NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart said Friday it has reached a proposed settlement pact related to three lawsuits filed by shareholders on behalf of the company over the handling of prescription opioids.
According to the terms of the settlement that were disclosed in a regulatory filing, insurance carriers will pay Walmart $123 million, excluding any attorneys’ fees and expenses awarded by the court to the plaintiffs’ counsel. Walmart would also maintain certain corporate governance practices for at least five years, according to the filing.
The settlement doesn’t include any admission of liability by Walmart. It’s subject to court approval.
Three Walmart shareholders filed lawsuits the Delaware Court of Chancery, alleging current and former directors and officers breached their fiduciary duties by failing to adequately oversee the company’s distribution and dispensing of prescription opioids.
In 2022, Walmart agreed to pay $3.1 billion to settle lawsuits nationwide over the impact of prescriptions its pharmacies filled for powerful prescription opioid painkillers.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has reached a tentative $4.2 settlement with a firm that owned and operated a major East Coast refinery that was shuttered after an explosion and fire in 2019.
The deal with Philadelphia Energy Solutions was announced Tuesday. There will now be a 30-day public comment period before the settlement plan can be considered for final court approval. The company does not admit to any liability in the settlement, which the EPA said is the largest amount ever sought for a refinery under a Clean Air Act rule that requires owners and operators to ensure that regulated and other extremely hazardous substances are managed safely.
The EPA found that the company failed to identify and assess hazards posed by a pipe elbow in a hydrofluoric acid alkylation unit at the refinery in Philadelphia. The pipe elbow ruptured due to “extensive” corrosion that had withered the pipe wall to the thickness of a credit card since its installation in 1973.
The explosion and subsequent fire on June 21, 2019, eventually forced the refinery to close after being in operation for 150 years. At the time, it was the largest oil refining complex on the East Coast, processing 335,000 barrels of crude oil daily.
The EPA filed the claim in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware because the company entered bankruptcy shortly after the explosion. The 1,300-acre (526-hectare) site where the refinery had stood was sold in 2020 and is being redeveloped into industrial space and life sciences labs. It remains under a complex cleanup agreement under the oversight of the EPA and Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
The chief operating officer of Truth Social’s parent company has resigned, according to a regulatory filing in which the company also disclosed it must release almost 800,000 shares to one of its early investors as part of a court ruling.
COO Andrew Northwall resigned from Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. late last month, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission filing, adding that the company plans to “transition his duties internally.” No further details were provided about the resignation. He joined the company in December 2021 according to his LinkedIn page.
The SEC filing also announced that a Delaware court ruled last month that 785,825 shares of Trump Media must be released to ARC Global Investments II, an early backer of Digital World Acquisition Corp (DWAC), the special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, that took TMTG public. Both parties have been feuding over how many shares ARC was owed after Trump Media combined with DWAC. The court said that ARC and Trump Media have the option to file an appeal within 30 days after its final order.
The ruling in favor of ARC comes two weeks after former president Donald Trump and other insiders are able to sell their stake Trump Media, following the expiration of a lock-up period. Trump, who is the company’s largest shareholder, has said he has “absolutely no intention of selling” his 60% stake.
Trump Media runs the social media platform Truth Social, which Trump created after he was banned from Twitter and Facebook following the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Based in Sarasota, Florida, the company has been losing money and struggling to raise revenue. It lost nearly $58.2 million last year while generating only $4.1 million in revenue, according to regulatory filings.
Shares of Trump Media have been considered a meme stock by some market experts, which is a nickname given to stocks that get caught up in buzz online and shoot way beyond what traditional analysis says they’re worth. The stock has fluctuated for several months, with trading largely driven by individual investors who are typically considered less sophisticated than day traders.
Late last month Trump Media’s stock fell to its lowest level ever on the first trading day that its biggest shareholder, former President Donald Trump, was free to sell his stake in the company behind the Truth Social platform.
Trump Media, whose shares are commonly called TMTG, started trading publicly in March. When the company made its debut on the Nasdaq in March, the shares hit a high of $79.38.
Shares of Trump Media & Technology rose slightly to $16.20 before the market open on Friday.
NCAA Football is Once Again a Philly Autumn Obsession.
But Is the Local Feel Fading Away?
Suppose you haven’t gotten an opportunity to take in some great Pennsylvania High School Football yet this fall. In that case, you still have plenty of time to enjoy a Friday night frenzy or Saturday spectacular at many Philadelphia area high school fields or stadiums.
You may even get an opportunity to see a 4th and short trademarked Philadelphia bulldozing, pile-driving-tush push — but not from the Eagles (at least not until Sunday).
