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PETER KING

Australian bank agrees to $919M fine for money laundering

Two men walk past a Westpac bank branch in Sydney, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020. Westpac, Australia's second-largest bank, agreed to pay a 1.3 billion Australian dollar ($919 million) fine for breaches of anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing laws, the largest ever civil penalty in Australia, a financial crime regulator said. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)CANBERRA – Westpac, Australia’s second-largest bank, agreed to pay a 1.3 billion Australian dollar ($919 million) fine for breaches of anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing laws, the largest ever civil penalty in Australia, a financial crime regulator said on Thursday. It will eclipse an AU$700 million ($495 million) settlement paid by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, the nation’s biggest bank, in 2018 for similar but less extensive reporting failures. Attorney-General Christian Porter said the size of the proposed fine should serve as a wake-up call for the banking industry.

Congress urges Postal Service to undo changes slowing mail

Postal Service to immediately reverse operational changes that are causing delays in deliveries across the country just as big volume increases are expected for mail-in election voting. Trump, a vocal critic of the Postal Service, contended Wednesday that "the Post Office doesnt have enough time to handle a significant increase in mail-in ballots. Democrats have pushed for $10 billion for the Postal Service in talks with Republicans on a huge COVID-19 response bill. With her state's vast and difficult terrain, the Postal Service is a primary source of knowledge, commerce and basic necessities, said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska. Partenheimer disputed reports that the Postal Service is slowing down election mail or any other mail.

Medical experts: Floyd's speech didn't mean he could breathe

Madeline Curry attends a protest with her father outside the Minneapolis 5th Police Precinct while wearing a protective mask that reads "I CAN'T BREATHE", Saturday, May 30, 2020, in Minneapolis. One told Floyd it takes a lot of oxygen to talk, while another told angry bystanders that Floyd was talking, so he can breathe.That reaction -- seen in police restraint deaths around the country -- is dangerously wrong, medical experts say. In the moments before he died, Floyd told police he couldnt breathe more than 20 times. The volume of an ordinary breath is about 400 to 600 mL, but normal speech requires about 50 mL of gas per syllable, so saying the words I cant breathe would require 150 mL of gas, the authors wrote. But the misperception that a talking person is able to breathe has also come up in other high-profile in-custody deaths.

House passes sweeping police overhaul after Floyd's death

Exactly one month ago, George Floyd spoke his final words I can't breathe and changed the course of history, Pelosi said. The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act is perhaps the most ambitious set of proposed changes to police procedures and accountability in decades. After the GOP policing bill stalled this week, blocked by Democrats, Trump shrugged. The two parties are instead appealing to voters ahead of the fall election, which will determine control of the House, Senate and White House. Senate Democrats believe Senate Republicans will face mounting public pressure to open negotiations and act.

Democrats push new $3T coronavirus relief bill through House

(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)WASHINGTON Democrats have powered a massive $3 trillion coronavirus relief bill through the House, an election-year measure designed to brace a U.S. economy in free fall and a health care system struggling to contain a pandemic still pummeling the country. It has no chance of becoming law as written, but will likely spark difficult negotiations with the White House and Senate Republicans. The enormous Democratic measure would cost more than the prior four coronavirus bills combined. This bill is nothing more than the Democratic policy agenda masquerading as a response to the coronavirus crisis, said Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla. He said the bill is going nowhere, and is going nowhere fast.Liberal Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., also opposed the bill.

Democrats push new $3T coronavirus relief bill through House

(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)WASHINGTON Democrats powered a massive $3 trillion coronavirus relief bill through the House on Friday, an election-year measure designed to brace a U.S. economy in free fall and a health care system struggling to contain a pandemic still pummeling the country. It has no chance of becoming law as written, but will likely spark difficult negotiations with the White House and Senate Republicans. The enormous Democratic measure would cost more than the prior four coronavirus bills combined. This bill is nothing more than the Democratic policy agenda masquerading as a response to the coronavirus crisis, said Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla. He said the bill is going nowhere, and is going nowhere fast.Liberal Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., also opposed the bill.