Nation and world news in brief for October 1

FBI will pay $22.6M to settle female trainees’ sex bias claims

(Reuters) — The U.S. Department of Justice has agreed to pay $22.6 million to settle a lawsuit by 34 women who claim they were wrongly dismissed from the FBI’s agent training academy because of their sex, according to a court filing on Monday.

The settlement, which must be approved by a federal judge in Washington, would resolve a 2019 class action claiming the FBI, which is part of the Justice Department, had a widespread practice of forcing out female trainees.

The plaintiffs say that they were found unsuitable to graduate from the training academy even though they performed as well as, or better than, many male trainees on academic, physical fitness, and firearms tests. Some of them also say they were subjected to sexual harassment and sexist jokes and comments.

Along with the payout, the proposed settlement would allow eligible class members to seek reinstatement to the agent training program and require the FBI to hire outside experts to ensure that its evaluation process for trainees is fair.

The FBI, which has denied wrongdoing, declined to comment on the settlement but in a statement said it has taken significant steps over the past five years to ensure gender equity in agent training.

Dems sue over Georgia requirement that ballots be counted by hand

(NYT) — Democrats sued the Georgia State Election Board on Monday, claiming that a new rule ordering counties to count ballots by hand would invite chaos on election night, create delays in reporting results for large counties and put the security of ballots at risk, according to a copy of the lawsuit obtained by The New York Times.

The lawsuit, filed by the Democratic National Committee and Democratic Party of Georgia with support from Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign, argues that the state election board went far beyond its authority in passing the rule, and notes that the board is not a lawmaking body and that the rule conflicts with the process established by the Georgia General Assembly.

The rule, passed by the Georgia State Election Board this past month, requires local election officials to count ballots by hand after polls close to ensure the total number of ballots matches the machine-counted totals. (The hand count would not require officials to consider for whom each ballot was cast.) Before the vote, both the secretary of state and attorney general of Georgia warned the board that it was probably exceeding its authority in passing such a rule and was changing the election process far too close to Election Day.

US reaches $31.5 million settlement with T-Mobile over data breaches

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — T-Mobile has reached a $31.5 million settlement to resolve a probe by the Federal Communications Commission into significant data breaches over three years that impacted tens of millions of U.S. consumers, the agency said on Monday.

T-Mobile will pay a $15.75 million civil penalty and has agreed to spend another $15.75 million over two years to strengthen its cybersecurity program. The FCC said T-Mobile suffered data breaches in 2021, 2022 and 2023 that impacted millions of current, former or prospective T-Mobile customers.

The 2021 breach alone impacted 76.6 million U.S. consumers while a 2023 breach impacted 37 million, the FCC said.

The FCC said T-Mobile, the nation’s third largest wireless carrier with 119.7 million customers, will address “foundational security flaws, work to improve cyber hygiene, and adopt robust modern architectures, like zero trust and phishing-resistant multi-factor authentication.”

Judge says Georgia can no longer enforce abortion ban

ATLANTA (TNS) — Georgia can no longer enforce its ban on abortion that took effect in 2022, a Fulton County judge said Monday, allowing the procedure again to be performed in the state after a doctor detects fetal cardiac activity.

Fulton County Superior Judge Robert McBurney issued an order Monday that said abortions must be regulated as they were before Georgia’s 2019 law took effect in July 2022 — meaning the procedure is again allowed up until about 22 weeks of pregnancy.

“A review of our higher courts’ interpretations of ‘liberty’ demonstrates that liberty in Georgia includes in its meaning, in its protections, and in its bundle of rights the power of a woman to control her own body, to decide what happens to it and in it, and to reject state interference with her health care choices,” McBurney ruled. “That power is not, however, unlimited. When a fetus growing inside a woman reaches viability, when society can assume care and responsibility for that separate life, then — and only then — may society intervene.”

Calif. gov. signs bill standardizing food package labels

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (TNS) — When does that food actually expire? We’ll soon know.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom over the weekend signed Assembly Bill 660 into law, which standardizes food package labeling.

It will have to read either “best if used by” to denote peak product freshness or “use by” to denote when a food product is no longer safe to eat.

The law also bans retailers from using public-facing “sell by” stickers that simply denotes when stock should be rotated and which can confuse some consumers.

US says 40 foreign operators may be using Boeing 737s with suspect rudder control parts

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board on Monday said more than 40 foreign operators of Boeing 737 airplanes may be using planes with rudder components that may pose safety risks.

The NTSB last week issued urgent safety recommendations about the potential for a jammed rudder control system on some Boeing 737 airplanes after a February incident involving a United Airlines flight.

The NTSB also disclosed Monday that it has learned two foreign operators suffered similar incidents in 2019 involving rollout guidance actuators. “We are concerned of the possibility that other airlines are unaware of the presence of these actuators on their 737 airplanes,” NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said Monday in a letter to FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker.

The NTSB is investigating an incident in which the rudder pedals on a United Boeing 737 MAX 8 were “stuck” in the neutral position during a landing at Newark. There were no injuries to the 161 passengers and crew.

Boeing shares fell 2.7% on Monday.

The NTSB said 271 impact parts may be installed on aircraft in service operated by at least 40 foreign air carriers and 16 may still be installed on U.S.-registered aircraft and up to 75 may have been used in aftermarket installation.

Man who shot 2 outside Los Angeles synagogues gets 35 years in prison

(NYT) — A former dental student who shot and wounded two Jewish men as they left synagogues in Los Angeles last year was sentenced Monday to 35 years in prison, according to federal prosecutors.

The man, Jaime Tran, 30, formerly of Riverside, California, pleaded guilty June 3 to two counts of hate crimes with intent to kill and two counts of “using, carrying and discharging a firearm” during a crime of violence, the Department of Justice said in a statement Monday.