BOB FERGUSON

Washington Opioid Settlement FILE - Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson speaks March 23, 2022, at the Capitol in Olympia, Wash. Months into a complex trial over their role in flooding Washington with highly addictive painkillers, the nation's three largest opioid distributors have agreed to pay the state $518 million. “We could have joined the overwhelming majority of states and settled with the the largest opioid distributors, but we chose to fight them in court instead,” Ferguson said. “That decision to take them to court will result in significant additional resources for Washington to combat the opioid epidemic." Further, the companies argued, Washington state itself played a large role in the epidemic.

Months into a complex trial over their role in flooding Washington with highly addictive painkillers, the nation’s three largest opioid distributors have agreed to pay the state $518 million.

SEATTLE — (AP) — A trade group that represents some of the biggest U.S. food companies has agreed to pay $9 million for violations of Washington campaign finance laws, after the state Supreme Court upheld a penalty twice that much. But on Wednesday, Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson, who sued the group in 2013, announced it was dropping its appeal and would instead settle the case for $9 million, including $3 million in donations to two charities that fight hunger. The remaining $6 million will be directed to the state's Transparency Account, which supports the Public Disclosure Commission. It’s believed to be the largest campaign finance penalty in the nation’s history, Ferguson said. The case concerned money the Consumer Brands Association — then known as the Grocery Manufacturer's Association — funneled into a state political campaign in 2013.

A trade group that represents some of the biggest U.S. food companies has agreed to pay $9 million for violations of Washington campaign finance laws, after the state Supreme Court upheld a penalty twice that much.

State prosecutors allege COVID test samples were stuffed in trash bags strewn across an office floor.

GMO Labeling Campaign Finance FILE - Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson talks to reporters, Monday, Aug. 26, 2019, during a news conference in Seattle. In a 5-4 decision Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022, the Washington Supreme Court upheld an $18 million campaign finance penalty against the Consumer Brands Association, formerly known as the Grocery Manufacturers Association. It then contributed $11 million of that to help defeat a Washington state ballot initiative that would have required labeling of genetically engineered ingredients on food packaging. She called the $18 million penalty “grossly disproportionate” to that offense. “This is a victory for fair and transparent elections in Washington, and a defeat of special interest dark money,” Ferguson said in a statement.

The Washington Supreme Court has narrowly upheld an $18 million fine levied against an association of large food brands that funneled dark money into a state political campaign.

Mayfield candle factory destroyed by a killer Kentucky tornado, where workers said they were threatened with dismissal if they left their posts, closing

“The law is clear — towing companies have an obligation to determine whether a car belongs to a member of the military.”

Oregon is on the verge of signing onto a $26 billion settlement with the three largest distributors of opioids and drugmaker Johnson & Johnson after being one of the latest holdout states to join.

A federal judge’s decision to reject a multibillion dollar opioid settlement involving OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma is being hailed as a step toward justice by advocates who have long called for greater accountability for the family that owns the company.

MAYFIELD, Ky. — Survivors of the deadly tornadoes that blew through a Kentucky candle factory are now suing their employers, saying that the company showed “flagrant indifference” by not allowing employees to leave before the storm arrived. >> Read more trending newsThe lawsuit was filed Wednesday in Kentucky state court, saying that Mayfield Consumer Products candle company violated occupational safety and health workplace standards by not allowing workers to leave the factory early. Workers said they were told they would be fired if they left hours before the tornadoes hit, The Associated Press reported. >>Related: Kentucky tornadoes: How you can helpApproximately 100 people were at the factory working on orders when the tornadoes hit. Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 21 Kentucky tornadoes A resident surveys the damage from a tornado that hit downtown Mayfield, Kentucky, on Friday night.

Thousands of towns across the United States that were wracked by the opioid crisis are on the precipice of receiving billions of dollars in the second-biggest legal settlement in U.S. history.

Workers said they had been told to huddle in a central hallway area, the strongest part of the building, as the storm approached.

Workers said they had been told to huddle in a central hallway area, the strongest part of the building, as the storm approached.

"It appears most were sheltering in the place they were told to shelter," Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said.

The Mayfield Consumer Products factory was the third-biggest employer in this corner of western Kentucky, an important economic engine that churned out candles that lined the shelves of malls around the U.S. But why its Friday night-shift workers kept making candles as a ferocious tornado bore down on the region remains unknown as rescuers continue scouring the wreckage of the plant for signs of life.

