International
Amazon faces a lawsuit for violation of minority civil rights among employees
Amazon faces a class action lawsuit that accuses the company of violating state and federal civil rights laws by intentionally working harder to protect its disproportionately white managers from COVID-19, without taking the same precautions with its African American, Hispanic and immigrant warehouse workers.
“Their reaction to the pandemic subjected these minority workers to health threats to which Amazon did not subject its primarily Caucasian management staff,” according to the lawsuit, which was filed Thursday in a New York federal court by Chris Smalls, an ex-Amazon logistics center worker, in Staten Island, N.Y.
Smalls, who is black, was fired by Amazon in March, just hours after leading a protest over the company’s early pandemic response.
“We terminated Mr. Smalls for putting the health and safety of others at risk and violations of his terms of employment. Mr. Smalls received multiple warnings for violating social distancing guidelines. He was also found to have had close contact with an associate that was COVID-19 positive and was asked to remain home with pay for 14-days. Despite that instruction to stay home with pay, he came onsite further putting the teams at risk,” Amazon spokesperson, Lisa Levandowski told Business Insider in a statement.
But Smalls stated in the lawsuit that, at the time, Amazon was not taking employees’ temperature, providing biosecurity standards, imposing social distancing or following health measures established by public health officials.
Days after Smalls was fired, a leaked memo obtained by Vice News revealed that Amazon’s top executives had planned to mount a public relations campaign against Smalls to discredit him.
In the lawsuit, Smalls claimed that the memo showed that “senior Amazon executives,” including CEO Jeff Bezos, perpetuated the company’s pervasive discriminatory animus against its minority workers across the country.
International
Four suspected PCC members killed in Police shootout in Florianópolis
At least four armed men, allegedly linked to an organized crime group, were killed Sunday night during a shootout with police officers at Ponta das Canas beach on the island of Florianópolis, capital of the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina, local media reported on Monday.
According to the Santa Catarina Military Police, one of the men killed was a native of the state of São Paulo (southeast) and identified as a leader of the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC), a gang that controls drug trafficking in the Papaquara community in northern Florianópolis, one of Brazil’s most popular tourist areas.
Police said officers were conducting a patrol in the Ponta das Canas neighborhood when they noticed a man entering a house in a hurry, raising suspicion. Upon entering the residence, they encountered four heavily armed individuals.
During the police operation, one of the suspects reportedly attempted to seize an officer’s rifle, triggering the exchange of gunfire. “Faced with the imminent threat and the criminals’ high firepower, the officers responded to stop the aggression,” the Military Police said on social media.
International
U.S. uses $4.65 billion in emergency funds to sustain SNAP benefits amid shutdown
The U.S. government will use $4.65 billion from an emergency fund to finance payments under SNAP, the country’s primary food assistance program, covering roughly “50% of benefits for eligible households,” according to a Department of Agriculture official in court filings.
The administration, however, does not plan to make up the funding shortfall through other resources, as noted in documents submitted to a federal court in Rhode Island.
This announcement follows a federal judge’s order in Providence — one of two issued last week — requiring the government to tap emergency funds to ensure the program remains operational.
The Trump administration argues that SNAP is running out of money amid a month-long federal government shutdown, triggered by a budget standoff between Democrats and Republicans who continue to blame each other for the crisis.
President Trump said on Friday that he was willing to release the necessary funds if the courts required it and emphasized that he does not want “Americans to go hungry.”
Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic minority leader in the House of Representatives, accused Trump and the Republican Party on Sunday of “weaponizing hunger” during the political dispute.
International
U.S. strike in Caribbean kills three suspected drug traffickers
A U.S. strike on a suspected drug-smuggling vessel in the Caribbean killed three people on Saturday, according to Pentagon Chief Pete Hegseth, marking the latest in a series of attacks in international waters.
The United States has deployed ships to the Caribbean and sent fighter jets to Puerto Rico as part of a large military force that Washington says is aimed at curbing drug trafficking.
“This vessel, like all the others, was known to our intelligence for being involved in illicit narcotics smuggling,” Hegseth stated on X. “Three narcoterrorists were aboard the vessel during the attack, which took place in international waters,” he added.
Experts argue that the attacks, which began in early September, amount to extrajudicial executions, even if the targets are known traffickers.
Washington has yet to publicly provide evidence that the targeted individuals were actively smuggling drugs or posed a threat to the United States.
Hegseth said the U.S. would continue “hunting… and killing” suspected traffickers. He also shared video footage of the strike, showing the vessel being hit and engulfed in flames. As in previous videos, sections of the ship were blurred, making it impossible to verify the number of people on board.
The United Nations called on Friday for Washington to halt its attacks.
Four suspected PCC members killed in Police shootout in Florianópolis
U.S. uses $4.65 billion in emergency funds to sustain SNAP benefits amid shutdown
U.S. strike in Caribbean kills three suspected drug traffickers
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
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