civil claims, including one from the state of Maryland, seeking damages from the owners of the Dali. According to the Justice Department, Thursday's settlement does not include damages to rebuild the bridge because Maryland built, owned, maintained and operated it. The Dali smashed into the Key Bridge early March 26 after it left the Port of Baltimore en route to Sri Lanka. The ship lost power, regained power, then lost power again before it hit the bridge, causing it to collapse into the Fort McHenry Channel.

Persons: Francis Scott Key, DALI, Brian M, Boynton, Dali Organizations: U.S . Justice Department, Ocean Private Ltd, Synergy Marine Private Ltd, U.S, Justice Department, U.S . Treasury, Harbors, Justice Department's Civil, Port, Fort McHenry Channel Locations: Maryland, Dali, Singapore, U.S, Rivers, States, Baltimore, Sri Lanka, Port of Baltimore, DALI

Garland — who oversaw the Justice Department in the wake of its biggest crisis since Watergate, when Trump tried to enlist Justice Department appointees to overturn his election loss — is likely to stay on at least long enough to ensure a smooth transition. Still, a few names have surfaced for the position of 87th attorney general of the United States. Roy Cooper, who was on Harris' vice presidential short list; former Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta, who served as the No. 3 official at the Justice Department until earlier this year; and U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams. 3 position at the Justice Department.

Persons: WASHINGTON — Kamala Harris’s, Donald Trump, Harris, General Merrick Garland, Jack Smith, Garland, Joe Biden’s, Garland —, Trump, —, Roy Cooper, Vanita Gupta, Damian Williams ., Damian Williams . North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, Elizabeth Frantz, Sen, Catherine Cortez Masto, Cortez Masto, ”, ” Cooper, Cooper, Harris ’, Andrade, Rhoades, Gupta, Barack Obama’s, Grover Norquist, Williams, Bob Menendez, Eric Adams, Sean, Diddy, Combs, cryptocurrency, Sam Bankman, Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, Damian Williams, Eduardo Munoz, Tony West, ” Trump, “, Trump’s Organizations: Justice Department, U.S . Capitol, Trump, NBC, North Carolina Gov, U.S, Attorney, Southern, of, Damian Williams . North Carolina Governor, Senate, Republican, NBC News, Democratic, Convention, Bloomberg, Getty, American Civil Liberties Union, Justice Department's Civil, Division, Major Cities Chiefs Association, International Association of Chiefs, Police, Fraternal, of Police, Tax, Black U.S, “ Sovereign, Democratic New York City, Department, DOJ, Capitol Locations: United States, American, of New York, Detroit, Philadelphia

☆ Student in carving of racial slur on teammate's chest no longer enrolled at Gettysburg College
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-24 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Dennis-Romero-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Dennis Romero | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

An unidentified Gettysburg College student who allegedly carved a racial epithet on the chest of a teammate is no longer enrolled at the Pennsylvania liberal arts college, the school said over the weekend. "We can report now that the individual who scratched a slur onto another person is no longer enrolled at the College," the parties stated. A spokesperson for the college confirmed it, saying the alleged perpetrator and victim were suspended from the swim team pending the outcome of an investigation. On Friday, The Gettysburgian published a statement from the victim's family. The victim’s family said he was the only person of color at the gathering and that the alleged perpetrator was a trusted friend of his.

Persons: Bob Iuliano, Iuliano, Jamie Yates, Yates, — Organizations: Gettysburg College, Sunday, College, NAACP, Pennsylvania, Human Relations, U.S . Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, Gettysburg, III, Centennial Conference, Division, District Locations: Pennsylvania, Gettysburg

☆ How Elon Musk could benefit from a second Trump presidency
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-26 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Read previewWith a few pen strokes, Donald Trump could make many of Elon Musk's problems go away. But Musk also stands to gain with a new administration controlling federal regulations. But with Trump as president, Musk wouldn't even need to dismantle the so-called "administrative state" to get federal agencies out of his way. As president, Trump could direct the Justice Department and other executive agencies to drop any actions against Trump and his friends' businesses, Gernhardt told BI. Existing federal laws from the EPA and Department of Interior could be relaxed, Blanchard said.

