(VOR News) – The United States Department of Transportation has fined the German Lufthansa airline, Germania, four million dollars on claims that it discriminated against a certain group of Jewish passengers.

The regulatory body declared on Tuesday that 128 people had been denied access by Lufthansa to a connecting flight in Germany due to their typical Orthodox Jewish attire. These people were traveling from New York City to Budapest, Hungary, in the month of May 2022.

Because of the supposed misbehavior of some passengers, the Department of Transportation said that employees of Lufthansa “treated them all as if they were a single group and denied them boarding”.

This happened even though many Lufthansa employees did not travel together or know each other.

It has been alleged that a number of the persons in the group disregarded Lufthansa airline’s mask rules. Lufthansa Airline employees told customers that “everyone has to pay” for the mistakes made by a certain number of people, according to a video that was captured during the incident.

They then went on to describe “everyone” as “Jewish coming from JFK.” In German media at the time, there were reports that staff members refused to board people who they believed to be Jewish because they wore yarmulkes, or Jewish skull caps, or had sidelocks, known as payot in Hebrew.

Staff members allegedly denied the individuals board membership because they thought the individuals were Jewish.

The Department of Transportation has hit a Lufthansa airline with the harshest fine it has ever assessed due to a violation of civil rights.

US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg issued a statement regarding today’s action, asserting, “Today’s action conveys a definitive message to the Lufthansa airline industry that we are ready to investigate and act whenever passengers’ civil rights are infringed.” Yettigieg stated, “No individual should endure discrimination while traveling.”

According to NBC News in 2022, Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt—who had represented Vice President Joe Biden’s administration as a special envoy against antisemitism—said the details of the Lufthansa airline’s treatment of the passengers were “unbelievable.”

Lipstadt also noted Lufthansa’s poor passenger treatment.

I instantly thought, “Oh, this must have been done incorrectly,” as soon as I heard it for the first time. “And then, of course, it turned out to be exactly right — actually, it turned out to be even worse than we had even thought,” she mentioned during our conversation. Nevertheless, the fact that this is being reported incorrectly by someone persists.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the airline said that it had collaborated fully with the Department of Transportation (DOT) throughout the investigation and that it had teamed up with the American Jewish Committee following the event. The incident that happened on Tuesday was addressed in the statement.

As to the aforementioned statement, “We have designed the first-ever training program in the airline industry to address antisemitism and discrimination for our managers and employees.”

This specialized training curriculum was developed as a result of our ongoing partnership. “Lufthansa is committed to having a positive impact on the world by serving as an ambassador of tolerance, diversity, and acceptance.”

The airline then expressed regret for the event and declared that it would have “zero tolerance for racism, antisemitism, and discrimination of any type.” An apology was made as soon as the situation happened.

The following is what Lipstadt said about 2022: “If any airline had done it, it would have been astounding.” Nevertheless, it was an unbelievable and awful irony that the German national airline was the cause of it.

SOURCE: NBC

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(VOR News) – During a talk about the economy that took place on Tuesday in Chicago, former President Donald Trump voiced his disagreement with the editor-in-chief of Bloomberg News.

There was a disagreement because the Republican nominee insisted that tariffs would not have any negative impact in the event that he were to run for a second term. This was the source of the disagreement.

The chief editor of Bloomberg, John Micklethwaite, pressed President Donald Trump on many occasions at the Economic Club of Chicago over his plans to impose a universal tariff on imports and his threats to deploy tariffs on American companies that outsource their manufacturing.

Micklethwaite responded to Donald Trump’s import taxes.

It was pointed out by Micklethwaite that the ideas proposed by Donald Trump would effectively put an end to trade with China, impose a tariff of at least ten percent on European countries, and have a considerable influence on the economy of the United States, which already has forty million jobs that are dependent on trade.

Micklethwaite asserts that “that is going to have a serious effect on the overall economy.” He said something along these lines.

“The impact that it will have is going to be substantial, and it is going to be a great impact. The reaction that Trump gave was that it would have a positive influence because it would be for the better.

The fact that you have spent twenty-five years arguing that tariffs are negative and then have someone clear to you that you are absolutely erroneous in your evaluation of the issue must be quite tough for you to bear.

Micklethwaite added that there have been statements made by individuals indicating that the tariffs that Donald Trump has planned to impose on all imports would be comparable to a national sales tax. This would have an effect on imports that are worth three trillion dollars, and firms would continue to pass on the higher costs to their customers.

“That is nothing more than straight-forward mathematics, President Donald Trump,” he said.

You are correct; yet, it is not in the manner that you imagined. When asked about his response, Donald Trump stated, “I have always been very good at mathematics.”

When he made this statement, he was hinting that increased tariffs would make it more likely for multinational firms to establish manufacturing facilities in the United States.

Micklethwaite warned Donald Trump that the potential impact of tariffs on foreign policy would be the most significant given that they would essentially have the effect of putting economic penalties on friends. This was information that Micklethwaite shared with Trump.

