Latest news with #Alford
CNN
10 hours ago
- Business
- CNN
Justice Department fires two senior antitrust attorneys, alleging insubordination
Federal agencies Corporate newsFacebookTweetLink Follow The Justice Department has fired two senior antitrust attorneys who disagreed with the handling of a merger between two powerhouse companies, two sources told CNN. The Monday firings came after weeks of tension between the officials, Roger Alford and Bill Rinner, and Assistant Attorney General Gail Slater, who runs the antitrust division. That division is tasked with investigating and suing companies for anticompetitive behavior. Alford and Rinner had been put on administrative leave last week due to internal turmoil over how to handle a lawsuit against Hewlett Packard Enterprise for its proposed merger with Juniper Networks, a main competitor, a source said. The DOJ is in discussions to settle its challenge. Their dismissals are part of a continuing battle inside the Justice Department between career officials and political appointees. Hundreds of career employees have left the DOJ – some of whom have publicly bashed the political employees – and dozens of others have been fired by department leadership. A DOJ official confirmed the firings, citing 'insubordination.' CNN has reached out to Alford and Rinner for comment. CBS News was first to report the dismissals. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche appeared to reference disagreements within the division in mid-July, writing in a social media post that 'Anonymous efforts to divide this DOJ will not succeed,' pledging his support for Slater. Hewlett Packard Enterprise, a spin-off of the old HP, announced its merger with Juniper Networks in January 2024. The tie-up was worth $14 billion at the time and combined HPE's cloud and networking services offering with Juniper's artificial intelligence and machine learning businesses. Juniper also sells networking equipment and solutions, but its AI business has become a hot commodity as HPE's rivals like IBM and Oracle pass it by on the promising new technology. Weeks after the deal was announced, the Biden Justice Department sued to block the merger. It was concerned that the acquisition would combine the No. 2 and No. 3 wireless networking companies, taking a key competitor out of the market (Cisco is the market leader). 'This proposed merger would significantly reduce competition and weaken innovation, resulting in large segments of the American economy paying more for less from wireless technology providers,' said Omeed Assefi, the acting antitrust division head of the Justice Department, at the time. At the time, the companies in a statement said the DOJ's lawsuit was 'fundamentally flawed.'
CNN
10 hours ago
- Business
- CNN
Justice Department fires two senior antitrust attorneys, alleging insubordination
The Justice Department has fired two senior antitrust attorneys who disagreed with the handling of a merger between two powerhouse companies, two sources told CNN. The Monday firings came after weeks of tension between the officials, Roger Alford and Bill Rinner, and Assistant Attorney General Gail Slater, who runs the antitrust division. That division is tasked with investigating and suing companies for anticompetitive behavior. Alford and Rinner had been put on administrative leave last week due to internal turmoil over how to handle a lawsuit against Hewlett Packard Enterprise for its proposed merger with Juniper Networks, a main competitor, a source said. The DOJ is in discussions to settle its challenge. Their dismissals are part of a continuing battle inside the Justice Department between career officials and political appointees. Hundreds of career employees have left the DOJ – some of whom have publicly bashed the political employees – and dozens of others have been fired by department leadership. A DOJ official confirmed the firings, citing 'insubordination.' CNN has reached out to Alford and Rinner for comment. CBS News was first to report the dismissals. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche appeared to reference disagreements within the division in mid-July, writing in a social media post that 'Anonymous efforts to divide this DOJ will not succeed,' pledging his support for Slater. Hewlett Packard Enterprise, a spin-off of the old HP, announced its merger with Juniper Networks in January 2024. The tie-up was worth $14 billion at the time and combined HPE's cloud and networking services offering with Juniper's artificial intelligence and machine learning businesses. Juniper also sells networking equipment and solutions, but its AI business has become a hot commodity as HPE's rivals like IBM and Oracle pass it by on the promising new technology. Weeks after the deal was announced, the Biden Justice Department sued to block the merger. It was concerned that the acquisition would combine the No. 2 and No. 3 wireless networking companies, taking a key competitor out of the market (Cisco is the market leader). 'This proposed merger would significantly reduce competition and weaken innovation, resulting in large segments of the American economy paying more for less from wireless technology providers,' said Omeed Assefi, the acting antitrust division head of the Justice Department, at the time. At the time, the companies in a statement said the DOJ's lawsuit was 'fundamentally flawed.'
