US Prosecutors Plan Google Breakup
U.S. prosecutors are planning the breakup of Google’s search engine, they announced on Oct. 8, following a ruling earlier this year that the Big Tech giant was monopolising the industry.In a landmark ruling on Aug. 5, a Washington, D.C. judge ruled that Google had violated antitrust law by spending billions of dollars to become the dominant player in the industry.
Google made payments to browser developers, mobile device manufacturers, and wireless carriers to become the default search engine, thereby crushing its competitors.
The Department of Justice on Oct. 8 considered numerous solutions, such as forcing Google to sell parts of its business, like its Chrome browser or Android operating system.
Trump Turns Down Fox News Proposal for 2nd Harris Debate
Former President Donald Trump has turned down a proposal from U.S. news giant Fox News to appear in a second debate with Vice President Kamala Harris before the presidential elections in November.Fox News presenter Martha MacCallum made the announcement on Oct. 9 that the Trump and Harris teams had been given a “final pitch” offer for debating on either Oct. 24 or Oct. 27 in Pennsylvania.
“THERE WILL BE NO REMATCH!” Trump wrote in response on Truth Social.
Harris’s team did not respond to a request for comment.
Trump and Harris had a previous fiery debate on the CBS network on Sept. 11.
3 Million People Have Voted So Far in US Elections
Voting in the U.S. elections is underway with less than 30 days to go, as the number of voters casting their ballots has already passed the 3 million mark, according to the University of Florida’s Election Lab website.Almost 3.7 million people have voted so far as of Oct. 11, with 84 percent coming from mail-in ballots and 50 million mail-in ballots requested in total.
The impact of the two recent hurricanes, Helene and Milton, so close to the elections may also have an effect on victims’ ability or willingness to vote.
North Carolina and Florida were heavily affected by hurricane activity. These are both swing states, meaning they can vote either Democrat or Republican, and they have particularly favoured Trump in recent elections.
TD Bank Fined $3 Billion in Historic Money Laundering Case
Canadian T.D. Bank has made history by becoming the largest bank in a U.S. court to plead guilty to violating a law preventing money laundering in a $3 billion settlement.T.D. Bank and its parent company T.D. Bank Group pleaded guilty on Oct. 8 to violating the Bank Secrecy Act and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
T.D. Bank is also the first bank in U.S. history to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit laundering.
For nearly a decade, T.D. Bank had failed to update its anti-money laundering policies, allowing corrupt bank officials to facilitate criminal networks to easily operate within its systems.
Between 2019 and 2023, a total of $670 million had been transferred by criminal networks, including international drug traffickers.
“By making its services convenient for criminals, T.D. Bank became one,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a statement.
T.D. Bank is the 10th largest bank in the United States.