Persons: —, Donald Trump, Elon, Musk, Joe Biden, Trump, JD Vance —, Michael Gerhardt, Gernhardt, Jilian Blanchard, Blanchard, Gerhardt Organizations: Service, Business, University of North, SEC, SpaceX, Justice Department, Good Government, National Environmental, EPA, Department of Interior, Securities, Exchange Commission, Twitter, Interior Department Locations: Ohio, Silicon, University of North Carolina, Chevron, Texas

What's next: Media Matters filed a motion to dismiss Musk's lawsuit in March, but a judge has yet to rule. VCG/GettyGovernment lawsuits and investigationsSEC investigation into Musk's Twitter takeoverThe issues: The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating Elon Musk's Twitter purchase. Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty ImagesPersonal lawsuits against MuskTornetta v. MuskThe issues: Tesla shareholder Richard Tornetta sued Musk and Tesla in a class action lawsuit regarding Musk's compensation package, which was worth $55.8 billion at the time. Several lawsuits also allege Musk discriminated against them because of their race, gender, or disability in choosing to fire them. The executives were set to receive golden parachutes, but claim Musk and X have not paid them out.

Persons: —, Elon Musk, Musk, Claire Boucher, Grimes, Alex Spiro, Sam Altman, Donald Trump, Spiro, Anna Webber, Angelo Carusone, What's, Gina Carano, Schaerr Jaffe, Tesla, Musk's, Elon, SEC hasn't, Elon Musk's, who've, Owen Diaz, Matt Winkelmeyer, Richard Tornetta, Kimbal Musk, He's, Boucher, Benjamin Brody, Brody, Brody reverberated, Ben Brody, didn't, Robert Kaiden, Kaiden, he's, Agrawal, Parag Agrawal, Ned Segal, Twitter Vijaya Gadde, Sean Edgett, Segal, hadn't Organizations: Service, SpaceX, Business, OpenAI, SEC, Trump, Trump —, Elon, Variety, Media, X Corp, Disney, National Labor Relations Board, UAW, Tesla, Getty Government, Twitter, Securities, Exchange Commission, Justice Department, Reuters, Traffic, Administration, NHTSA, Apple, NLRB, Musk's SpaceX, US, Employment Opportunity, Musk, Nazi, Litigation Locations: Texas, Texas and Missouri, America, Nazi Germany, California, Delaware, San Francisco

☆ A tech company that posted a 'whites only' job ad was ordered to pay $7.5K and give staff better training
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-27 | by ( Rebecca Rommen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The DOJ secured the agreements with Arthur Grand Technologies Inc., an information technology services firm, earlier this month. The job ad said it was after "only US-born citizens [white] who are local within 60 miles from Dallas, TX." Arthur Grand apologized and said that an employee added discriminatory language to the listing and published it without authorization. AdvertisementAs part of its settlement with the Justice Department, Arthur Grand will pay the US Treasury a civil penalty of $7,500 and implement comprehensive training for its staff on INA compliance. Last month, Business Insider reported on a study that showed CVs with Black-sounding names are less likely to get callbacks.

Persons: —, Arthur Grand, Kristen Clarke, Michele Hodge, OpenAI, Arthur Grand didn't Organizations: Service, US Department of Justice, DOJ, Arthur Grand Technologies Inc, Immigration, Business, Department, Department of Labor's, LinkedIn, Justice Department, Labor, Justice Department's Civil, Division, US Treasury, INA, Labor Department, Bloomberg Locations: Virginia, Dallas , TX

☆ A sales practice at American Express is under scrutiny. Here's what we know about the investigation.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Dakin Campbell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

It's not clear how much scrutiny the company is under for management's role in developing and training employees to sell the product. Subpoenas are issued to compel parties such as company executives and employees, or former employees, to appear for interviews or turn over documents. In July, the OCC assessed a $15 million civil penalty against American Express National Bank. The IRS is also involvedBrooklyn attorneys are coordinating their criminal investigation alongside the IRS's criminal-investigation unit, the people BI spoke with said. Sinking morale among some sales employeesThe investigations are taking a toll on Amex's results-driven culture, current and former sales employees told BI, because compliance staff have gotten more involved in the sales process.

Persons: Amex, hadn't, salespeople, It's, Adam Isserlis, Isserlis, John Marzulli, Brian Morris, Hiral Mehta, Morris, Boies, Boies Schiller Flexner, Seth DuCharme, Charles Blazer, he's, Mehta, Hiral, Brian Organizations: American Express, Business, Justice, New York State Department of Financial Services, BI, Brooklyn, Eastern, of, OCC, American Express National Bank, Consumer Financial, Justice Department, Department of Financial Services, Department of Justice, IRS, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, FDIC's, Government, Costco, Securities, Eastern District, Department of Homeland Security, Boies Schiller, FIFA, Taco Bell Locations: Brooklyn , New York, of New York, Eastern, Brooklyn

(AP) — The U.S. Justice Department launched an investigation Wednesday into alleged civil rights violations by police in a majority Black Mississippi city, stepping in following accusations that officers used excessive force and arrested people without justification. Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke, who leads the Justice Department's civil rights division, announced the investigation at a news conference. The area also has a storied place in civil rights history. It also follows the June arrest of Jill Collen Jefferson, the president of JULIAN, the civil rights organization that filed the federal lawsuit on behalf of residents. If the Justice Department concludes that police officers committed the alleged civil rights violations, it could bring a lawsuit seeking court-ordered changes to the department.