Fox News
5 days ago
- Business
- Fox News
Missouri lawmaker warns Mamdani's expensive socialist plans already crashed and burned in his state
New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani is running on city-run grocery stores and free public buses, but one GOP lawmaker is warning the self-described Democratic socialist's progressive ideas have already backfired in another major U.S. city. Missouri Republican Rep. Mark Alford, whose district includes Kansas City, covered the opening of city-run KC Sun Fresh as a local news anchor in 2018. Now, the store is on the verge of closing despite receiving millions of taxpayer dollars. Alford warned the same ideas that failed close to home would also fail in the Big Apple. "This was in a food desert, the urban core. There's a lack of grocery stores in the urban core, but the problem is it's also an oasis of crime. That's why no grocery store wanted to move in. So the city subsidized it. They ended up losing $15 million of taxpayer money over this. The crime only increased in that area. There were shootings and robberies, and now it's a failure," he shared on "Fox & Friends" Thursday. Alford said the same happened with Kansas City's bus system. The Kansas City Council approved a zero-bus fare system prior to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019, but voted earlier this year to reinstate fares amid staggering financial losses. The Mid-America Regional Council (MARC), in conjunction with other entities, found that the "Zero Fare" model resulted in approximately $8 to $10 million in fare revenue losses across the region in 2020. That loss was supplemented by the CARES Act at the time. "While some costs related to fare collection were reduced or eliminated, they did not fully offset revenue losses or additional costs due to increased service demands…," MARC's findings read in part. "For the zero fare program to be sustainable, either additional revenues or new cost savings must be found." "Now they're back to $2 rides," Alford said, referring to the city council's decision to approve a six-month stopgap measure reinstating the standard fare for most riders starting in October. "Socialism does not work in America. Communism doesn't work in America. We've been saying for some time since the November elections that the Democrats have no leader, no vision, no message. They found their leader. His name is Zohran Mandami, and it's a failure. The same system that failed in Kansas City will fail in New York." Mamdani has defended his agenda by pointing to an instance in small St. Paul, Kansas, where a store purchased in 2013 is still afloat, according to The New York Post. The Democratic socialist also said on the "Plain English" podcast with Derek Thompson that, if the idea isn't successful at the "pilot level" in New York City, "it doesn't deserve to be scaled up." Fox News Digital reached out to the Mamdani campaign for comment.
Winnipeg Free Press
6 days ago
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Stampeders wide receiver Damien Alford on a touchdown tear in CFL rookie season
CALGARY – Damien Alford says before his nickname was 'Moose', it was 'Bambi'. 'My freshman year, I was all skinny and didn't have that much weight on me,' recalled the Calgary Stampeders wide receiver Wednesday. 'My coach called me Bambi before the season started. As my career went on and I got bigger, stronger, I got more experience, I had a breakout game versus Army. He said, 'we can't call him Bambi no more. We've got to call him Moose.'' The 24-year-old from Montreal has quickly become an offensive threat in his rookie CFL season with five touchdown catches in his last three games. The Stampeders (5-1) ride a three-game win streak into Thursday's clash with the Montreal Alouettes (4-2) at McMahon Stadium. The six-foot-six, 224-pound Alford was the first overall pick in this year's CFL draft by Calgary after a season with Utah and four at Syracuse. It was the first time since 2014 that the Stampeders owned the first selection. 'This year was really just to come out, do what I got to do, learn from the best that are here, and whenever my name gets called to go on the field and execute the way I know I'm able to,' Alford said. Vernon Adams Jr., expressed an interest in large targets to throw at when Calgary acquired the quarterback from the B.C. Lions last November. The Stampeders signed the six-foot-four Dominique Rhymes — Adams' former Lions teammate — in free agency. Stampeders coach and general manager Dave Dickenson confirmed Wednesday that Alford also filled that desire. 'It plays into our thought process for sure,' Dickenson said. 'We knew Vernon likes those big targets and he trusts them. And also, there's just not that many of them, especially in the Canadian side.' Alford has caught five of Adams' eight touchdown throws over the last three games, but the quarterback says Alford is still a work in progress. 'He's a super-raw, super-talented kid,' Adams said. 'We think the world of him, but he's still learning and still learning some different things.' Complementing Alford's exploits in recent games has been a Calgary defence that's contributed four touchdowns while giving up the league's fewest at seven. 'I've never had a defence like this that has had my back the way they have my back,' Adams said. The Stampeders and Alouettes tied 19-19 at McMahon the last time the two clubs clashed Sept. 14, 2024. The Als are coming off a narrow 26-25 win over the Toronto Argonauts last week. With Montreal quarterback Davis Alexander on the six-game injured list with a hamstring ailment from that game, McLeod Bethel-Thompson gets his third start of the season. The 37-year-old veteran, looking for his first win of 2025, has thrown for 472 yards and three touchdowns. While Calgary leads the league in average rushing yards per game (130), Montreal's defence allows a league-low 5.8 yards per play. IN AND OUT Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. Stampeder running back Jeshrun Antwi, who missed the last three games with an ankle injury, returns to face his former team of four seasons. 'We do feel like getting Antwi back against his former team, motivated and also good at special teams, but also one of our smarter guys that has played against this defence in practice a lot, he could be a big asset, not only just when he's playing, but on the sideline as well.' Dickenson said. Montreal returner Lincoln Victor, who attended the Ottawa Redblacks training camp, will make his CFL debut in place of James Letcher Jr. (broken hand). Safety Scott Hutter of London, Ont., makes his Alouettes debut after five seasons with the Edmonton Elks. Als receiver Tyson Philpot, the brother of Calgary's Jalen Philpot, will miss a second straight game with a knee injury. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 23, 2024.
