Monthly Archives: October 2019

By David Sharpton | Reuters

WASHINGTON Boeing Co turned over instant messages from 2016 between two employees that suggest the airplane maker may have misled the Federal Aviation Administration about a key safety system on the grounded 737 MAX, according to documents seen by Reuters.

The FAA confirmed Friday that Boeing told it a day earlier about internal messages it had discovered some months ago that characterize certain communications with the FAA during the original certification of the 737 MAX in 2016.

The FAA said it found the messages concerning and is reviewing this information to determine what action is appropriate. It prompted a letter from FAA Administrator Steve Dickson to Boeing Chief Executive Dennis Muilenburg demanding an immediate explanation for the delay in turning over the documents.

A person briefed on the matter said Boeing failed to turn over the documents to the FAA for four months and that the Justice Department is also in possession of the messages.

The Boeing internal messages raised questions about the performance of the so-called MCAS anti-stall system that has been tied to the two fatal crashes in five months.

The messages are between the MAXs then-chief technical pilot, Mark Forkner, and another Boeing pilot, the sources said, and raised questions about the MCASs performance in the simulator in which he said it was running rampant.

Forkner has since left Boeing. The Seattle Times reported in September that Forkner repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment right to not turn over documents subpoenaed by the Justice Department.

Boeing said in a statement the company brought to the Committees attention a document containing statements by a former Boeing employee.

Forkner said in one text message, I basically lied to the regulators (unknowingly). The other employee responded that it wasnt a lie, no one told us that was the case of an issue with MCAS.

Forkner responded soon after: Granted I suck at flying, but even this was egregious.

The FAA plans to turn over more communications from Forkner to Congress later on Friday, sources said.

Boeing is revising the 737 MAX software to add more safeguards and require the MCAS system to receive input from two key sensors.

The FAA reiterated that it is following a thorough process, not a prescribed timeline, for returning the Boeing 737 MAX to passenger service. The agency will lift the grounding order only after we have determined the aircraft is safe.

Earlier this week, Southwest Airlines Co delayed the return of the plane to its flight schedule until February.

Separately, the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee confirmed it will question Muilenburg at an Oct. 29 hearing, one day before a House of Representatives panel is scheduled to question him.

Boeing shares fell 3.9% after the Reuters report, helping to drag down the Dow Jones industrial average to a session low.

Federal prosecutors aided by the FBI, the Department of Transportations inspector general and several blue-ribbon panels are investigating the 737 MAXs certification.

See more here:
Report: 2016 messages suggest Boeing misled FAA on 737 MAX - The Mercury News

A Gloucester woman caught on cell phone video tussling with a Beverly woman on Route 128 in Danvers during a road rage incident in March will be on probation for a year.

Catherine Bergen, 33,admitted tosufficientfacts to be found guilty on four charges of assault, assault and battery, disorderly conduct, and reckless driving, during a hearing Friday in Salem District Court.

Do you agree those are true? asked Salem District Court Judge Randy Chapman.

Yes, said Bergen in a small voice afterAssistant District Attorney Michael Varone read out a summary of facts. In doing so, Bergen, with her attorney Stephen Neyman by her side, waived her right to a trial.

Chapmancontinued the charges without a finding.He placed on filea charge of stopping or parking on a highway, which is a civil infraction.

Prosecutors agreed toreduce the original charge of assault and battery on a person 60 and over, a felony, to a lesser charge of assault and battery, which is a misdemeanor.

Bergen agreed to a plea deal and the prosecutors recommendation of oneyear of probation and 40 hours of community service. She also agreed toenter and complete theState Courts Against Road Rage course. She was also ordered to paya $50 victim/witness assessment and $50 a month probation fee.

Bergen declined to make a statement in court, and declined comment to a reporter outside of the courtroom. The other woman involved in the March 29 incident, Susan Lavoie, 64, of Beverly, was recently found not guilty by a jury after a one-day trial last month, and it was noted during thehearing she also did not wish to make a statement.

In that earlier trial, Bergen had invoked her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and did not testify. DuringLavoies trial, witnesses testified that it appeared Bergen was the initial aggressor after coming to a dead stop in the right-hand travel lane of Route 128 south near Conant Street and Exit 21, close to the Beverly-Danvers line.

According to Trooper Scott Hayes report, he had been dispatched that day for multiple calls of cars stopped in the right-hand travel lane, and that two women had left their cars and were fighting.

The cars had left by the time the trooper and Danvers police arrived.

Later, Hayes learned that Katherine Deleo, of Gloucester, had captured a portion of the incident on her cell phone, and that other videos were circulating on news channels and on social media.

Hayes was able to identifythe first car stopped in the right lane as a 2015 Subaru Outback registered to Bergen, andthe second as a 2013 Nissan Altima registered to Lavoie. A third car stopped behind these two was that of a good Samaritan.

The video shows Bergen outside her car and Lavoie stumbling as she gets out of her car, the trooper said in his report.