“How does it help you take on China when all of your allies are turning against you?” was the question that he put to anyone who was interested in the matter.

Donald Trump asserted that his statement had significance as China perceives the United States as a naive nation. “They find it difficult to accept that someone has finally regained their rationality.”

There have been several instances on which the former president has suggested the use of tariffs as a viable solution to a wide variety of issues. These issues include the reduction of expenses in industries such as child care, the lowering of the deficit, and the development of domestic manufacturing.

Economists have regularly indicated that this would lead to firms passing on increased costs to customers, which might lead to an increase in inflation.

Trump has asserted that the application of tariffs would result in a reduction in costs; however, economists have constantly stated that this would lead to a reduction in expenses.

Experts have contradicted the claim that President Trump made, which was that tariffs would bring in sufficient income for the government of the United States to compensate for the deficit.

In light of the fact that Trump has primarily engaged with conservative media outlets throughout the course of the preceding month, the event that took place on Tuesday was an extremely uncommon instance of him engaging in a contentious interview.

SOURCE: THN

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Raleigh, North Carolina – FEMA paused and then changed some of their hurricane-recovery efforts in North Carolina, including abandoning door-to-door visits, after receiving threats that they would be targeted by a militia, officials said, as the government response to Helene is being targeted by runaway disinformation.

The threats appeared over the weekend. The Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement Monday that it received a call on Saturday about a man with an assault rifle who made a comment “about possibly harming” FEMA employees working in the hard-hit areas of Lake Lure and Chimney Rock in the North Carolina mountains.

FEMA Workers Change Some Hurricane-Recovery Efforts In North Carolina After Receiving Threats

Authorities obtained a description of a suspect’s vehicle and license plate, eventually identifying him as William Jacob Parsons, 44, of Bostic, a small village about 60 miles west of Charlotte. According to sheriff’s officials, Parsons, who was armed with a handgun and a rifle, was charged with “going armed to terrorize the public,” a misdemeanor. He was released after posting a bond.

According to the sheriff’s office, initial reports suggested that a “truckload of militia” was responsible for the threat, but additional inquiry revealed that Parsons acted alone.

Messages left requesting comment at phone numbers for Parsons and a suspected relative were not responded to immediately.

In a Facebook post, Ashe County Sheriff B. Phil Howell stated that FEMA halted some operations while it assessed the threats.

“Stay calm and steady during our recovery, help folks and please don’t stir the pot,” Howell told us on Sunday.

FEMA stated in a statement on Monday that it has modified operations. It noted that disaster recovery centers remain open and that FEMA “continues to assist the people of North Carolina in their recovery.”

Workers from the agency’s disaster-assistance teams, who assist survivors in applying for FEMA aid and connecting them with additional state and local resources, have stopped going door to door and are now working from fixed locations while potential threats are assessed, according to a source familiar with the situation. The individuals talked on the condition of anonymity because they were unable to share operational matters in public.

The individual emphasized that FEMA was making the revisions “out of an abundance of caution.”

FEMA did not immediately disclose details about the risks.

Gov. Roy Cooper’s office said in a statement Monday that they were aware of “reports of threats to response workers on the ground,” as well as “significant misinformation online.” Cooper asked state law enforcement personnel to collaborate with local authorities to discover “the specific threats and rumors.”

According to the Washington Post, the United States Forest Service, which is assisting with hurricane recovery efforts, issued a message to numerous government agencies on Sunday informing them that FEMA had instructed all federal responders in Rutherford County to evacuate immediately.

The message claimed that National Guard members had spotted “armed militia” who were “out hunting FEMA.”

FEMA has encountered widespread misinformation regarding its reaction to Hurricane Helene, which struck Florida on September 26 before moving north and wreaking havoc across six states.

Former President Donald Trump and his supporters have used the storm’s aftermath to propagate false information about the Biden administration’s response in the last weeks before the election. Their discredited claims include misleading comments that victims can only receive $750 in aid, that emergency response funding was redirected to immigrants, that people who accept government relief money may have their land taken, and that FEMA is blocking trucks loaded with supplies.

FEMA Workers Change Some Hurricane-Recovery Efforts In North Carolina After Receiving Threats

Meanwhile, there is a misunderstanding about what the agency does and does not do when a tragedy happens.

State or tribal administrations can request federal help. However, the crisis must be larger than their ability to respond, therefore not all disasters receive government assistance. The president approves catastrophe declarations.

Once an emergency is declared, FEMA can provide numerous forms of assistance. Much of what the organization does is distribute money immediately after a disaster and for years to come.

Individuals affected by disasters may receive aid in the form of $750 payments to cover immediate requirements such as medicines or diapers. It may also require additional funds to rent an apartment because their home has been destroyed or to pay for a storage facility.

Helene destroyed isolated Appalachian towns, left millions without power, disrupted cellular connectivity, and killed at least 243 people. It was the most deadly hurricane to strike the U.S. mainland since Katrina in 2005.

SOURCE | AP