For most of us, fall plans of leaf raking and errand running must be worked on Saturday around the national obsession of college football.
However, seeing some of the nation’s marquee matchups is proving more difficult in the Philadelphia area each year.
Temple Football
PHOTO: Danny Wild/Imagn Images
Temple Football, the preeminent Football Program in Philadelphia dating back to 1894 and once influenced by the great Pop Warner, hasn’t gone to a bowl game since 2019 and hasn’t won one since 2017.
Between 1990 and 2009, Temple Football didn’t have a winning season. Instead, it held on to the promise of a newly constructed stadium in Philadelphia, which has not yet happened.
LaSalle Football
LaSalle College and then LaSalle University — who developed a football program during the US Depression era in 1931 until it was discontinued in 2007 due to funding issues. From 1931 until 2007, the football program had only seven winning seasons.
We’ll have to wait to see if the beginnings of a resurgence in LaSalle’s athletic programs beginning in 2025 will include a return to football.
Villanova Football
Perhaps Philadelphia’s saving grace in football lies in its suburbs. Villanova, with a combined record of 647–495–41 (a winning percentage of .564), a legacy since 1894, and one claimed National Championship in 2009. Or the University of Delaware — with its six Division I FCS National Titles, 24 playoff appearances, and 17 Conference Titles.
Penn Football
Sitting snugly on the University of Penn campus is one hundred thirty-year-old Franklin Field, whose Gilded-Age Era exterior facade of Weightman Hall has seen six of Penn’s seven national championships, last won in 1924.
The Eagles beat the Packers in 1960, and the Philadelphia Stars won a USFL title in 1984. It is the oldest college football stadium still in use today.
The Philadelphia region’s PIAA already boasts one of the best high school football programs in the country.
Its surrounding PA suburbs deserve the same great experience on Saturday as on Friday.
President Biden showed off a slice of his Delaware hometown of Wilmington to the leaders of Australia, Japan and India as he hosted what is likely the last gathering of the Indo-Pacific partnership that has grown in prominence under his White House tenure.
When Mr. Biden began his presidency he looked to elevate the so-called Quad, which until then had only met at the foreign minister level, to a leader-level partnership as he tried to pivot U.S. foreign policy away from conflicts in the Middle East and toward threats and opportunities in the Indo-Pacific. This weekend’s summit is the fourth in-person and sixth overall gathering of the leaders since 2021.
“It will survive way beyond November,” Mr. Biden declared as the leaders gathered at the Archmere Academy, his high school alma mater in nearby Claymont for joint talks.
President Biden (C) meets with (L-R, at table) Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during the so-called Quad summit at the Archmere Academy in Wilmington, Delaware, on Sept. 21, 2024.
BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images
Biden hosts leaders at his Wilmington home and high school alma mater
The president, who has admitted to an uneven track record as a scholar, also seemed tickled to get to host a gathering with three world leaders at the school he attended more than 60 years ago. He welcomed each of the leaders individually for one-on-one talks at his nearby home before they gathered at the school for talks and a formal dinner.
“I don’t think the headmaster of this school thought I’d be presiding over a meeting like this,” Mr. Biden joked to fellow leaders.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida came for the summit before their appearances at the U.N. General Assembly in New York next week.
“This place could not be better suited for my final visit as prime minister,” said Kishida, who like Mr. Biden, is set to soon leave office.
Earlier, the president warmly greeted Kishida when he arrived at the residence on Saturday morning and gave the prime minister a tour of the property before they settled into talks. Kishida, according to the prime minister’s office, thanked Biden at the outset of their meeting for inviting him to meet at his home.
White House officials said holding the talks at the president’s house, which sits near a pond in a wooded area several miles west of downtown, was intended to give the meetings a more relaxed feel.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan described the vibe of Mr. Biden’s one-on-one meeting with Albanese, who stopped by the house on Friday, as “two guys — one at the other guy’s home — talking in broad strokes about where they see the state of the world.” He said Mr. Biden and Albanese also swapped stories about their political careers.
The Australian leader remarked that the visit had given him “insight into what in my view makes you such an extraordinary world leader.”
Modi also stopped by the house on Saturday to meet with Mr. Biden before the leaders gathered for their joint talks at Archmere.
“There cannot be a better place than President Biden’s hometown of Wilmington to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Quad,” Modi said.
Reporters and photographers were prohibited from covering Mr. Biden’s individual meetings with the leaders, and Biden does not plan to do a news conference — a question-and-answer appearance that is typical at such international summits.