Washington Opioid Crisis Trial FILE - Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson looks on during a news conference in Seattle on Dec. 17, 2019. The drug companies say that they cannot be blamed for epidemic; they merely supplied opioids that had been prescribed by doctors. Further, they argued, Washington state itself played a large role in the epidemic. Other opioid trials rooted in public nuisance law are happening before juries in a federal court in Cleveland and a state court in New York. Johnson & Johnson also faces a separate lawsuit from Washington state that is scheduled to go to trial next year.

Washington Opioid Crisis Trial FILE - Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson looks on during a news conference in Seattle on Dec. 17, 2019. Considering inflation over the 18-year payment period, the true value of the settlement was just $303 million, Ferguson said. The drug companies say that they cannot be blamed for epidemic; they merely supplied opioids that had been prescribed by doctors. Further, they argued, Washington state itself played a large role in the epidemic. Johnson & Johnson, which is appealing that decision, also faces a separate lawsuit from Washington state that is scheduled to go to trial next year.

Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson has taken the state’s case against the nation’s three biggest drug distributors to trial.

The company that runs a for-profit immigration jail in Washington state has suspended its detainee work program, rather than pay the detainees minimum wage for cooking, cleaning and other tasks.

The second trial ended last week with jurors deciding that GEO should have paid the state minimum wage — now $13.69 an hour — and awarding the back pay. Even if they were, the company said, it would be unlawfully discriminatory for Washington to require GEO to pay them minimum wage when the state doesn’t pay minimum wage to inmates who work at its own prisons or other detention facilities. The law says residents of “a state, county, or municipal” detention facility are not entitled to minimum wage for work they perform. In 2018, the company made $18.6 million in profits from the facility; it would have cost $3.4 million to pay the minimum wage to detainees. Washington appears to be the only state to sue a private detention contractor for not paying minimum wage to immigration detainees.

The Washington state attorney general has filed two misdemeanor criminal charges against a county sheriff stemming from his confrontation with a Black newspaper carrier in January.

SEATTLE — (AP) — Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson says a Facebook representative provided false testimony in a lawsuit that accuses the company of violating state campaign finance laws. The Seattle Times reports that in court filings the Democratic attorney general says both the social media giant and its attorneys knew the testimony was false. Ferguson sued Facebook last year, for the second time, alleging the company has “repeatedly and openly” violated state campaign transparency laws by selling political ads without providing legally required details of the spending. “Facebook is a commercial advertiser, yet it views itself above this law,” Ferguson writes in a new filing. The company has argued that Washington’s campaign finance laws are unconstitutional and violate both the First Amendment’s free speech protections and the Commerce Clause, which gives Congress the power to regulate interstate commerce.

The money will provide restitution to passengers who were detained, arrested or deported after immigration agents boarded buses at the Spokane Intermodal Center. Under the settlement, Greyhound also is required to:— Create a corporate policy that denies immigration agents permission to board its buses in Washington state without warrants or reasonable suspicion. — Issue a public statement, in English and Spanish, clarifying that Greyhound does not consent to immigration agents boarding its buses without a warrant or reasonable suspicion. — Place stickers on or near the front door of its buses stating that it does not consent to immigration agents boarding its buses without a warrant or reasonable suspicion. The lawsuit was filed last year, alleging that Greyhound allowed the sweeps aboard its buses since at least 2013.

The company failed to warn customers of the searches and subjected passengers to discrimination based on skin color or national origin, the Washington state attorney general said Monday.

Greyhound Lines Inc. will pay $2.2 million to settle a lawsuit over the bus line’s practice of allowing U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents to board its buses in Washington state to conduct immigration sweeps.

Greyhound Lines Inc. will pay $2.2 million to settle a lawsuit over the bus line’s practice of allowing U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents to board its buses in Washington state to conduct warrantless immigration sweeps, the state attorney general said Monday. The bus company failed to warn customers of the sweeps, misrepresented its role in allowing the sweeps to occur and subjected its passengers to discrimination based on skin color or national origin, Attorney General Bob Ferguson said. The money will provide restitution to passengers who were detained, arrested or deported after immigration agents boarded buses at the Spokane Intermodal Center.

50 years ago, on August 1, 1971, the Concert for Bangladesh, led by George Harrison and Ravi Shankar, raised funds — and awareness — for Bengali refugees. What's the legacy of this landmark event?

