Washington
Instacart settles federal claims of discrimination against US-born job seekers
The federal government has reached a $5 million settlement with Instacart for allegedly discriminating against U.S.-born workers in its hiring practices.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Instacart was advertising jobs through the Permanent Labor Certification, or PERM, program. The program lets employers hire temporary visa holders and sponsor them for permanent resident status as long as they have also made a good-faith effort to hire U.S. workers.
The agencies said Instacart created a burden for U.S. workers by requiring that applications be physically mailed to the company for jobs that were listed as part of its PERM recruitment program. Instacart allows electronic applications for its standard job recruitment process.
San Francisco-based Instacart said Tuesday that its hiring practices complied with U.S. laws and regulations, but it agreed to the settlement in order to remain focused on its business.
“We’re proud to be a U.S.-based grocery technology platform, employing thousands of American workers and serving millions of customers, retailers, shoppers and brands,” the company said. “Hiring and investing in American workers across our U.S. business is our priority, and we actively promote every role across many channels to ensure qualified U.S. candidates are always first in line for opportunities.”
Instacart is the latest tech company to reach a settlement with the government over allegations that it favors foreign workers for certain jobs.
In 2023, Apple agreed to a $25 million settlement after federal regulators said its hiring practices discriminated against U.S. candidates for jobs that went to immigrant workers seeking permanent resident status in the country. Facebook agreed to pay $14 million in 2021 to settle claims about its hiring practices.
“Our record demonstrates that the Justice Department is holding companies who prefer workers with temporary employment visas accountable,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon said in a statement. “We will not stop fighting for U.S. workers until there is a fair playing field.”
The settlement requires Instacart to establish a fund of up to $4 million to compensate job applicants and people who were allegedly deterred from applying to Instacart between December 2023 and February 2026.
Instacart will pay $1 million in civil penalties to the federal government. The company is also required to post jobs that are part of its PERM recruitment program on its public career website and accept electronic applications.
Colombia
Judge orders protection of historical artifacts after museum purge sparks protests
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — A Colombian judge on Monday ordered the nation’s government to protect more than 30 historical artifacts that officials removed from exhibits in Bogota’s National Museum last week, as part of an effort by Colombia’s conservative government to change how the nation’s history is told in museums and schools.
The artifacts were related to the country’s social movements and guerrilla fighters, which have led critics to describe the initiative as an attack on leftist movements and sexual minorities.
In a ruling Monday, Bogota judge Cesar Enrique Osorio said that the objects, which include a copy of the first magazine published by Colombia’s LGBTQ+ community and a poster depicting a former guerrilla leader who later became a presidential candidate, should be preserved in a safe place while a ruling is made on whether they should once again be shown to the public.
The judge also ordered officials to refrain from removing any more objects from the museum’s exhibits, alleging that the rights of Colombians to free expression and historical memory could be jeopardized.
The removal of dozens of objects from the national museum’s exhibit halls last Thursday sparked protests outside the historical building over the weekend that lasted several hours and were eventually broken up by riot police.
Feminist groups, left wing activists and members of Bogota’s LGBTQ+ community have accused the government of conservative president Abelardo de la Espriella of trying to erase their constituencies from the nation’s historical record.
On Thursday, de la Espriella gave a speech in the country’s Ministry of Culture, where he urged officials to protect the nation’s heritage and embark on what he described as a cultural battle against “wokeism” and “moral relativism.”
“The extreme left has permeated all facets of society for decades, particularly the cultural and academic spheres,” de la Espriella said. “We have the duty to confront it, exalting the principles that Colombians value.”
The president also argued that the state’s cultural institutions “belong to all Colombians” and could not be used to promote a political doctrine or an “ideological” interpretation of history.
Some of the items removed from the museum’s halls include a pen used to sign the 2016 peace deal between Colombia’s government and the FARC rebels, an agreement that has long been criticized by Colombia’s conservatives for being too lenient with the rebels — and for not stopping new waves of violence in rural areas.
Another item removed was a campaign poster of Carlos Pizarro, a former leader of the M-19, a guerrilla movement that signed a peace agreement with the government in March 1989, in which its leaders were pardoned for kidnappings and other war crimes. Pizarro was assassinated a month later while he was running for Colombia’s presidency.
De la Espriella said last week that Colombia’s cultural entities should not “promote terrorism” or treat members of guerrilla groups “as if they were national heroes.”
Pizarro’s daughter, former Sen. María José Pizarro, said the exhibits at the museum were modified suddenly, without any technical criteria.