What Biden hopes to accomplish with the summit
As part of the summit, the leaders were set to announce new initiatives to bolster maritime security in the region — with enhanced coast guard collaboration through the Pacific and Indian oceans — and improve cooperation on humanitarian response missions. The measures are meant to serve as a counterweight to an increasingly assertive China.
Mr. Biden and Modi had been expected to discuss Modi’s recent visits to Russia and Ukraine as well as economic and security concerns about China. Modi is the most prominent leader from a nation that maintains a neutral position on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Sullivan said “that countries like India should step up and support the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity” and that “every country, everywhere, should refrain from supplying inputs to Russia’s war machine.”
The gathering was also an opportunity for Mr. Biden and Japan’s Kishida to bid each other farewell.
Mr. Biden and Kishida, who are both stepping away from office amid sliding public support, count the tightening of security and economic ties among the U.S., Japan and South Korea as one of their most significant accomplishments. The two leaders sat down for their wide-ranging, one-on-one conversation on Saturday morning.
The improved relations between Japan and South Korea, two nations with a deep and complicated history that have struggled to stay on speaking terms, have come amid worrying developments in the Pacific, including strides made by North Korea in its nuclear program and increasing Chinese assertiveness.
Mr. Biden commended Kishida for demonstrating “courage and conviction in strengthening ties” with South Korea, according to the White House. They also discussed China’s “coercive and destabilizing activities” in the Pacific, Russia’s war against Ukraine and emerging technology issues.
Tension surrounds Nippon Steel’s proposed acquisition of U.S. Steel
The U.S. and Japan are negotiating through a rare moment of tension in the relationship. Mr. Biden, as well as Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, the two candidates in the 2024 presidential election, have opposed a $15 billion bid by Japan’s Nippon Steel to take over American-owned U.S. Steel.
Biden administration officials indicated this week that a U.S. government committee’s formal assessment of the proposed deal has yet to be submitted to the White House and may not come until after the Nov. 5 election.
Sullivan pushed back against speculation that the expected timing of the report could suggest Mr. Biden is having second thoughts about his opposition to the deal.
The Biden administration promised that the leaders would issue a joint statement containing the strongest-ever language on China and North Korea to be agreed upon by the four countries.
The White House said the leaders later Saturday will roll out a new collaboration aimed at reducing cervical cancer in the Indo-Pacific. The announcement is related to Biden’s Cancer Moonshot Initiative, a long-running passion project of the president and his wife, Jill Biden, aimed at reducing cancer deaths. The Bidens’ son Beau died in 2015 at age 46 of brain cancer.
As Mr. Biden’s time in office draws down, the White House also was celebrating the bipartisan, bicameral formation of a “Quad Caucus” in Congress meant to ensure the longevity of the partnership regardless of the outcome of the November election.
The judge presiding over a defamation lawsuit pitting an electronic voting machine manufacturer targeted by allies of former President Donald Trump against a conservative news outlet that aired accusations of vote manipulation in the 2020 election set several parameters for an impending trial Monday.
Superior Court Judge Eric Davis also told attorneys for Florida-based Smartmatic and cable network Newsmax to narrow their list of potential witnesses ahead of a trial that is set to begin Sept. 26 with jury selection and could last up to four weeks.
Smartmatic claims that Newsmax program hosts and guests made false and defamatory statements in November and December 2020 implying that Smartmatic participated in rigging the results and that its software was used to switch votes.
Newsmax, also based in Florida, argues that it was simply reporting on serious and newsworthy allegations being made by Trump and his supporters, including former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and conservative attorney Sidney Powell.
During a daylong pretrial conference on Monday, Davis considered several motions by each side asking him to limit or prohibit evidence the opposing side sought to present.
The judge, for example, narrowly granted Smartmatic’s motion to limit evidence by Newsmax regarding a federal criminal investigation that led to indictments last month against three current and former Smartmatic executives. The charges involve an alleged scheme to pay more than $1 million in bribes to put Smartmatic voting machines in the Philippines. Newsmax argued that the investigation and indictment should be presented to jurors as alternative reasons for any purported reputational harm or economic loss that Smartmatic blames on Newsmax.
“What government procurement official is going to continue to do business with a company that is under indictment?” asked Newsmax attorney Howard Cooper. Cooper also suggested that Smartmatic’s purported damages were calculated by a small cadre of executives who “pulled numbers from thin air.” Smartmatic initially pegged its damages at $1.7 billion, a number that has since been adjusted to about $370 million, according to statements during Monday’s conference.