Immigration Detainees Minimum Wage In this photo taken Sept. 10, 2019, a detainee works in a kitchen area at the GEO Group’s immigration jail in Tacoma, Wash., during a media tour. The law says residents of “a state, county, or municipal” detention facility are not entitled to minimum wage for work they perform. In 2018 the company made $18.6 million in profits from the facility; it would have cost $3.4 million to pay the minimum wage to detainees. GEO’s contract with ICE requires it to comply with applicable state and local law — which, the state says, includes the Washington Minimum Wage Act. Washington appears to be the only state suing a private detention contractor for not paying minimum wage to immigration detainees.

SEATTLE — (AP) — A trial over whether the GEO Group must pay minimum wage — instead of $1 a day — to immigration detainees who perform tasks like cooking and cleaning at its jail in Washington state has ended with a hung jury. A separate lawsuit filed on behalf of detainees was also filed that year, seeking back pay. The judge, who rejected several attempts by GEO to dismiss the lawsuits, consolidated the cases for trial, which he conducted via Zoom because of the pandemic. GEO maintained that the detainees were not employees under the Washington Minimum Wage Act. Even if they were, the company says, it would be unlawfully discriminatory for Washington to require GEO to pay them minimum wage — now $13.69 an hour — when the state doesn’t pay minimum wage to inmates who work at its own prisons or other detention facilities.

A trial over whether the GEO Group must pay minimum wage — instead of $1 a day — to immigration detainees who perform tasks like cooking and cleaning at its for-profit detention center in Washington state has ended with a hung jury.

After nearly four years of litigation and pandemic-related delays, a trial is underway to determine whether the GEO Group must pay minimum wage to detainees who perform cooking, cleaning and other tasks at its Northwest immigration detention center in Washington state.

One of the Tacoma, Washington officers is accused of kneeling on Ellis' back and shoulder as the Black man told the officer he couldn't breathe.

One of the Tacoma, Washington officers is accused of kneeling on Ellis' back and shoulder as the Black man told the officer he couldn't breathe.

Three Washington state police officers have pleaded not guilty to charges in the restraint death of a Black man who repeatedly told them he couldn't breathe.

Two of the officers are charged with second-degree murder and another is charged with manslaughter. Manuel Ellis, a Black man, died after he was restrained and said he couldn't breathe.

3 officers charged in death of Manuel Ellis A protester holds a sign that reads "Justice for Manny" in this June 5, 2020 file photo in Tacoma, Wash., during a protest against police brutality. On Thursday, May 27, 2021, the Washington state attorney general filed criminal charges against three police officers in the death of Manuel Ellis, a Black man who died after telling the Tacoma officers who were restraining him he couldn't breathe. (Ted S. Warren/AP Photo, File)TACOMA, Wash. — Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson on Thursday announced that charges have been filed against three Tacoma police officers in connection with the 2020 death of Manuel Ellis. #BREAKING @AGOWA Bob Ferguson files felony charges against 3 of 5 Tacoma Police officers in death of Manuel Ellis after independent investigation. Thank you @AGOWA for a comprehensive investigation into the death of Manuel Ellis last year in Tacoma.

SEATTLE — (AP) — The Washington state attorney general on Thursday filed murder charges against two police officers in the death of Manuel Ellis, a Black man who died after telling the Tacoma officers who were restraining him that he couldn’t breathe. Attorney General Bob Ferguson said in a statement he charged officers Christopher Burbank and Matthew Collins with second-degree murder and Timothy Rankine with first-degree manslaughter. The charges were filed in Pierce County Superior Court. The Pierce County medical examiner called his death a homicide. Ellis’ death — just weeks before George Floyd’s death under the knee of a white Minneapolis police officer triggered a nationwide reckoning on race and policing — made Ellis’ name synonymous with pleas for justice at protests in the Pacific Northwest.

The Washington state attorney general charged two Tacoma police officers with murder and another with manslaughter in the death of Manuel Ellis, a Black man who died after telling them him he couldn’t breathe as he was being restrained.

The global business consulting firm McKinsey & Company has agreed to a $573 million settlement over its role in the opioid crisis, according to a person with knowledge of the deal. Without naming McKinsey, the attorneys general in at least North Carolina and West Virginia have scheduled announcements for Thursday morning regarding the opioid crisis. Purdue agreed to pay $225 million to the U.S. government. Members of the Sackler family who own the company agreed to pay the same amount in a separate settlement announced the same day. The company and family members reached separate agreements with U.S. Justice Department, both announced Oct. 21, 2020.