Persons: JACKSON, Kristen Clarke, Clarke, ” Clarke, Robert Clark, Todd Gee, Jill Collen Jefferson, JULIAN, Sam Dobbins, Dobbins, Jefferson, ___ Michael Goldberg Organizations: U.S . Justice Department, “, Mississippi Legislature, Southern, Southern District of, Lexington Police Department, Lexington Police, Lexington, Department, Associated Press, America Statehouse News Initiative, America Locations: Miss, Black Mississippi, Lexington, Jackson, Holmes County, Mississippi, U.S, Southern District, Southern District of Mississippi, Rankin County , Mississippi, @mikergoldberg

"SpaceX's discriminatory hiring practices were routine, widespread, and longstanding, and harmed asylees and refugees," Justice Department lawyers wrote in the lawsuit. AdvertisementAdvertisement"Export control laws and regulations do not prohibit or restrict employers from hiring asylees and refugees; those laws treat asylees and refugees just like U.S. citizens," the lawsuit says. The Justice Department's civil rights division, which brought the lawsuit, informed SpaceX in 2020 that it had initiated its investigation. SpaceX initially refused to hand over employment records and fought a Justice Department subpoena in court. "SpaceX recruiters and high-level officials took actions that actively discouraged asylees and refugees from seeking work opportunities at the company," Clarke said.

Persons: Elon Musk, asylees, Musk, Kristen Clarke, Clarke, SpaceX didn't, Tesla Organizations: SpaceX, Elon Musk's, Service, Justice, Defense, State, Justice Department, Twitter Locations: Wall, Silicon

☆ CFPB to crack down on data brokers, Chopra says at White House event
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-15 | by ( Chelsey Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

WASHINGTON — The White House on Tuesday held a roundtable examining potential harmful data broker practices as part of an overall strategy to protect Americans' privacy. The CFPB's new rule proposals will build upon the FCRA to hold data brokers that sell highly sensitive information more accountable. One proposal, said Chopra, will define a data broker dealing in certain types of consumer data as a consumer reporting agency and the brokers' sale of data as a consumer report. Another will clarify whether credit header data, the portion of a credit report that contains identifying information, can be considered a covered consumer report. "We applaud the steps the Consumer Protection Financial Bureau is taking to stop data brokers from unlawfully collecting and selling millions of Americans' sensitive data," she said.

Persons: WASHINGTON, Chopra, There's, Arati Prabhakar, Lael Brainard, Lina Khan, Brian Boynton, Khan, Brainard Organizations: Consumer, Fair, White, Office of Science, Technology, National Economic Council, Federal Trade, Justice Department's Civil, FTC, Protection

☆ Minneapolis police agree to court-enforced reforms 3 years after George Floyd protests
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Rachel Nostrant | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/4] A pedestrian walks past a mural near the closed Minneapolis 3rd Police Precinct on the third anniversary of the murder of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S., May 25, 2023. The agreement approved July 13 by Hennepin County District Court Judge Karen Janisch provides for an independent community commission to oversee the Minneapolis Police Department and mandates policing reforms. "No, I don’t think it’s going to be enough.”Under the July 13 agreement, Minneapolis city and police officials have 60 days to put together implementation teams. Her department had conducted its own investigation into Minneapolis police after last year announcing it had found probable cause to believe that the Minnesota Human Rights Act had been violated. It worked with the city and its police department on the agreement approved by Judge Janisch.