The judge denied Smartmatic’s motion to prohibit Newsmax from mentioning evidence regarding Smartmatic witnesses who have invoked their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Davis said that issue will have to be decided on a “question-to-question” basis at trial.
Davis sided with Smartmatic in ruling that Newsmax could not defend itself by pointing to statements about the 2020 election being published by other media outlets at the time. The judge also said non-expert witness testimony about the scope of the First Amendment would be prohibited.
In a ruling for Newsmax, Davis said he would not allow Smartmatic to bolster its presentation to the jury by suggesting that policy changes made at Newsmax in January 2021 after being notified about the allegedly defamatory statements are evidence of previous wrongdoing. Similarly, evidence regarding attorney disciplinary investigations of Trump allies Powell and Giuliani also may be inadmissible, the judge said.
“I don’t think I’ve see the evidence that Newsmax caused Jan. 6,” Davis added, referring to the storming of the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters in 2021. “It’s only inflammatory.”
As far as Smartmatic trying to prove that Newsmax violated journalism standards or guidelines, Davis said any such testimony would have to come from expert witnesses, unless Smartmatic can show that individual Newsmax officials were presented with guidelines relevant to their specific jobs and chose to ignore them.
The judge also indicated that he will closely scrutinize the alleged defamatory statements published by Newsmax to determine whether some are clearly opinions or speculation, versus factual assertions.
“If it’s just opinion, I may take it away from the jury,” he said. “I have some concerns that they’re not all going to make it through.”
The Delaware lawsuit, which takes issue with Newsmax reports over a five-week period in late 2020, is one of several stemming from reports by conservative news outlets following the election. Smartmatic also is suing Fox News for defamation in New York and recently settled a lawsuit in the District of Columbia against the One America News Network, another conservative outlet.
Dominion Voting Systems similarly filed several defamation lawsuits against those who spread conspiracy theories blaming its election equipment for Trump’s loss. Last year, in a case presided over by Davis, Fox News settled with Dominion for $787 million.
On Monday, Davis granted a motion by Newsmax to exclude any reference to the Dominion-Fox settlement, noting that the motion was not contested by Smartmatic.
DOVER, Del. (AP) — A federal judge in Delaware has ruled in favor of a firm seeking assurance that it will be able to sell its minority stake in the parent company of former president Donald Trump’s Truth Social platform.
The judge on Friday granted summary judgment to Florida-based United Atlantic Ventures LLC in a lawsuit filed against Minnesota-based Odyssey Transfer and Trust Co., a business that handles securities transfers among registered shareholders.
UAV is owned by Andrew Litinsky and Wesley Moss, former contestants on Trump’s TV show, “The Apprentice” who also helped facilitate a merger that took Trump Media public in March.
Since then, UAV and Trump Media have been battling in courts in both Delaware and Florida over UAV’s stake in the company. Attorneys for Trump Media assured a state judge in Delaware earlier this year that UAV was entitled to an 8.6% stake and would suffer no merger-related dilution. They now contend, however, that UAV is not entitled to its shares because of pre-merger mismanagement by Litinsky and Moss.
Friday’s ruling involves UAV’s concerns that it will not receive its Trump Media shares, currently valued at about $350 million, from Odyssey when a post-merger lockup period expires Sept. 19. According to court filings, Odyssey told UAV earlier this year that it would be taking direction from TMTG and its lawyers.
After Odyssey filed a lawsuit, the parties appeared to have reached a resolution, with Odyssey saying it would remove transfer restrictions on the share after the lockup period expires “without preference to any TMTG shareholder.” After seeking approval from Trump Media, however, Odyssey tried to change that language to “on the same basis as other similarly situated TMTG shareholders.”
Trump holds about 115 million TMTG shares, or roughly 60% of the company’s outstanding shares.
U.S. District Judge Gregory Williams questioned Odyssey’s conduct, noting that it claimed the language change was “immaterial,” while allowing it to scuttle settlement negotiations.
“Even outside settlement negotiations, Odyssey’s conduct has been elusive,” Williams wrote.
Williams ordered that when Odyssey is notified by TMTG of the expiration of the lockup provisions, it must promptly notify UAV, remove transfer restrictions on all shares and not interfere with the delivery of the shares.
TMTG’s share price hit a high of $79.38 on its first day of trading but is now hovering around $17, closing Friday at $17.10.
DOVER, Del. (AP) — A Democratic gubernatorial contest pitting Delaware’s lieutenant governor against the chief executive of the state’s largest county is the marquee race in Tuesday’s primary elections.
Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long, who has held public office since winning a state House seat in 2002, is hoping to overcome a campaign finance scandal and succeed Democrat John Carney as governor.
Hall-Long has been endorsed by Carney and Delaware’s Democrat Party establishment. But the two-term lieutenant governor is facing a tough primary challenge from New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer. Former state environmental secretary Collin O’Mara also is seeking the Democratic nomination, but he has been overshadowed by the other two candidates.
Meyer has raised substantially more money than Hall-Long this year, and his current campaign balance is about seven times higher than hers.
Hall-Long reported raising about $582,000 this year, including roughly $52,200 in the three-week reporting period that ended Tuesday. She reported spending $1.18 million, including $182,000 in the three-week period.
Meyer has raised about $1 million this year, including about $200,000 in the past three weeks. He has spent about $2.1 million, including roughly $1.2 million in the three-week sprint toward Tuesday’s primary.
On the Republican side, House Minority Leader Michael Ramone is favored to win a three-way GOP primary for governor.
Meanwhile, Carney, who is prohibited by law from seeking a third term as governor, has taken a step down on the political ladder and is eyeing the Democratic nomination for mayor of Wilmington, Delaware’s largest city. His opponent is former Wilmington city treasurer Velda Jones-Potter, who was also appointed to a two-year stint as state treasurer after then-treasurer Jack Markell defeated Carney in a 2008 primary and was elected governor.
As of Friday, more than 24,000 Delawareans, including more than 17,500 Democrats, had already cast their votes in the primary, either by absentee ballot or in-person early voting at designated sites in each county.
Other races of note on Tuesday include three-way Democratic primaries to succeed Hall-Long as lieutenant governor and Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester as Delaware’s lone representative in the U.S. House. Rochester is seeking the U.S. Senate seat currently held by fellow Democrat Tom Carper, who endorsed her in announcing his retirement last year.
Elsewhere, former state auditor Kathleen McGuiness is in a three-way Democratic primary for a state House seat held by retiring former speaker Pete Schwartzkopf. Schwartzkopf, a longtime McGuiness ally, has endorsed her to succeed him in representing the Rehoboth Beach area.
McGuiness was convicted in 2022 on misdemeanor charges of conflict of interest, official misconduct and noncompliance with state procurement rules. A jury acquitted her on felony charges of theft and witness intimidation.
After the trial, the judge threw out the procurement conviction. Delaware’s Supreme Court later vacated the official misconduct conviction but upheld the conflict-of-interest verdict, which involved the hiring of McGuiness’ daughter as a part-time employee in the auditor’s office.
The trial marked the first time in Delaware history that a sitting statewide elected official was convicted on criminal charges, but the misdemeanor conviction does not prohibit McGuiness from holding public office.
What to know about the 2024 Election
McGuiness was prosecuted by Attorney General Kathleen Jennings, a fellow Democrat. In contrast, Jennings has refused to prosecute Hall-Long for campaign finance violations that led several top staffers to abandon her campaign and prompted election officials to commission a forensic audit.
The audit found that during seven years as campaign treasurer for his wife, Dana Long wrote 112 checks to himself or cash, and one to his wife. The checks totaled just under $300,000 and should have been reported as campaign expenditures. Instead, 109 were not disclosed in finance reports, and the other four, payable to Dana Long, were reported as being written to someone else.
The audit also found that Hall-Long and her husband had received payments totaling $33,000 more than what she purportedly loaned her campaign over several years, while not disclosing those loans on campaign finance reports.
Hall-Long has disputed the audit’s findings and described the reporting violations as simple bookkeeping mistakes.
BEAR, Delaware (WPVI) — A man is in custody after car crash and police shooting took place in New Castle County on Saturday night.
The incident started just before 11:45 p.m. when New Castle County police responded to the unit block of Augustine Place in Bear, Delaware, for an assault in progress.
At the scene, police say a suspect fled in his vehicle, which then struck a car and several police SUVs.
As he fled, authorities say the suspect hit a New Castle County police officer, prompting police to open fire at the suspect.
Despite the gunfire, the suspect reportedly fled the scene in his vehicle. The car was later found abandoned a short distance away and the suspect was believed to have fled on foot.
Investigators later identified the suspect as 36-year-old Carlos Torres of Wilmington.
A search warrant was issued for Torres on Sunday, and police say they searched several known addresses where he may have been.
Torres was then located and taken into custody, according to police.
Authorities say he was not injured in the shooting but he was injured at some point in the initial altercation that first called police to the home.
Torres has since been charged with assault in the second degree, terroristic threatening, reckless endangerment, and other related offenses.