Postal Service facility in McLean, Va. A U.S. judge on Thursday, Sept. 17, 2020, blocked controversial Postal Service changes that have slowed mail nationwide. The judge called them "a politically motivated attack on the efficiency of the Postal Service" before the November election. Postal Service to take “extraordinary measures” to deliver ballots in time to be counted in Wisconsin and around Detroit, including using a priority mail service. “The Postal Service continues to implement extraordinary measures across the country to advance and expedite the delivery of the nation’s ballots." Postal Service that challenged the Postal Service's so-called “leave behind” policy, where trucks have been leaving postal facilities on time regardless of whether there is more mail to load.

WASHINGTON – As the Trump administration moves toward antitrust action against search giant Google, it’s campaigning to enlist support from sympathetic state attorneys general across the country. Lawmakers and consumer advocates accuse Google of abusing its dominance in online search and advertising to stifle competition and boost its profits. Separately, the Justice Department's antitrust officials are expected to discuss their planned action on Google in Washington meetings and a conference call with the state attorneys general on Thursday. Some Republican attorneys general could be expected to join the federal case, while another group of states may opt to pursue their own actions. Among other things, the regulators found that Google forced smartphone makers to install Google apps, thereby expanding its reach.

FILE - In this April 2, 2020 file photo, a United States Postal Service worker makes a delivery with gloves and a mask in Warren, Mich. A group of states suing over service cuts at the U.S. Postal Service is asking a federal judge to immediately undo some of them, saying the integrity of the upcoming election is at stake. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya,File)SEATTLE – A group of states suing over service cuts at the U.S. Postal Service is asking a federal judge to immediately undo some of them, saying the integrity of the upcoming election is at stake. Michigan spent $2 million earlier this year on envelopes that met election mail standards — only to learn that the Postal Service wouldn't treat them as First Class mail.

Several vowed they would press on, keeping a watchful eye on the Postal Service ahead of the election. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is pushing ahead with Saturdays vote to prevent election-year mail changes and provide emergency postal funds. A Postal Service spokesman declined to comment beyond DeJoys statement. Ferguson and Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced they were leading collections of other states in suing to block service changes at the Postal Service, just as the postmaster was making his own statement Tuesday. The Postal Service is among the nations oldest and more popular institutions.

FILE - In this Dec. 22, 2019, file photo, the Washington Redskins logo is seen on FedEx Field prior to an NFL football game between the New York Giants and the Redskins in Landover, Md. Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson says Seattle-based Amazon will begin pulling Redskins team merchandise from its online marketplace. (AP Photo/Mark Tenally, File)ASHBURN, Va. Washingtons NFL team will get rid of the name Redskins on Monday, according to multiple reports. USA Today, ESPN, The Washington Post, Washington Times and Sports Business Journal reported Sunday night that owner Dan Snyder is set to retire the name. That came in the aftermath of prominent sponsors FedEx, Nike, PepsiCo and Bank of America asking the team to change the name.

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File PhotoSAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Washington states attorney general filed a second lawsuit against Facebook Inc over political ads on Tuesday, saying the social media giant once again failed to make disclosures required under the states campaign finance laws. Facebook already paid $238,000 in 2018 to resolve a previous dispute over political advertising in Washington state. The company announced later that year that it would stop accepting political ads related to state or local initiatives in Washington, although it still permitted advertisements around issues of national importance targeting people in the state. In a statement on Tuesday, Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson said that Facebook had continued selling hundreds of ads to at least 171 state political committees since 2018, in violation of its own policy. A Facebook spokeswoman said the company aimed to work with authorities in Washington to resolve the dispute.

Washington state has sued the Trump administration over its practice of arresting people at courthouses for immigration violations, saying it interferes with the state's authority to run its judicial system. It says when Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents patrol courthouse hallways and parking lots it deters crime victims and witnesses from testifying and interferes with criminal prosecutions. A similar lawsuit by prosecutors in Massachusetts has resulted in a preliminary court order blocking immigration agents from making civil arrests at courthouses there. The University of Washington's Center for Human Rights said in a report in October that it had documented 51 reported immigration arrests at courthouses in the state since 2016. The Washington Supreme Court has also asked federal immigration authorities to stop making courthouse arrests.

When President Trump announced his original Muslim travel ban on a Friday in early 2017, Washington Atty. He said that suits against the Trump administration cost taxpayers a negligible amount because theyre funded by proceeds from civil enforcement. Washington state has about 17,000 of these Dreamers, and the attorney general has heard from many. Ferguson, shown in his Seattle office Sept. 19, leafs through letters that hes received concerning his lawsuits against the Trump administration. He pens responses to each handwritten one from a Washington state resident, sometimes including a note from his 11-year-old daughter, Katie.