Latest news with #ManhattanFederalCourt
New York Post
5 days ago
- New York Post
Bad habit: Nuns show no mercy for hurt NYC maintenance man: lawsuit
His holiness would not approve. Life was hell for an Irish Catholic maintenance worker for the Sisters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul in the Bronx — where his Protestant boss allegedly bashed him as a 'Catholic f–k' and a 'dumb Irish bastard.' And the nuns were mean too – complaining about Michael Carr's limp after he fell from a ladder, he said in court papers. 3 Michael Carr said he loved working for the Sisters of Charity — until no one helped him after his boss allegedly unleashed a torrent of racist abuse at him. Helayne Seidman Carr, 57, treasured his work fixing up the Riverdale property, until director Kevin Van Tassell sent a slew of hate his way — even calling him the N-word, he claimed in a Manhattan Federal Court lawsuit. Van Tassell repeatedly texted him the vile slur, as well as calling him a 'mick,' 'Catholic f–k,' 'Irish f–k' he claimed in court papers. The lifelong Catholic, who grew up attending St. Margaret of Cortona in the Bronx and proudly showed his mother around his new job after he was hired in 2017, said the abuse was intolerable. 3 Carr claims he was wrongly terminated after complaining of discrimination. Helayne Seidman 'It got to the point where I couldn't take it any more,' an emotional Carr told The Post. 'I was putting up with it. . . . He would call nuns old c–ts and I'm like, 'OMG.' He'd say, 'Hey ya big dumb Irish f–k' or 'What's up ya mick.' It could go on and on.' When he complained, Carr said he was ignored for weeks before supervisors scheduled a mediation between him and Van Tassell, who failed to show up at the meeting with human resources, according to the litigation. 'Do you know what it's like when no one will listen to you, no matter what direction you turn?' Carr said. 'Nobody wanted to know. They all knew, but they didn't want to know.' After being lauded on the job for years for his work ethic, Carr claims he was seriously hurt in October 2023 when he fell from a ladder while investigating an awning in need of repair, breaking his tibia and fibula and leaving him in need of several surgeries. 3 Carr said his foot was 'destroyed' after falling off a ladder while on the job — and claims he was told nuns complained about his work after his injury slowed him down. Helayne Seidman When he was finally able to return to work, the reception he got was far less than charitable, claimed Carr, who said he walked with a limp and was slower than in the past. 'The sisters are complaining,' Carr claimed he was told. 'I tried my hardest to make this work. My foot is destroyed. I have to get more surgery. The second day in I was told I was working too slow, and 'You're limping,' 'You're taking too long,'' he said. He was then sent home and weeks later, received a letter firing him, said Carr, who is seeking unspecified damages for wrongful termination. 'Hopefully this organization will take a hard look at itself,' said Carr's attorney, Joseph Jeziorkowski. 'It's the organization's responsibility to take action when an employee is going through something like this.' Van Tassell refused comment. The Sisters of Charity declined comment.
The Hindu
03-07-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
New York sued by National Retail Federation over surveillance pricing law
New York State was sued on Wednesday (July 2, 2025) by the National Retail Federation over a new law requiring retailers to tell customers when their personal data are being used to set prices, known as surveillance pricing. The world's largest retail trade group said New York's Algorithmic Pricing Disclosure Act, which would take effect on July 8, violates many members' First Amendment free speech rights. Governor Kathy Hochul signed the first-in-the-nation law in May, saying the practice of charging different prices based on customers' willingness to pay was "opaque," and prevented those customers them from comparison-shopping. In its complaint filed in Manhattan Federal Court, the National Retail Federation objected to requiring members to affix "misleading and ominous" warnings to prices set by algorithms linked to customer data. It said the law reflected "speculative fear" of price gouging, even though retailers use algorithms to offer promotions and reward customer loyalty, sometimes resulting in lower prices. According to the complaint, the law violates the U.S. Constitution by compelling a broad range of retailers to express misleading "government-scripted opinion" without justification, or face potential civil fines of $1,000 per violation. The only defendant is State Attorney General Letitia James, who enforces New York laws. Her office did not immediately respond to requests for comment after business hours. Ms. Hochul's office did not immediately respond to a similar request. In January, a divided Federal Trade Commission issued a study on surveillance pricing, saying location data and online browsing histories could permit retailers to "target" individual consumers with different prices for the same products. FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson, then a commissioner, dissented from issuing the study, saying it was rushed out three days before Donald Trump succeeded Joe Biden as U.S. President to meet a "nakedly political deadline."