“My father is a symbol of rebellion against tyranny,” Pizarro said in a video published on her social media accounts. “We will not allow sexual minorities to be censored in Colombia, and for the memory, the life, of the leaders of the left to be persecuted.”
Florida
State brings more charges against former Cuba President Castro
MIAMI (AP) — Former Cuban President Raúl Castro is facing more charges in Florida related to the 1996 downing of civilian planes flown by Miami-based exiles after the U.S. government indicted the former leader earlier this year.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier on Monday accused Castro, 95, of directing spies to infiltrate the exile group Brothers to the Rescue and ordering the attack on their planes. The state charge of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder is based largely on a federal indictment announced in May that included charges of murder and destruction of an airplane.
It remains unclear whether Castro will ever step foot in a U.S. courtroom. Uthmeier said the arrest warrant will restrict Castro’s ability to leave the island nation and prevent him from traveling to any place with an extradition agreement with the U.S.
“I’m not ignorant of the fact that Raúl Castro is an older man who’s probably not looking to march himself into Miami,” Uthmeier said. “I think others would get him before the court of law would, but at the end of the day, we stand ready to prosecute the case.”
According to the state complaint, Castro was the Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces and First Vice President of Cuba when he gave the final authorization to shoot down the planes. Cuban Directorate of Intelligence agents operating as part of the Wasp Network in the Miami area and the Florida Keys infiltrated Brothers to the Rescue and reported flight plans, investigators said.
On Feb. 24, 1996, three unarmed Cessna aircraft departed Opa-Locka Airport in Miami-Dade County. Well outside Cuba’s territorial waters, Cuban MiGs destroyed two of the civilian planes with air-to-air missiles, killing the four occupants, the complaint said. Both aircraft were traveling away from Cuba and received no warning despite contact with Havana air traffic control, U.S. officials said.
“Our historic federal indictment laid the groundwork, and James and his team have now taken the important step of bringing charges under Florida law,” U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Jason Reding Quiñones said at a news conference.
In Cuba, authorities have rejected the new accusations against Castro.
“This reprehensible action against the Army General—staged this morning in a pathetic Miami circus with an electoral subtext—has no legal or practical basis whatsoever, nor will it ever have one,” President Miguel Díaz-Canel wrote on his X account.
“This maneuver, dressed up in legal terms by anti-Cuban politicians against Raúl and against Cuba, deserves our firm condemnation. It is part of an aggressive agenda and reflects the difficulties they face in trying to justify the blockade and the collective punishment of our people,” the president added.
Castro took over as president from his ailing older brother Fidel Castro in 2006 before handing power to Díaz-Canel, a trusted loyalist, in 2018.
While Raúl Castro retired in 2021 as head of the Cuban Communist Party, he is widely believed to wield power behind the scenes, as underscored by the prominence of his grandson, Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump has been threatening military action in Cuba ever since U.S. forces captured former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, the Cuban government’s longtime patron.
After ousting the Venezuelan leader earlier this year, the White House ordered a blockade that choked off fuel shipments to Cuba, leading to severe blackouts, food shortages and an economic collapse across the island.
Pakistan
Authorities arrest man accused in $126M postage fraud scheme
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani authorities acting on intelligence arrested a man Tuesday accused of running an online counterfeit postage operation that U.S. prosecutors say caused more than $126 million in losses to the U.S. Postal Service, Pakistan’s cybercrime investigation agency said.
Faheem Akram, 33, was arrested after a weekslong search involving raids across several parts of the country, a senior official at the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency, Atif Ameer, told reporters.
Akram, a resident of Khanewal in eastern Punjab province, was indicted by a federal grand jury in the Southern District of Florida, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the district said in a Sept. 28 statement.
The office alleged that Akram operated LabelsBank.com, an unauthorized website that sold more than 5.1 million counterfeit postage labels to more than 5,200 customers. The labels typically cost $2 each, regardless of a package’s weight, size or destination.
The counterfeit labels allowed customers to ship packages at prices far below legitimate postal rates, resulting in lost revenue and shipping costs for the Postal Service, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Its estimate of more than $126 million represents alleged losses to the Postal Service rather than proceeds from the website’s sales.
Ameer said Pakistani investigators found that Akram operated the website from August 2023 through September 2026 and used 16 bank accounts for the business. Those included accounts held by Akram, his brother, wife, sister and aunt, he said.
It was unclear whether Akram would be extradited to the United States or face trial in Pakistan.