Persons: George Floyd, Leah Millis, Karen Janisch, Derek Chauvin, Floyd, Toussaint Morrison, Rebecca Lucero, Judge Janisch, Rachel Nostrant, Donna Bryson, Aurora Ellis Organizations: REUTERS, Hennepin, Minneapolis Police Department, Minneapolis police, Department's Civil Rights, Minnesota Department of Human Rights, Minnesota Department of Human, Minnesota Human, Thomson Locations: Minneapolis, Minneapolis , Minnesota, U.S, Minnesota, Hennepin County

☆ Minneapolis police face federal oversight for excessive force, discrimination
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Jonathan Allen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

June 16 (Reuters) - Police in Minneapolis routinely use excessive force and discriminate against Black and Native American people, the U.S. Justice Department said on Friday after a two-year investigation prompted by the police killing of George Floyd. The city has agreed to what will likely be years of federal oversight as it works to reform the Minneapolis Police Department, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in announcing the findings. "We found that the Minneapolis Police Department routinely uses excessive force, often when no force is necessary, including unjust deadly force and unreasonable use of Tasers," Garland said at a press conference at the city's federal courthouse. Frey and other Minneapolis officials will negotiate an agreement with the Justice Department known as a consent decree in which a federal judge will oversee the city's progress in reforming the police department. The department has negotiated similar federal oversight agreements in other cities, including Ferguson in Missouri, Baltimore and Cleveland.

Persons: George Floyd, General Merrick Garland, Derek Chauvin, Garland, Jacob Frey, Frey, Chauvin, Floyd, Eric Miller, Marcia Howard, Howard, Mayor Frey, Department's, Joe Biden, Ferguson, Jonathan Allen, Deepa Babington, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Police, U.S . Justice, Minneapolis Police Department, U.S, Justice Department, Civil Rights Division, REUTERS, Minneapolis Police, Democrat, Justice Department's Civil, Thomson Locations: Minneapolis, Minneapolis , Minnesota, U.S, Black, Missouri, Baltimore, Cleveland, New York

☆ Somehow 32 school districts in Mississippi are still under federal orders to desegregate
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( Michael Goldberg | Associated Press | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

But 69 years later, 32 school districts in Mississippi are still under federal desegregation orders. (AP) — There are 32 school districts in Mississippi still under federal desegregation orders, the US Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division's assistant attorney general said Thursday. "In our ongoing efforts to fulfill the promise of Brown vs. Board of Education, we currently have 32 open cases with school districts here in Mississippi," Clarke said. In addition to school districts, Clarke said at least five Mississippi jails and prisons have come under federal scrutiny. Clarke declined to offer more details about the case, citing an ongoing federal civil rights investigation.

Persons: Brown, —, Kristen Clarke, Clarke, Rogelio V, Solis Mississippi, Michael Corey Jenkins, Jill Collen Jefferson, JULIAN, Bonita Streeter, Mitzi Dease Paige, Solis, Jefferson Organizations: Service, US Department of Justice's, US Department of Justice's Civil Rights, Justice Department, of Education, Holmes, Community, Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, AP, The Justice Department, Mississippi Delta, Penitentiary, South Mississippi Correctional Institution, Central Mississippi Correctional Facility, Correctional, Sheriff's Deputies, Southern, Southern District of, Solis An Associated Press, Lexington Police Department, The, Department, FBI Locations: Mississippi, LEXINGTON, Miss, Lexington, Jackson, Parchman, Wilkinson, Hinds, Rankin, Southern District, Southern District of Mississippi, Solis An

The Justice Department said the law violated the U.S. Constitution's Fourteenth Amendment, which promises equal protection. The Justice Department also said it was asking the court to issue an immediate order to prevent the law from going into effect on July 1. But many medical associations have said the law is transphobic and that gender-affirming care can be life-saving. Republican Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed the ban into law last month along with a separate measure restricting drag performances in public. Several other U.S. states have banned gender-affirming care for minors, and over the last several weeks groups have sued over laws adopted in Utah, Florida, Indiana and Arkansas.

☆ U.S. policing AI at companies to make sure it doesn't violate civil rights
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Chris Prentice | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 25 (Reuters) - U.S. officials on Tuesday warned financial firms and others that use of artificial intelligence (AI) can heighten the risk of bias and civil rights violations, and signaled they are policing marketplaces for such discrimination. Increased reliance on automated systems in sectors including lending, employment and housing threatens to exacerbate discrimination based on race, disabilities and other factors, the heads of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Justice Department's civil rights unit, Federal Trade Commission and others said. "Claims of innovation must not be cover for lawbreaking," Lina Khan, chair of the Federal Trade Commission, told reporters. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is trying to reach tech sector whistleblowers to determine where new technologies run afoul of civil rights laws, said Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra. If companies do not even understand the reasons for the decisions their AI is making, they cannot legally use it, Chopra said.