The two are then standing outside their vehicles in the right travel lane as traffic is actively passing them on both sides and they appear to be slapping and grabbing one another, Hayes said in his report. Motorists were honking at them and others were yelling at them to get out of the road as traffic piled up.

Hayes, in his report, said the incident was triggered by a lane change in which the two vehicles nearly made contact but never did.As a result, Bergen ... stopped abruptly in the right travel lane and approached the drivers side window of Lavoie ... who stopped behind her. Bergen then began to hit the drivers side window and door with her hand. Lavoie then exited her vehicle, at which point the two engaged in a physical altercation. All witnesses stated that Bergen appeared to be the instigator.

Varone, the prosecutor, said witnesses saw Bergen had suddenly slammed on her brakes in front of Ms. Lavoies car.

Lavoie called state police hours after seeing herself on the news. She was interviewed by Hayes and toldhim she had inadvertently cut off Bergens car, whichthen slammed on its brakes and forced Lavoie to do the same to avoid a collision.

The operator of (the Subaru) then approached the drivers side window and started punching same, while yelling and swearing at her, Hayes report states. She was afraid the window was going to shatter and she had no intention of fighting with the operator of (the Subaru). She told the trooper she got out of her car in self defense though in retrospect she knew she probably shouldnt have.

Lavoie testified last month that after she opened the door, Bergen punched her, causing her to fall to the ground before she caught herself. She testified she tried to grab Bergens hands to keep her from hitting her.

Ethan Forman can be reached at 978-338-2673, eforman@gloucestertimes.com or on Twitter at @TannerSalemNews.

Excerpt from:
Driver in road rage incident gets a year of probation - Gloucester Daily Times

Over the past five years, millions of Americans have ascended to a higher plane of fulfillment by tidying up their homes. By talking to our possessions, one by one, and asking if they spark joy, we have achieved a kind of contentment we never dreamed possible.

Now its time to tidy up a residence that belongs to all of us: the White House.

At first, this seems like a daunting task. After all, the White House has a hundred and thirty-two rooms. There is much culling to be done.

But theres no reason to despair. Many useless things have already been hauled away. Reince Priebus, John Kelly, Steve Bannon, Kirstjen Nielsen, Michael Flynn, John Bolton, Sean Spicer, Hope Hicks, Sarah Huckabee Sandersnone of them sparked joy. And now they are all gone. And Anthony Scaramucci, who sparked joy as briefly as those paisley pants you immediately regretted buying at H&Mhe is gone, too.

Clearly, though, more culling remains to be done.

We must look at Donald Trump and ask ourselves, Does this spark joy? And, although the answer to that question might be somewhat different in Russia, North Korea, and Turkey, the answer here is a resounding no.

Remember how, once you tidied up your dwelling, you discovered hidden treasures buried under all of those needless possessions? Well, once that garish orange thing that sparks no joy has been removed from the Oval Office, youll be amazed what youll find underneath. Things you forgot you even had, like democracy.

In the video above, from last weekends New Yorker Festival, I speak about the happiness we can attain by decluttering the country of Trump. Much like Marie Kondo, the authors of the United States Constitution gave us a unique tool for improving our surroundings: impeachment. And the Twenty-fifth Amendment is pretty good, too.

See the rest here:
The Life-Changing Magic of Impeaching Donald Trump - The New Yorker

A lawyer representing President Donald Trump and his campaign are threatening to sueCNN over its coverage of the current administration.

Never in the history of this country has a President been the subject of such a sustained barrage of unfair, unfounded, unethicaland unlawful attacks by so-called 'mainstream' news, as the current situation, attorney Charles Harder writes to CNN President Jeff Zucker.

In the letter, Harder accuses CNN ofviolating the Lanham Act, which prohibits trademark infringement as well as false advertising.

My clients intend to file legal action against you, to seek compensatory damages, trebledamages, punitive damages, injunctive relief, reimbursement of legal costs, and all other available legal and equitable remedies, to the maximum extent permitted by law, Harder writes.

Harder cites a recent Project Veritas video, in which an employee alleges that Zucker is biased against Trump.

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Your own employees appear to state that CNN is focused on trying to'take down President Trump,' driven by a 'personal vendetta' that Mr. Zucker purportedly has against him, rather than reporting the news in an objective manner, the letter states.

Harder previously represented wrestler Hulk Hogan in his successfulinvasion-of-privacy lawsuit against Gawker, which drove the company into bankruptcy.

It's not clear whether Trump actually plans to follow through with a lawsuit. But some observers arealready expressing skepticism that such a suit would get very far.

If the legal claims in his letter are any indication, I would think CNN will want him to sue and have a court decide this one, Neal Katyal, actingU.S. Solicitor General during the Obama administration, says on Twitter.

Bob Corn-Revere, a First Amendment attorneywho is currently representing Pen America in a lawsuit against Trump, tells MediaPost that Harder's letter doesn't spell out the basis of any potential claims against CNN.

The presidentis going to bring a Lanham Act claim against CNN because he doesn't like their reporting? he says. It's really hard to follow the thread of it.