Instacart settles federal claims of discrimination against US-born job seekers
The federal government has reached a $5 million settlement with Instacart for allegedly discriminating against U.S.-born workers in its hiring practices.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Instacart was advertising jobs through the Permanent Labor Certification, or PERM, program. The program lets employers hire temporary visa holders and sponsor them for permanent resident status as long as they have also made a good-faith effort to hire U.S. workers.
The agencies said Instacart created a burden for U.S. workers by requiring that applications be physically mailed to the company for jobs that were listed as part of its PERM recruitment program. Instacart allows electronic applications for its standard job recruitment process.
San Francisco-based Instacart said Tuesday that its hiring practices complied with U.S. laws and regulations, but it agreed to the settlement in order to remain focused on its business.
“We’re proud to be a U.S.-based grocery technology platform, employing thousands of American workers and serving millions of customers, retailers, shoppers and brands,” the company said. “Hiring and investing in American workers across our U.S. business is our priority, and we actively promote every role across many channels to ensure qualified U.S. candidates are always first in line for opportunities.”
Instacart is the latest tech company to reach a settlement with the government over allegations that it favors foreign workers for certain jobs.
In 2023, Apple agreed to a $25 million settlement after federal regulators said its hiring practices discriminated against U.S. candidates for jobs that went to immigrant workers seeking permanent resident status in the country. Facebook agreed to pay $14 million in 2021 to settle claims about its hiring practices.
“Our record demonstrates that the Justice Department is holding companies who prefer workers with temporary employment visas accountable,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon said in a statement. “We will not stop fighting for U.S. workers until there is a fair playing field.”
The settlement requires Instacart to establish a fund of up to $4 million to compensate job applicants and people who were allegedly deterred from applying to Instacart between December 2023 and February 2026.
Instacart will pay $1 million in civil penalties to the federal government. The company is also required to post jobs that are part of its PERM recruitment program on its public career website and accept electronic applications.
Colombia
Judge orders protection of historical artifacts after museum purge sparks protests
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — A Colombian judge on Monday ordered the nation’s government to protect more than 30 historical artifacts that officials removed from exhibits in Bogota’s National Museum last week, as part of an effort by Colombia’s conservative government to change how the nation’s history is told in museums and schools.
The artifacts were related to the country’s social movements and guerrilla fighters, which have led critics to describe the initiative as an attack on leftist movements and sexual minorities.
In a ruling Monday, Bogota judge Cesar Enrique Osorio said that the objects, which include a copy of the first magazine published by Colombia’s LGBTQ+ community and a poster depicting a former guerrilla leader who later became a presidential candidate, should be preserved in a safe place while a ruling is made on whether they should once again be shown to the public.
The judge also ordered officials to refrain from removing any more objects from the museum’s exhibits, alleging that the rights of Colombians to free expression and historical memory could be jeopardized.
The removal of dozens of objects from the national museum’s exhibit halls last Thursday sparked protests outside the historical building over the weekend that lasted several hours and were eventually broken up by riot police.
Feminist groups, left wing activists and members of Bogota’s LGBTQ+ community have accused the government of conservative president Abelardo de la Espriella of trying to erase their constituencies from the nation’s historical record.
On Thursday, de la Espriella gave a speech in the country’s Ministry of Culture, where he urged officials to protect the nation’s heritage and embark on what he described as a cultural battle against “wokeism” and “moral relativism.”
“The extreme left has permeated all facets of society for decades, particularly the cultural and academic spheres,” de la Espriella said. “We have the duty to confront it, exalting the principles that Colombians value.”
The president also argued that the state’s cultural institutions “belong to all Colombians” and could not be used to promote a political doctrine or an “ideological” interpretation of history.
Some of the items removed from the museum’s halls include a pen used to sign the 2016 peace deal between Colombia’s government and the FARC rebels, an agreement that has long been criticized by Colombia’s conservatives for being too lenient with the rebels — and for not stopping new waves of violence in rural areas.
Another item removed was a campaign poster of Carlos Pizarro, a former leader of the M-19, a guerrilla movement that signed a peace agreement with the government in March 1989, in which its leaders were pardoned for kidnappings and other war crimes. Pizarro was assassinated a month later while he was running for Colombia’s presidency.
De la Espriella said last week that Colombia’s cultural entities should not “promote terrorism” or treat members of guerrilla groups “as if they were national heroes.”
Pizarro’s daughter, former Sen. María José Pizarro, said the exhibits at the museum were modified suddenly, without any technical criteria.