WASHINGTON, April 13 (Reuters) - Photoshop maker Adobe Inc (ADBE.O) has agreed to pay $3 million to settle U.S. kickback allegations involving federal software sales, the U.S. Justice Department said in a statement on Thursday. The settlement resolves allegations that Adobe made improper payments under its Solution Partner program to companies that had a contractual or other relationship with the government that allowed them to influence federal purchases of Adobe software, the Justice Department said. Between January 2011 and December 2020, Adobe allegedly paid the companies a percentage of the purchase price of the software, according to the Justice Department. The United States contends that these payments constituted prohibited kickbacks that resulted in Adobe causing false claims for payment to be submitted to federal agencies. "We will continue to use all appropriate tools to safeguard the integrity of the federal procurement process," Boynton said.

☆ Dueling court cases in Washington state and Texas could determine legality of abortion pill
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Two federal judges are poised to issue rulings soon in dueling cases that could dramatically impact access to the abortion pill mifepristone. In Washington state, U.S. Judge Thomas Rice is weighing whether to scrap federal regulations on mifepristone that complicate access even where abortion is legal. In the case of Texas, medical associations that oppose abortion are asking the judge to pull the abortion pill from the U.S. market nationwide. Ferguson and the 17 other attorneys general are asking the judge in Washington state to drop these restrictions. The states include Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Washington State.

☆ U.S. judge in Texas will soon rule on the abortion pill mifepristone. Here's what could happen
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

The Alliance For Hippocratic Medicine wants Judge Kacsmaryk to nullify the FDA's medical approval of mifepristone, which would effectively ban the abortion pill across the US. Senate Judiciary Committee | YouTubeA Texas judge will soon issue a pivotal ruling in a closely watched case challenging the Food and Drug Administration's approval of the abortion pill mifepristone. It's also possible that Kacsmaryk could order the agency to impose tighter restrictions on access to mifepristone but stop short of completely halting sales. Abortion rights groups and legal experts expect the judge will rule against the FDA in some form. Possible injunctionIf Kacsmaryk issues an order to withdraw mifepristone from the market, there are several ways such a ruling could be drafted.

They said they plan to share the footage with the Justice Department. The main entrance to the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman. Mississippi Department of CorrectionsThe crisis in state prisons had become so acute that Gov. Some changes were already in the works under new leadership, the Justice Department said at the time, with cooperation coming from state officials. The Justice Department did not immediately return a request for further comment.

CompaniesCompanies Law firms Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher Llp Follow(Reuters) - Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher said Monday that Gustav Eyler, who was a top U.S. Department of Justice consumer protection official, has joined the firm as a Washington, D.C.-based partner. Eyler, who practiced as a litigation associate at Los Angeles-founded Gibson Dunn earlier in his career, served for five years as director of the consumer protection branch of the Justice Department's civil division, where he oversaw more than 250 prosecutors and staff, the firm said. Gibson Dunn has made other recent hires to its Washington office, including two last week. At Gibson Dunn, Eyler said he plans to help clients facing government investigations, enforcement actions and related consumer class actions involving the life sciences, healthcare and consumer products sectors, and work with clients on data privacy matters. Read more:Law firm Steptoe hires U.S. Justice Dept senior antitrust lawyerJustice official to lead Jenner's congressional investigations teamOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ A mechanic who says he was fired after refusing to 'forgive and forget' a colleague's use of a racist slur is suing a Georgia county
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-16 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A mechanic said he was fired by a Georgia county after refusing to forgive the use of a racist slur. Loyal told his brother-in-law, Bobby Turner, about the incident, upsetting Puryear. Both men were fired by the county for misconduct two weeks after Loyal's initial complaint, per the filing. "No employee should have to endure racial harassment or retaliation in the workplace, especially racial slurs," said assistant attorney general Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department's civil rights division. "Punishing employees for reporting harassment and discrimination to their supervisors is illegal and undermines the basic statutory protections designed to identify and root out racial harassment in workplaces across the country."

☆ Biogen to pay $900 million to settle allegations it paid doctors kickbacks to prescribe multiple sclerosis drugs
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Biogen will pay $900 million to settle a lawsuit that alleged the company gave doctors kickbacks to encourage them prescribe its drugs, the Justice Department announced on Monday. Bawduniak alleged Biogen paid kickbacks to doctors in the form of speaking fees, consulting fees and meals from 2009 through 2014 to encourage them to prescribe its multiple sclerosis drugs. Biogen will pay more than $843 million to the federal government and $56 million to 15 states to settle the case. "Biogen believes its intent and conduct was at all times lawful and appropriate and Biogen denies all allegations raised in this case," the company said. Biogen disclosed in its second quarter report that it had reached an agreement in principle to pay $900 million to resolve the lawsuit.

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