A Chinese national living in the U.S. illegally was arrested Tuesday morning on allegations that he exported shipments of firearms, ammunition and other military items to North Korea from Long Beach, California.
Shenghua Wen, 41, who was living in Ontario, California, allegedly concealed the contraband in shipping containers bound for North Korea, a Department of Justice news release stated.
An affidavit filed on Nov. 26 alleged that Wen violated federal law and U.S. sanctions against North...
The two shipping companies involved in the deadly collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge have agreed to settle a lawsuit with the federal government for $102 million.
The settlement payment by Grace Ocean Private Ltd. and Synergy Marine Private Ltd., which owned and managed, respectively, the containership Dali, resolves a $103 million damage claim by the U.S. The money will reimburse agencies that responded after the Dali collided with the bridge on March 26. Those agencies include...
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/container-ship-companies-to-pay-102m-in-bridge-collapse-costs
WASHINGTON — Some truck drivers are urging the Biden administration to approve reclassifying marijuana to a Schedule III drug, but employers that fear safety would decline and put trucking companies at risk are pushing back.
Only a fraction of the more than 20,000 comments filed so far in the rulemaking, published in May by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Drug Enforcement Administration, are from truck drivers. (The comment period ends July 22.) But so far, they overwhelmingly — and anonymously...
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/truckers-tell-dea-they-back-bidens-move-to-reclassify-pot
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration’s anticipated move to recategorize marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III drug under the Controlled Substances Act will likely lead to more truck crashes unless safeguards are put in place, the American Trucking Associations has warned.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre announced the Justice Department’s notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to reschedule the drug at a press briefing on Thursday.
“If finalized, marijuana will no longer hold...
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/ata-red-flags-dojs-proposed-marijuana-policy-change
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Cummins Inc. will pay federal and California regulators $1.675 billion to settle a 4 1/2-year-old...
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/cummins-will-pay-1-675b-fine-for-engine-emissions-violations
The Department of Justice (DOJ) is suing Norfolk Southern to ensure that the railroad pays for the cleanup costs and fines associated with the Feb. 3 derailment of an NS train in East Palestine, Ohio.
The suit, filed with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, alleges that the discharge of pollutants and oil/hazardous substances as a result of the Feb. 3 derailment caused NS (NYSE: NSC) to violate sections 309 and 311 of the Clean Water Act. The lawsuit is also asking to...
“It’s the lure of easy money, it’s got a very strong appeal.” — Smuggler’s’ Blues by Glenn Frey
After convicting SPAC-sponsored Nikola Corp. founder Trevor Milton of defrauding investors, who will federal prosecutors target next among transportation companies that took a similar path to public trading?
They have options. A statement by U.S. Attorney Damian Williams suggests some targets of Securities and Exchange Commission and Justice Department subpoenas may have cause for worry.
“Let this case...
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/commentary-after-bagging-milton-who-will-feds-go-after-next
Ocean carriers would no longer enjoy their limited antitrust immunity under new legislation aimed at curbing what some lawmakers and the Biden administration consider to be out-of-control market power.
The Ocean Shipping Antitrust Enforcement Act, introduced on Monday by Rep. Jim Costa, D-Calif., would amend U.S. shipping regulations by repealing section 40307 of Title 46 of the United States Code, which protects foreign carriers from certain antitrust laws.
“This bill is critical in leveling the...
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/new-legislation-would-strip-ocean-carrier-antitrust-protections
Back in November, the White House sent a clear signal that the nine carriers and three alliances that dominate the global container shipping market were going to face increasing U.S. scrutiny.
At that time, the White House briefing noting that the three global alliances control about 80% of the global shipping market and 95% on the critical East-West trade lanes. Alliances only controlled 29% of the market as recently as 2011.
The White House noted that while the alliances between the carriers...
The U.S. Department of Justice is now targeting a wider swath of transportation companies that it deems may be using supply chain disruption to gouge customers
The initiative, which DOJ announced Thursday, broadens the scope of the Biden administration’s heightened scrutiny of anticompetitive behavior in various industry segments, including transportation.
“The lingering challenge of supply chain disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic has created an opportunity for criminals to fix prices and...
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/doj-expands-scrutiny-of-possible-supply-chain-profiteers