Investigators said the officers involved in the incident were not seriously injured.
The officers who fired at Torres, a 12-year veteran and a 3-year veteran on the force, have been placed on administrative leave per division policy.
Attorneys for Elon Musk and Tesla’s corporate directors are asking a Delaware judge to vacate her ruling requiring the company to rescind a massive and unprecedented pay package for Musk.
Friday’s hearing follows a January ruling in which Chancellor Kathaleen St. Jude McCormick concluded that Musk engineered the landmark 2018 pay package in sham negotiations with directors who were not independent. The compensation package initially carried a potential maximum value of about $56 billion, a sum that has fluctuated over the years but is now estimated to be worth more than $60 billion.
Defense attorneys say the vote makes clear that Tesla shareholders, with full knowledge of the flaws in the 2018 process that McCormick pointed out in her January ruling, are adamant that Musk is entitled to the 11-figure pay package.
“Honoring the shoulder vote would affirm the strength of our corporate system,” David Ross, an attorney for Musk and the other individual defendants, told McCormick. “This was stockholder democracy working.”
Ross told the judge that the defendants were not challenging the factual findings or legal conclusions in her ruling, but simply asking that she vacate her order directing Tesla to rescind the pay package.
McCormick, however, seemed skeptical of the defense arguments, peppering attorneys with questions and noting that there is no precedent in Delaware law for allowing a post-trial shareholder vote to ratify adjudicated breaches of fiduciary duty by corporate directors.
“This has never been done before,” she said.
Defense attorneys argued that while they could find no case that is exactly comparable, Delaware law has long recognized shareholder ratification as a cure to corporate governance errors, and has long acknowledged the “sovereignty” of shareholders as the ultimate owners of a corporation.
“I candidly don’t see how Delaware law can tell the owners of the company that they’re not entitled to make the decision they made,” said Rudolf Koch, an attorney for Tesla.
Donald Verrilli, a lawyer for an induvial stockholder who owns more than 19,000 Tesla shares, suggested that it would be wrong for the lone shareholder who filed the lawsuit to thwart the will of the majority of Tesla shareholders. At the time the lawsuit was filed, the plaintiff owned just nine shares of Tesla stock.
“The voice of the majority of shareholders should matter…. This lawsuit is not representing the interest of the shareholders,” Verrilli said.
Thomas Grady, an attorney for a group of Florida objectors who own or manage almost 8 million Tesla shares with some $2 billion, argued that for McCormick to rule for the plaintiff, she has to “disenfranchise” all other Tesla shareholders.
Attorneys for the plaintiff, who are seeking unprecedented legal fees in the form of Tesla stock valued at more than $5 billion, were to argue their case Friday afternoon.
Ethiopian Americans Decide Meyer is Right for Delaware
CLAYMONT, Del., August 2, 2024 (Newswire.com)
– The American-Ethiopian Public Affairs Committee (AEPAC) has unanimously voted to endorse Matt Meyer in his bid to become Delaware’s next Governor.
“Like Matt, we believe leadership matters. Given his life’s journey, from serving as the founder of a small business in Kenya to working as a diplomat in a war zone to teaching grade school math in our state’s classrooms, we are certain Matt Meyer is the right leader for Delaware and its growing Ethiopian American Community. He has earned our enthusiastic support,” said Mesfin Tegenu, AEPAC’s executive chairman.
Other AEPAC leaders pointed to Meyer’s business experience in Africa as having been key in gaining the group’s support. “Africa is home to 20 of the world’s fastest-growing economies. Matt’s experience uniquely qualifies him to position Delaware as a leading trade partner with this booming continent,” said AEPAC secretary Youm Fessaha.
The mission of the American-Ethiopian Public Affairs Committee (AEPAC) is to strengthen and foster the U.S.-Ethiopia relationship, enhance both countries’ security interests, as well as advance democracy, respect for human rights and free market entrepreneurship in Ethiopia. Learn more at aepact.org.
Source: American Ethiopian Public Affairs Committee
False reports that President Joe Biden had a “medical emergency” while traveling back to Delaware on Friday after a campaign stop in Wisconsin, spread widely on social media on Friday. They were without merit.
Here’s a look at the facts.
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CLAIM: President Joe Biden had a “medical emergency” aboard Air Force One on Friday.
AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. There were no signs of a medical emergency on the flight, according to an Associated Press reporter who was traveling with Biden. Air Force One arrived at Delaware Air National Guard Base in New Castle, Delaware, at 7:22 p.m. The president exited the plane on his own, saluted and spoke with an officer at the base of the stairs and took a question from a reporter before leaving the airport.