Hindustan Times
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Diddy release hearing: Here's how Sean Combs' team and family are prepping for possible bail
Jul 03, 2025 12:58 AM IST As embattled music mogul Sean 'Diddy Combs awaits a possible release on bail, his family has started preparation to welcome the rapper home. The jury in the case delivered a verdict Wednesday, after a grueling trial lasting nearly two months. The 55-year-old was convicted of the two prostitution charges while being acquitted of the more serious federal sex trafficking charges. The judge in the case, Arun Subramanian, is set to decide on Diddy's release at hearing later today. Diddy arrives at the annual Independence Day 'White Party' at the PlayStation 2 Estate in Bridgehampton, New York, July 4, 2004.(AP) Amid that, TMZ reported that preparation has started at Diddy's mansion in Florida as his family anticipates a possible release. The report claimed citing sources that over the last few hours since the verdict, preparation are at full swing at Diddy's Miami estate to welcome the rapper home. His team has already increased security at the Star Island estate located at the heart of the Sunshine State. As per the TMZ report, Diddy's team plans to fly him to his Florida estate upon his release. To do that, they have also arranged a private jet in standby as the 55-year-old's bail hearing at the Manhattan Federal Court kicks off later today. Diddy's Lawyers Submit Bail Plea The preparations started after Diddy's legal team submitted a letter to the judge at the Manhattan Federal Court setting possible conditions for his release on a $1 million bail bond. The conditions outlined in the letter restricts Diddy's travel within the United States to only certain parts of Florida, California, New York and New Jersey. If the release conditions are accepted and the judge signs the bail bond, Florida will likely be one of the destinations where the rapper will spend time awaiting his sentencing. Also read: Diddy's release bond set at $1 million? Sean Combs likely to face travel restrictions, passport surrender Meanwhile, Diddy's prosecutors have argued against his release. His victim and former girlfriend, Cassie Ventura's lawyer, sent a letter to the judge arguing that releasing him would prove dangerous to the victims who testified against him.
Chicago Tribune
27-06-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Federal judge denies OpenAI bid to keep deleting data amid Tribune copyright lawsuit
A federal judge has upheld a ruling directing OpenAI to preserve logs and data slated for deletion after news outlets including the Chicago Tribune suing the technology giant accused the company of hiding evidence of copyright infringement. The new ruling, issued Thursday in Manhattan Federal Court, denied the company's objection to an earlier court order directing OpenAI to keep any data used to train its artificial intelligence bots — logs which plaintiffs say may contain details of widespread content piracy. OpenAI executives have maintained that they are merely safeguarding users' privacy by objecting to any data retention request or order. But lawyers for the plaintiffs said the privacy argument is nothing more than a distraction. 'This is like a magician trying to misdirect the public's attention,' said Steven Lieberman, a lawyer representing the News and several other media outlets. 'That is absolutely false. The judge has made clear and plaintiffs have made clear that they don't want to receive information that personally identifies the users of these conversations. If data is turned over, it will only be turned over anonymously. And OpenAI knows that. No one's privacy it's at risk.' The publishers' key argument at the core of their lawsuit is that the data that powers the company's popular ChatGPT has included millions of copyrighted works from the news organizations. The publications have argued that such content has been used without consent or payment — which translates to copyright infringement on a massive scale. Various reports have placed the company's value at $300 billion, making it one of the most valuable private companies in the world, thanks in part to its online chatbox, ChatGPT, which was released in 2022. But when it comes to raw material — redistributed creative content — OpenAI took the cheap and easy way out, Lieberman said. 'They just stole it from the newspapers, from magazines and from book authors,' he said. A representative from OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment. OpenAI has argued that the vast amount of data used to train its artificial intelligence bots is protected by 'fair use' rules. The doctrine applies to rules that allow some to use copyrighted work for purposes like criticism, commentary, news reporting, teaching and research. However, lawyers for the newspapers have argued that the fair use test involves transforming a copyrighted work into something new, and the new work cannot compete with the original in the same marketplace. The court has rejected OpenAI's position that the newspapers haven't produced 'a shred of evidence' that people are using ChatGPT or OpenAI's API products to get news instead of paying for it. The New York Times originally brought the suit in December 2023. The Tribune, along with other newspapers in affiliated companies MediaNews Group and Tribune Publishing, filed in April 2024. The other outlets included The New York Daily News, The Mercury News, The Denver Post, The Orange County Register and the St. Paul Pioneer Press, and Orlando Sentinel and South Florida Sun Sentinel.
The Star
26-06-2025
- Politics
- The Star
Venezuela's ex-spymaster pleads guilty to US drug trafficking charges
Former Venezuelan intelligence chief Hugo Carvajal appears at the Manhattan Federal Court for a hearing over the U.S. drug trafficking charges on him, following his extradition from Spain, in New York, U.S., July 20, 2023 in this courtroom sketch. REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg/File Photo WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A former director of Venezuelan military intelligence, Hugo Carvajal, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to drug trafficking and narcoterrorism charges in U.S. federal court, the Justice Department said in a statement. Carvajal, 65, once one of the most powerful figures in the Venezuelan government, pleaded guilty to four criminal counts including narcoterrorism conspiracy, conspiracy to import cocaine, and weapons charges. He faces a maximum of life in prison. 'The deeply troubling reality is that there are powerful foreign government officials who conspire to flood the United States with drugs that kill and debilitate,' Jay Clayton, the interim U.S. attorney in Manhattan, said in a statement. A lawyer for Carvajal did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Federal prosecutors alleged Carvajal, along with other high-ranking Venezuelan government and military officials, led a drug cartel that coordinated the shipment of tons of cocaine bound for the United States. The cartel partnered with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a now demobilized guerrilla group that the United States once considered a terrorist organization, to produce and distribute cocaine, prosecutors alleged. Carvajal was late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's eyes and ears within the South American country's military for more than a decade. Nicknamed "El Pollo," the chicken, Carvajal took part in the failed 1992 coup that lifted Chavez to political prominence and is considered one of the most powerful figures of the socialist leader's 1999-2013 rule. Carvajal was extradited to the United States from Spain in 2023 following a more than 10-year effort by the Justice Department to bring him to U.S. soil. His sentencing in U.S. court in Manhattan is scheduled for October. (Reporting by Andrew Goudsward; Editing by Chris Reese)
