Justice Department Watchdog Probing Handling of Stone Sentencing
The Justice Department has launched an internal inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the handling of the criminal case of Roger Stone, former political adviser to President Donald Trump. The probe by the department’s inspector general will reportedly look into Attorney General William Barr’s February decision to override a sentencing recommendation for Stone made by rank-and-file prosecutors. The prosecutors recommended a sentence of seven to nine years in prison for Stone, but the department later filed another recommendation asking for a lighter sentence. The DOJ’s Office of the Inspector General would not “confirm or deny the existence of any ongoing investigation” to The Epoch Times. Meanwhile, DOJ spokeswoman Kerri Kupec told media outlets that they “welcome the review.” She did not immediately respond to The Epoch Times’ request for comment. The revelation…
LONDON—Work on a major new nuclear power station in Britain will stop after Japanese company Hitachi pulled out of the project.
Hitachi halted work on the Horizon Project, located in Wylfa, on the Welsh island of Anglesey. It will also end work on another site located in England after it had been unable to agree on financing with the UK government.
The company had been in talks with the British government for years about how it might support the project financially, including through stock and debt investments. It suspended operations last year when a deal couldn’t be reached, and said the COVID-19 pandemic made financing difficult.
“Hitachi made this decision given that 20 months have passed since the suspension, and the investment environment has become increasingly severe due to the impact of COVID-19,” the company said in a statement.
The suspension was seen as a blow to a British government facing Brexit at the end of the year. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government wants to show it is open to business deals with companies and countries beyond the European Union.
“Horizon will now take steps for the orderly closing down of all its current development activities, but will keep the lines of communication open with government and other key stakeholders regarding future options at both our sites,” Horizon nuclear power said in a statement.
Focus News: Japan’s Hitachi Pulls Out of UK Nuclear Project
Daimler to Pay $2.2 Billion in Diesel Emissions Cheating Settlements
WASHINGTON—Daimler AG will pay $2.2 billion to resolve a U.S. government diesel emissions cheating investigation and claims from 250,000 U.S. vehicle owners, court documents show. The German automaker and its Mercedes-Benz USA LLC unit disclosed on Aug. 13 it had reached a settlement in principle resolving civil and environmental claims tied to 250,000 U.S. diesel cars and vans after the automaker used software to evade emissions rules. Daimler said in August expected costs of settlements with U.S. authorities would total $1.5 billion, settling with owners will cost another $700 million and also disclosed “further expenses of a mid three-digit-million EUR (euro) amount to fulfill requirements of the settlements. Deputy Attorney General Jeff Rosen said the settlements, which follow a nearly five-year investigation, will “serve to deter any others who may…