THE FACTS: As Biden returned to his home in Wilmington, Delaware, after a campaign stop in Madison, Wisconsin, on Friday social media users falsely claimed that the president had suffered a “medical emergency” aboard Air Force One.
Air Force One landed in New Castle, Delaware, at 7:22 p.m. about the same time posts started spreading about Biden’s alleged medical emergency.
“I just received a tip from an anonymous source,” reads one X post. “My source says that Joe Biden is currently experiencing a medical emergency on Air Force One as I type this. No further details are known.”
Another X post states: “Joe Biden is reportedly having a medical emergency on Air Force One right now. Press access has been removed.” It had received approximately 15,000 likes and 10,900 shares as of Saturday morning.
The posts presented no evidence that such an event occurred. Press access was not removed.
Video shows Biden walking down the steps of Air Force One in Delaware, speaking with an officer, answering a reporter’s question about whether he would watch a highly anticipated interview he did with ABC News’ George Stephanopolous and getting into a car, all without issue.
There were no signs of an emergency aboard Air Force One and the press was not denied access to the plane at any point, according to an AP reporter who was traveling on Air Force One with Biden during the flight from Wisconsin to Delaware. The reporter added that press was able to move about the plane as usual and that a door separating press from Biden’s top staff was open for most of the flight.
White House spokesperson Andrew Bates called the claim “100% false” in an X post on Friday night.
Other posts claimed that the press did not see Biden when the presidential motorcade arrived at his home Friday night and that his campaign had canceled upcoming events as a result of the supposed emergency.
AP’s Role: The Associated Press is the most trusted source of information on election night, with a history of accuracy dating to 1848. Learn more.
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A press pool was in Biden’s motorcade when he was dropped off at his Wilmington home, according to the AP reporter who was traveling with the president. The reporter said journalists did not see him enter the house, but they routinely do not see him enter his Wilmington home because it is set back from the street and it is typical to only see the motorcade going through the gates leading to the house.
Biden had no public events planned for Saturday. He was scheduled to speak at a National Education Association convention on Sunday, but canceled after the union’s staff announced a strike on Friday.
“President Biden is a fierce supporter of unions and he won’t cross a picket line,” his campaign said in a statement. “The President is still planning to travel to Pennsylvania this weekend.”
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Associated Press reporters Colleen Long and Zeke Miller contributed to this report.
The outbreak has forced the shelter to stop taking in dogs and adopting them out to new homes.
“It is something that does happen, not frequently, but it happens.” Dr. Sara Jastrekbski said. “These diseases are sort of in the community everywhere so when they do happen, what we try to do is mitigate it as quickly as possible.”
They say that the most important thing right now is making sure the dogs get and stay healthy.
HAP explained that the emergency treatment for infected dogs set them back more than $2,000 so far.
Joella calls the book his “love letter to Rehoboth,” a place where he grew up going to for vacation and now a town he calls home.
The book centers around Jack, a third-generation restaurant owner. His commitment to his family’s beachfront restaurant Schmidts has been so important since his father’s death but it has caused him to loose himself a long the way.
A restaurant group approached Jack and is looking to looking to take the eatery off his hands but he is questioning whether or not it’s a good idea putting him at a crossroads.
Joella is currently on tour to promote the book and he will be visiting books stores in Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, Washington and California.
Traffic was slowed along I-95 at I-495 in Delaware on Thursday morning after a tractor trailer overturned and lost its load.
As could be seen at about 6 a.m. on Thursday, an traffic was backed up for miles along I-95 as crews worked to clear materials that were scattered along the shoulder and roadway.
Officials with DelDOT said that the crash caused damage to the inside shoulder barrier and they expected crews to be working at least through rush hour in order to clear the wreck.
As of about 8 a.m., crews were still working to clear the area and traffic was slowed for miles through the area.
Officials have not yet provided information on how this wreck may have occurred, and have not said if anyone was injured in this incident.
This is a breaking news story. It will be updated as new information becomes available.
REHOBOTH BEACH, Delaware — Jacob Anthony is the owner and CEO of The Lions Den Candle Company in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
Anthony makes handcrafted soy candles, diffusers, wax melts and soaps.
He started in 2020, making candles as gifts with his new additional time working remotely.
As the demand for his candles grew, he turned his hobby into a business with the help of his husband Tony Zacchei.
In 2021, The Lions Den Candle Company became Jacob’s full-time business.