Hamilton Spectator
6 days ago
- Sport
- Hamilton Spectator
Stampeders wide receiver Damien Alford on a touchdown tear in CFL rookie season
CALGARY - Damien Alford says before his nickname was 'Moose', it was 'Bambi'. 'My freshman year, I was all skinny and didn't have that much weight on me,' recalled the Calgary Stampeders wide receiver Wednesday. 'My coach called me Bambi before the season started. As my career went on and I got bigger, stronger, I got more experience, I had a breakout game versus Army. He said, 'we can't call him Bambi no more. We've got to call him Moose.'' The 24-year-old from Montreal has quickly become an offensive threat in his rookie CFL season with five touchdown catches in his last three games. The Stampeders (5-1) ride a three-game win streak into Thursday's clash with the Montreal Alouettes (4-2) at McMahon Stadium. The six-foot-six, 224-pound Alford was the first overall pick in this year's CFL draft by Calgary after a season with Utah and four at Syracuse. It was the first time since 2014 that the Stampeders owned the first selection. 'This year was really just to come out, do what I got to do, learn from the best that are here, and whenever my name gets called to go on the field and execute the way I know I'm able to,' Alford said. Vernon Adams Jr., expressed an interest in large targets to throw at when Calgary acquired the quarterback from the B.C. Lions last November. The Stampeders signed the six-foot-four Dominique Rhymes — Adams' former Lions teammate — in free agency. Stampeders coach and general manager Dave Dickenson confirmed Wednesday that Alford also filled that desire. 'It plays into our thought process for sure,' Dickenson said. 'We knew Vernon likes those big targets and he trusts them. And also, there's just not that many of them, especially in the Canadian side.' Alford has caught five of Adams' eight touchdown throws over the last three games, but the quarterback says Alford is still a work in progress. 'He's a super-raw, super-talented kid,' Adams said. 'We think the world of him, but he's still learning and still learning some different things.' Complementing Alford's exploits in recent games has been a Calgary defence that's contributed four touchdowns while giving up the league's fewest at seven. 'I've never had a defence like this that has had my back the way they have my back,' Adams said. The Stampeders and Alouettes tied 19-19 at McMahon the last time the two clubs clashed Sept. 14, 2024. The Als are coming off a narrow 26-25 win over the Toronto Argonauts last week. With Montreal quarterback Davis Alexander on the six-game injured list with a hamstring ailment from that game, McLeod Bethel-Thompson gets his third start of the season. The 37-year-old veteran, looking for his first win of 2025, has thrown for 472 yards and three touchdowns. While Calgary leads the league in average rushing yards per game (130), Montreal's defence allows a league-low 5.8 yards per play. IN AND OUT Stampeder running back Jeshrun Antwi, who missed the last three games with an ankle injury, returns to face his former team of four seasons. 'We do feel like getting Antwi back against his former team, motivated and also good at special teams, but also one of our smarter guys that has played against this defence in practice a lot, he could be a big asset, not only just when he's playing, but on the sideline as well.' Dickenson said. Montreal returner Lincoln Victor, who attended the Ottawa Redblacks training camp, will make his CFL debut in place of James Letcher Jr. (broken hand). Safety Scott Hutter of London, Ont., makes his Alouettes debut after five seasons with the Edmonton Elks. Als receiver Tyson Philpot, the brother of Calgary's Jalen Philpot, will miss a second straight game with a knee injury. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 23, 2024.