“My father is a symbol of rebellion against tyranny,” Pizarro said in a video published on her social media accounts. “We will not allow sexual minorities to be censored in Colombia, and for the memory, the life, of the leaders of the left to be persecuted.”
Florida
State brings more charges against former Cuba President Castro
MIAMI (AP) — Former Cuban President Raúl Castro is facing more charges in Florida related to the 1996 downing of civilian planes flown by Miami-based exiles after the U.S. government indicted the former leader earlier this year.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier on Monday accused Castro, 95, of directing spies to infiltrate the exile group Brothers to the Rescue and ordering the attack on their planes. The state charge of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder is based largely on a federal indictment announced in May that included charges of murder and destruction of an airplane.
It remains unclear whether Castro will ever step foot in a U.S. courtroom. Uthmeier said the arrest warrant will restrict Castro’s ability to leave the island nation and prevent him from traveling to any place with an extradition agreement with the U.S.
“I’m not ignorant of the fact that Raúl Castro is an older man who’s probably not looking to march himself into Miami,” Uthmeier said. “I think others would get him before the court of law would, but at the end of the day, we stand ready to prosecute the case.”
According to the state complaint, Castro was the Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces and First Vice President of Cuba when he gave the final authorization to shoot down the planes. Cuban Directorate of Intelligence agents operating as part of the Wasp Network in the Miami area and the Florida Keys infiltrated Brothers to the Rescue and reported flight plans, investigators said.
On Feb. 24, 1996, three unarmed Cessna aircraft departed Opa-Locka Airport in Miami-Dade County. Well outside Cuba’s territorial waters, Cuban MiGs destroyed two of the civilian planes with air-to-air missiles, killing the four occupants, the complaint said. Both aircraft were traveling away from Cuba and received no warning despite contact with Havana air traffic control, U.S. officials said.
“Our historic federal indictment laid the groundwork, and James and his team have now taken the important step of bringing charges under Florida law,” U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Jason Reding Quiñones said at a news conference.
In Cuba, authorities have rejected the new accusations against Castro.
“This reprehensible action against the Army General—staged this morning in a pathetic Miami circus with an electoral subtext—has no legal or practical basis whatsoever, nor will it ever have one,” President Miguel Díaz-Canel wrote on his X account.
“This maneuver, dressed up in legal terms by anti-Cuban politicians against Raúl and against Cuba, deserves our firm condemnation. It is part of an aggressive agenda and reflects the difficulties they face in trying to justify the blockade and the collective punishment of our people,” the president added.
Castro took over as president from his ailing older brother Fidel Castro in 2006 before handing power to Díaz-Canel, a trusted loyalist, in 2018.
While Raúl Castro retired in 2021 as head of the Cuban Communist Party, he is widely believed to wield power behind the scenes, as underscored by the prominence of his grandson, Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump has been threatening military action in Cuba ever since U.S. forces captured former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, the Cuban government’s longtime patron.
After ousting the Venezuelan leader earlier this year, the White House ordered a blockade that choked off fuel shipments to Cuba, leading to severe blackouts, food shortages and an economic collapse across the island.
Pakistan
Authorities arrest man accused in $126M postage fraud scheme
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani authorities acting on intelligence arrested a man Tuesday accused of running an online counterfeit postage operation that U.S. prosecutors say caused more than $126 million in losses to the U.S. Postal Service, Pakistan’s cybercrime investigation agency said.
Faheem Akram, 33, was arrested after a weekslong search involving raids across several parts of the country, a senior official at the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency, Atif Ameer, told reporters.
Akram, a resident of Khanewal in eastern Punjab province, was indicted by a federal grand jury in the Southern District of Florida, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the district said in a Sept. 28 statement.
The office alleged that Akram operated LabelsBank.com, an unauthorized website that sold more than 5.1 million counterfeit postage labels to more than 5,200 customers. The labels typically cost $2 each, regardless of a package’s weight, size or destination.
The counterfeit labels allowed customers to ship packages at prices far below legitimate postal rates, resulting in lost revenue and shipping costs for the Postal Service, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Its estimate of more than $126 million represents alleged losses to the Postal Service rather than proceeds from the website’s sales.
Ameer said Pakistani investigators found that Akram operated the website from August 2023 through September 2026 and used 16 bank accounts for the business. Those included accounts held by Akram, his brother, wife, sister and aunt, he said.
It was unclear whether Akram would be extradited to the United States or face trial in Pakistan.