He adds that even a validLanham Act claim wouldn't override the First Amendment, which prohibits the government from censoring news organizations.

Government officials don't get to use the power of civil law tosilence critics, he says.

If Trump does sue, it won't be the first time CNN and the White House have faced off in court. Last year, CNN took the administration to court after the WhiteHouse revoked journalist Jim Acosta's press credentials.

CNN argued in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that Acosta's First Amendment and Fifth Amendment rights were violated by the decision to revokehis press pass. U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Kelly in the District of Columbia, a Trump appointee, sided with CNN. Kelly ordered the credentials restored on the grounds that the White Housefailed to give Acosta due process of law when it summarily revoked his press pass.

Read more:
Trump Threatens To Sue CNN Over Coverage 10/21/2019 - MediaPost Communications

FRONT ROYAL A variety of issues were tackled regarding the Front Royal-Warren County Economic Development Authoritys civil case during a hearing Thursday in Warren County Circuit Court hearing.

Judge Bruce Albertson approved a request to amend the authoritys complaint, which outlines a series of alleged embezzlements during former EDA Executive Director Jennifer McDonalds tenure. This amendment increased the alleged damages from $17.6 million to $21.3 million and added six defendants.

The defendants added were: McDonalds husband Samuel North; McDonalds mother Linda Hassenplug and her Little Rugratz Daycare LLC; former EDA Administrative Assistant Michelle Missy Henry; former B&G Goods store owner William Lambert; and Jesse Poe, who the complaint describes as an associate in the financial affairs of McDonald and Henry.

Albertson denied the EDAs request to add April Petty, who once sold a house with McDonald as her real estate agent, as a defendant.

William Schmidheiser, Pettys lawyer, reasserted the argument outlined in a recently filed motion that Petty is a victim of McDonalds embezzlement rather than a co-conspirator. He asked the court to not include Petty as a defendant in the case without further investigation.

Albertson said he will consider the EDAs request to add Petty as a defendant in two to three weeks.

Also during the hearing, Albertson granted BerlikLaw lawyers Jay McDannell and Lee Berlik their request to withdraw as counsel for McDonald and her LLCs.

This comes as the EDAs amended civil suit alleges that McDonald used $10,000 of stolen money to pay the firm.

The EDAs attorneys requested that BerlikLaw turn over documents related to that payment.

McDannell said the documents should be exempt due to attorney-client privilege, which EDA attorney Cullen Seltzer said is not applicable when fraud is involved.

Seltzer added that how she pays her fees is not legal advice.

He noted two forged documents, which were entered into court during previous hearings after McDonald was criminally charged, illustrate her consciousness of guilt.

The alleged forged documents, Seltzer said, include a forged EDA resolution authorizing McDonalds real estate deals and forged EDA meeting minutes stating that McDonald disclosed her familial relations to property owners involved in a workforce housing project land dead.

Seltzer requested that BerlikLaw turn over related documentation because while he does not believe McDannell forged the paperwork, it happened and it happened somehow.

Albertson did not rule whether BerlikLaw must comply with those document requests and a decision will be made during a future hearing.

Also discussed was the recent discovery that McDonald conveyed 68 Pine Hills Road to her sister, although that property was previously seized by order of former Circuit Court Judge Clifford L. Athey.

While the EDAs lawyers argued that McDonald should be held in contempt of civil court, McDannell said McDonald did not know that was one of the properties seized. McDannell said McDonald consulted a title settlement agency regarding the land conveyance and the company did not find a lien on the property.

McDannell said this must mean that although McDonald was orally told not to sell that land, a written order was not submitted.

It was an honest mistake, he said.

McDannell added that McDonald gifted the property to her sister so it could be sold in attempts to pay legal fees.

She is under enormous financial stress. She needs to be able to pay her attorneys, McDannell said.

Albertson set an 8 a.m. Dec. 12 hearing regarding the alleged contempt. At that point in the proceedings, Berliks and McDannells withdrawal requests had been granted and McDonald was representing herself.

Albertson told McDonald that if she does not receive a written notice of the Dec. 12 hearing, she still must appear because she has been orally ordered to do so.

Before his recusal was granted, McDannell said that continuing with the civil lawsuit amid related ongoing criminal proceedings is inappropriate and a logistical nightmare as the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution grants the right against self-incrimination. Individuals indicted by a special grand jury investigating EDA-related matters include McDonald, North, Lambert, Poe and Henry, all of whom are defendants in the civil case.

McDannell added that some of the EDA board members who approved filing the civil case Tom Patteson, Greg Drescher, Mark Baker, Ron Llewellyn, Bruce Drummond and Gray Blanton have since been indicted. Each stands charged on two misdemeanor counts of misfeasance and one misdemeanor count of nonfeasance.

This is not to suggest the case should be put off forever, McDannell said.

* * *

Correction: This story has been updated to correct the last name of EDA board member Mark Baker, who was among board members who approved the filing of the civil case and who was recently indicted.

Read the original here:
EDA's amended lawsuit approved | Nvdaily | nvdaily.com - Northern Virginia Daily