Judge OK's $626M Flint water suits deal
DETROIT -- A federal judge Wednesday approved a $626 million deal to settle lawsuits filed by Flint, Mich., residents and others who were exposed to water contaminated by lead and bacteria in 2014-15.
Most of the money -- $600 million -- is coming from the state of Michigan, which was accused of repeatedly overlooking the risks of switching Flint's water source without treating the water to prevent what turned out to be a disaster.
The deal was announced in August 2020 by Attorney General Dana Nessel and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, both Democrats, who were elected in 2018 while the litigation was pending. It makes money available to every Flint child who was exposed to the water, every adult who can show an injury, certain business owners and anyone who paid water bills.
"The settlement reached here is a remarkable achievement for many reasons, not the least of which is that it sets forth a comprehensive compensation program and timeline that is consistent for every qualifying participant," U.S. District Judge Judith Levy said.
Flint managers appointed by then-Gov. Rick Snyder and state regulators allowed the city to use the Flint River in 2014-15 without treating the water to reduce corrosion. As a result, lead in old pipes broke off and flowed through taps. Flint switched back to a Detroit regional water agency in the fall of 2015 after Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha publicly reported elevated lead levels in children.
Attorneys are seeking as much as $200 million in legal fees from the overall settlement. Levy left that issue for another day.
Census bureau says 5-year data delayed
The U.S. Census Bureau announced Wednesday the first-ever delay in the release of its American Community Survey five-year data, citing the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. The target release date for the data, which reflects 2016 to 2020, will now be March 2022 rather than this December.
"To reflect our quality standards ... additional time is needed to continue refining our methodology so that we can minimize the impact of nonresponse bias due to the covid-19 pandemic," the bureau said in a statement on its website, adding that it would provide an update in December.
Census data is used by the government to allocate federal funding as well as by businesses, academics and research organizations.
The bureau did not release official one-year estimates from the 2020 American Community Survey last year, saying the impact of the pandemic on data collection meant the estimates did not meet its quality standards.
Dossier contributor denies lying to FBI
ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- An analyst who contributed to a 2016 dossier of allegations regarding former President Donald Trump's ties to Russia has pleaded innocent to charges that he repeatedly lied to the FBI about his sources of information.
Igor Danchenko, 43, appeared briefly Wednesday in federal court. Attorney Mark Schamel, said in a statement this week that his client's work as a researcher is "above reproach."
The case was filed by special counsel John Durham, who was appointed by the Trump administration to look into the origins of the FBI investigation into the former president's ties to Russia.
Danchenko was hired by Christopher Steele to investigate any possible links between Trump and the Kremlin. Steele, a British ex-spy, was working for a firm called Fusion GPS, which started its Trump research on behalf of a conservative website but continued it for a law firm used by the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee.
Steele took his findings to the FBI, which used them to help justify secret surveillance on former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.
Agency raises holidays terror red flags
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. faces a "heightened threat environment" from domestic extremists and people inspired by foreign terrorist groups with the approach of the holiday season, the Department of Homeland Security warned Wednesday.
While department said it had no credible information on a specific threat, the agency warned in its latest national terrorism advisory bulletin that mass gatherings for the coming religious holidays could be targets, including from people and organizations seeking to exploit resentment over pandemic lockdowns and recent events such as the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
This is the fourth time this year the agency has issued a bulletin, highlighting the perceived danger from a volatile mix of domestic extremists, often motivated by racially or ethnically motivated hate, and homegrown extremists inspired by overseas groups. It reflects a shift from the focus on al-Qaida and other organizations following the creation of the Department of Homeland Security after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
The latest bulletin also warns that foreign groups such as al-Qaida and the Islamic State celebrated the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and may use it to encourage violence by their supporters.