During the summer, The Lions Den Candle Company sells products at the Rehoboth Beach Farmer’s Market and during the winter at Philadelphia’s Christmas Village.
Jacob has more than two dozen scents that can be bought on his website and at The Rehoboth Beach Farmer’s Market this summer.
A quick-thinking gas station employee in Delaware was able to turn the tables on a robber by stealing the man’s gun and scaring him off.
According to Delaware State Police, on Thursday around 9:48 p.m., troopers responded to a report of a robbery at the Valero gas station located at 796 Old Baltimore Pike in Newark.
Police said the preliminary investigation revealed that an unknown suspect armed with a gun approached a Valero employee at the counter and demanded money from the register.
After the employee complied, police said the suspect placed his firearm on the counter while he placed an undisclosed amount of cash in his pockets.
That’s when the employee grabbed the firearm from the counter and pointed it at the suspect, police said.
Police said the suspect fled from the store but immediately returned and demanded the employee to return the firearm.
The employee then proceeded to fire one round at the suspect and that’s when the suspect again fled from the business, according to police. Troopers at the scene recovered the firearm from the employee.
It is unknown if the suspect was injured, and there were no reported injuries at the area hospital, police said.
Police describe the suspect as a man wearing dark-colored clothing. There are no available surveillance videos of images of the suspect.
Detectives are asking anyone with information about this case to contact Detective R. Strecker by calling 302-365-8413. You can also send a private Facebook message to the Delaware State police or contact Delaware Crime Stoppers at 1-800-847-3333.
On Sunday, May 5, a massive sea creature was discovered in bad shape on a beach in Delaware.
Josefina Lacroze on Unsplash
On the morning of Sunday, May 5, a member of the second largest ocean species lay at the water’s edge in Delaware.
It was a 50-foot sub-adult fin whale, a species rarely seen near shore.
But something was very wrong.
“The whale is extremely emaciated which indicates a long-term underlying condition,” the Marine Education, Research and Rehabilitation Institute said in a post on Facebook the day the whale was discovered.
More evidence of the whale’s ailment was the sheer fact that the whale had been near the coast at all, the nonprofit said.
“Fin whales are an offshore species and would not normally come near shore unless they are becoming so weak that they can no longer surface to breathe, and they head into shore.”
Hundreds of people started to gather on the beach, including responders from MERR, according to the Delaware News Journal.
It became apparent very quickly that the whale wasn’t going to make it. Experts’ best bet was to sedate the whale to ease its suffering. But attempts to get close enough to do so proved to be harder than expected, the nonprofit said.
“Unfortunately the water level and waves made it too treacherous for our responders to do that safely for the whale or for them.”
Suzanne Thurman told Delaware News Journal that with water levels that high, the massive creature could easily roll on top of its rescuers and kill them. Although they badly wanted to calm the distressed whale, it wasn’t worth losing human lives knowing she would likely pass any minute.
That night, the fin whale took its last breath.
According to the outlet, local efforts have now shifted to moving the gigantic animal off the beach and into a comprehensive whale necropsy to find out what made it so deathly ill.
Officials plan to bury the whale on the beach, according to the Delaware News Journal.
Julia Daye is a national real-time reporter for McClatchy. She has written for numerous local and national outlets and holds a degree from Columbia Journalism School.
Four teenagers have been charged with multiple crimes after leading police on a high speed chase through Delaware Saturday night.
At approximately 7:21 p.m. police say a silver Honda CRV with temporary Delaware registration fled after being stopped by Bethany Beach police.
The suspects were spotted by Delaware State Troopers speeding northbound on Coastal Highway near Fred Hudson Road a short while later. Despite attempts to pursue, troopers discontinued the chase due to safety concerns, according to officials.
The Honda, discovered to be reported stolen from Dover, proceeded through Dewey Beach before turning toward Rehoboth Beach, Delaware State Police said.
The suspects eventually crashed near Olive Avenue and the Boardwalk in Rehoboth Beach. That is where all four suspects were seen fleeing the scene on foot, police said.
All four of the suspects were taken into custody, police said, a short time later near the Henlopen Hotel. Investigators also found a gun inside the car the suspects used.
The suspects were identified as a 17-year-old, two 15-year-olds and a 14-year-old. They were all charged with possession of a firearm, resisting arrest, receiving stolen property over $1500 and conspiracy in the second degree, police said.
One of the 15-year-olds who was identified as the driver was also charged with multiple traffic violations by additional local law enforcement agencies.
They have all been committed to the Stevenson House Detention Center on secured bonds.
PHOTO: Danny Wild/Imagn Images
