Louisiana cancels $3B repair coastal restoration funded by Deepwater Horizon oil spill settlement
The Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion Project had been intended to rebuild upward of 20 square miles (32 kilometers) of land in southeast Louisiana to combat sea level rise and erosion on the Gulf Coast.
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Toronto Star
34 minutes ago
- Toronto Star
Mike Lindell celebrates victory after appeals court voids $5M award in election data dispute
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A federal appeals court handed a victory Wednesday to Mike Lindell, ruling that the MyPillow founder doesn't have to pay a $5 million award to a software engineer who disputed data that Lindell claims proves that China interfered in the 2020 U.S. presidential election. The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that an arbitration panel overstepped its authority in 2023 when it awarded $5 million to the engineer, Robert Zeidman, of Las Vegas, who took Lindell up on his 'Prove Mike Wrong Challenge.'
Winnipeg Free Press
34 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Mike Lindell celebrates victory after appeals court voids $5M award in election data dispute
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A federal appeals court handed a victory Wednesday to Mike Lindell, ruling that the MyPillow founder doesn't have to pay a $5 million award to a software engineer who disputed data that Lindell claims proves that China interfered in the 2020 U.S. presidential election. The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that an arbitration panel overstepped its authority in 2023 when it awarded $5 million to the engineer, Robert Zeidman, of Las Vegas, who took Lindell up on his 'Prove Mike Wrong Challenge.' 'It's a great day for our country,' a jubilant Lindell said in an interview. 'This is a big win. It opens the door to getting rid of these electronic voting machines and getting paper ballots, hand-counted.' Lindell, one of the country's most prominent propagators of false claims that the 2020 election was a fraud, lost in a different case in Colorado last month. A jury ruled that Lindell defamed a former employee of a voting equipment company by accusing him of treason, and awarded $2.3 million in damages. Lindell said he is appealing, and that he actually considers the verdict a victory because MyPillow itself wasn't found liable. President Donald Trump and his allies lost more than 50 court cases trying to overturn the 2020 election results, and his own attorney general at the time said there was no indication of wide-scale fraud. As part of a 'Cyber Symposium' Lindell hosted in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, in 2021, Lindell offered $5 million for anyone who could prove that 'packet captures' and other data he released there were not valid data from the 2020 election. Zeidman entered a 15-page report that he said proved the data wasn't what Lindell claimed. Contest judges declined to declare Zeidman a winner, so he filed for arbitration under the contest rules. A panel of three arbitrators, including one named by Lindell, concluded that Zeidman had satisfied the rules and awarded him $5 million. U.S. District Judge John Tunheim affirmed the award last year. He expressed concern about how the arbitrators interpreted what he called a 'poorly written contract,' but he said courts have only limited authority to overrule arbitration awards and ordered Lindell to pay up. But the appeals court ruled Wednesday that the arbitrators went beyond the contractual language of the official contest rules in deciding how to construe them, instead of sticking to the document itself. The appeals court said the rules were unambiguous, even if they might have favored Lindell. 'Whatever one might think of the logic of the panel's reasoning, it is contrary to Minnesota law. … Fair or not, agreed-to contract terms may not be modified by the panel or by this court,' the appeals court wrote, and sent the case back to the lower court with instructions to vacate the $5 million award. Zeidman attorney Brian Glasser urged people to read the arbitrators' decision and 'judge for themselves if the Eight Circuit's decision today is more persuasive, or rings in truth louder, than the unanimous contrary decision of three arbitrators who heard all the evidence, including one appointed by Mr. Lindell.'
Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Lamar Jackson declines to comment on the arbitration case that stemmed in part from his free agency
OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — Lamar Jackson wasn't at all interested in discussing the arbitration case that's helped cause so much upheaval within the NFL Players Association. In January, arbitrator Christopher Droney ruled there wasn't sufficient evidence of collusion by owners in contract negotiations with quarterbacks after the Cleveland Browns gave QB Deshaun Watson a record $230 million fully guaranteed contract back in 2022. The union is appealing. Jackson's free agency a couple of years ago was a big part of that case. The Ravens gave him the non-exclusive franchise tag, meaning he had a chance to negotiate with other teams, but he ultimately signed a five-year deal with Baltimore. The 'Pablo Torre Finds Out' podcast first published the arbitrator's decision. When asked about the case Wednesday after practice, Jackson changed the subject. 'I'm focused on football right now. I'm not worried about that right now,' Jackson said. 'That happened. It is what it is. I'm focused on this right now.' The revelation that the NFLPA and the league had a confidentiality agreement to keep the arbitrator's ruling quiet has led to turmoil within the union. Lloyd Howell resigned as executive director of the NFLPA. Jackson wouldn't comment on what's happening within the NFLPA either, although it's obviously a significant topic around the league. 'Yeah, it's been kind of a mess. We've been meeting about it the past couple days, long meetings. That's also something that's been hanging over my head, too,' said tackle Zach Tom, player rep for the Green Bay Packers. 'I think it's an unfortunate situation. I'm really not sure how much I can say. I'll just leave it at that.' Watson received his deal in 2022, a year before Jackson had a limited chance to test the market. 'While the NFL Management Council encouraged the 32 member clubs of the NFL to reduce guarantees in future contracts with players at the March 2022 annual meeting of the club owners, the clubs did not join in such a collusive agreement and did not act in accordance with one as to the three quarterbacks named (Jackson, Russell Wilson and Kyler Murray) in the initial arbitration demand or to other veteran players,' the arbitrator's decision said. In the two seasons since, Jackson has finished first and second in the MVP vote, and the question now is whether he and the Ravens can agree on an extension beyond the three years left on his deal. Jackson certainly indicated that he's moved on from the 2023 negotiations, but that appears to have been a turning point after Watson's deal, and one that has continued to impact what quarterbacks can expect to be offered. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. 'I'm all for the players and I'm all for guys getting what they deserve,' Las Vegas quarterback Geno Smith said. 'Whenever a guy like Lamar — two-time MVP, perennial Pro Bowler — a lot of these other guys who are doing a great job, when there's a chance for them to really just get what they deserve, I think it's warranted. … When you work hard and you earn something, you kind of just want your just due.' ___ AP Sports Writers Mark Anderson and Steve Megargee contributed to this report. ___ AP NFL:
