The Department announced today that it has entered into a settlement agreement with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) that, if approved by the court, will resolve the complaint of pattern or practice religious discrimination filed by the United States against WMATA under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The Department issued a statement today after JBS and National Beef announced the abandonment of the JBS/National Beef transaction, which the Department had filed suit to block in October.

The Department announced the transfer to the United Kingdom of Binyam Mohammed, an Ethiopian national and former resident of the United Kingdom who had been held at the Guantanamo detention facility since 2004.

Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, 43, has been released from detention by the Secretary of Defense and is now in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. He is scheduled to make his initial court appearance today.

Jorge Flores-Rojas, 44, an undocumented Mexican national, was sentenced to 24 years in prison by Chief Judge Robert J. Conrad, Jr. in Charlotte, N.C., for two counts of sex trafficking of minors and one count of interstate transportation of an adult for purposes of commercial sex. Flores-Rojas pled guilty to the charges on Oct. 7, 2008.

Robert P. Merz, 45, was convicted by a federal jury in Philadelphia today of advertising, transporting, receiving and possessing child pornography.

The Department today announced that one national of Iraq and one national of Chad have been transferred from the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay to their home countries.

Three Saudi nationals were transferred today from the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia under appropriate security measures.

The Department announced that it has moved to intervene in a lawsuit filed in federal court in Jackson, Miss., challenging inaccessibility in Jackson’s public transportation system. The pending lawsuit, filed by 11 residents of Jackson with disabilities and two non-profit organizations that work on behalf of people with disabilities, alleges violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (ADA).

Attorney General Eric Holder today announced that $500,000 in Recovery Act funds have been awarded to the Support for Harbor Area Women’s Lives (SHAWL) House, a program of the Volunteers of America of Los Angeles (VOALA).

William Travis Brown, 39, of Sellersburg, Ind., was convicted today by a federal jury in Indianapolis of transporting and possessing child pornography. Brown was charged on July 8, 2009, in an amended indictment with one count of transportation and one count of possession of child pornography.

The Department of Justice today announced that Mohammed Jawad, a native of Afghanistan, has been transferred from the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay to Afghanistan.

The Department of Justice today announced that two Syrian nationals have been transferred from the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay to the control of the government of Portugal.

More than $750,000 in forfeited funds from an embezzlement scheme by a Peruvian military officer have been transferred to the government of Peru.

The Department will not challenge a proposal by seven regional less-than-truckload (LTL) freight transportation companies to bid jointly and engage in other collaborative activity as part of their nationwide LTL truck transportation services joint venture.

Robert P. Merz was sentenced to life in prison today for advertising, transporting, receiving and possessing child pornography.

Three detainees have been transferred from the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay to the control of the governments of Ireland and Yemen.

Michael Wildridge, 41, pleaded guilty today to transportation and possession of child pornography and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

As directed by the President’s Jan. 22, 2009 Executive Order, the interagency Guantanamo Review Task Force conducted a comprehensive review of each of these cases. As a result of that review, these detainees were approved for transfer from Guantanamo Bay.

Six detainees who are Chinese nationals of Uighur ethnicity have been transferred from the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay to the control of the Republic of Palau.

After conducting a careful investigation of the proposed transaction between Oracle and Sun, the Department’s Antitrust Division concluded that the merger is unlikely to be anticompetitive.

A federal jury in Indianapolis convicted William Travis Brown on July 23, 2009, of one count of transportation and one count of possession of child pornography.

Mack Gordon Harris Sr., 67, of Social Circle, Ga., pleaded guilty today to transporting a minor for illegal sexual activity.

Both detainees are the subject of outstanding arrest warrants in Italy and will be prosecuted there.

Late last night, Sabir Lahmar, a native of Algeria, was transferred to the government of France.

Late last night, a detainee originally from the West Bank was transferred to the government of Hungary.

As a result of the new format, members of the public, including public interest organizations, scholars, and the media, will be able to more easily track FOIA performance.

Fouad Mahmoud al-Rabiah, a Kuwaiti national, has been transferred from the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay to the control of the government of Kuwait.

These transfers were carried out under individual arrangements between the United States and relevant foreign authorities to ensure the transfers took place under appropriate security measures.

Clement Calhoun, a member of the Cherokee Nation in North Carolina, was sentenced in federal court in the Western District of North Carolina, to six months in prison for illegally transporting and selling 51 bear gall bladders.

General Re has admitted that its most senior management engaged in a scheme to falsely inflate AIG’s reported loss reserves, a key indicator of financial health to insurance industry analysts and investors.

Two Algerian detainees, Hasan Zemiri and Adil Hadi al Jazairi Bin Hamlili, have been transferred from the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay to the custody and control of the Government of Algeria.

The United States is grateful to the Government of Slovakia for its willingness to support U.S. efforts to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility.

The Swiss Government, with the support of the Canton of Geneva, accepted an Uzbek national for resettlement and his transfer was carried out according to arrangements between the governments of the United States and Switzerland.

The United States is grateful to the Government of Albania for its willingness to support U.S. efforts to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility.

The United States is grateful to the Government of Spain for its willingness to support U.S. efforts to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility.

Mack Gordon Harris Sr., 67, was sentenced today to 121 months in prison for transporting a minor for illegal sexual activity.

Victor Kaganov, who emigrated from Russia and set up numerous shell corporations in Oregon on behalf of Russian clients, was arrested today on charges of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business.

The United States is grateful to Georgia for its willingness to support U.S. efforts to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility.

The Swiss Government, with the support of the Canton of Jura, accepted the two Chinese nationals of Uighur ethnicity for resettlement in Switzerland.

The United States has reached a comprehensive settlement agreement with the city of Jackson, Miss., to improve access to public transportation for individuals with disabilities.

"As we look to the reauthorization of VAWA later this year, we need to know about lessons learned and how we in the federal government can help you serve victims and their families," said Associate Attorney General Perrelli.

The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities has agreed to pay nearly $1 million to resolve allegations that it violated the Clean Water Act at numerous sites in Alaska

Chicago attorney and Certified Public Accountant John B. Ohle III and Louisiana attorney William Bradley were found guilty Wednesday in Manhattan federal court of wire and tax fraud conspiracy charges stemming from a scheme to fraudulently obtain referral fees relating to a tax shelter sold by Ohle’s employer, Bank One, and thereafter failing to accurately report those fees to the IRS and pay the appropriate taxes due.

"With your help and engagement, we’re working to ensure that the Justice Department lives up to its responsibility to provide a work environment where every employee is respected and given an equal opportunity to thrive," said Attorney General Holder.

Responding to the President’s and Attorney General’s call for increased transparency, federal agencies across the government have released more documents, made more information available on websites and decreased backlogs in the past year.

In response to a federal enforcement action for excessive train engine idling, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) and the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Company (MBCR) will spend more than $2 million to reduce diesel locomotive emissions throughout the MBTA’s commuter rail system.

Air Products LLC has agreed to pay $1.485 million in civil penalties to resolve hazardous waste mismanagement violations at its Pasadena, Texas, chemical manufacturing facility.

The Department of Justice announced today that in light of the agreement by United Airlines Inc. and Continental Airlines Inc. to transfer takeoff and landing rights (slots) and other assets at Newark Liberty Airport to Southwest Airlines Co., the department has closed its investigation into the proposed merger of UAL Corporation, the parent of United, and Continental.

Jeffrey Robert Libman, the vice president and co-director of Webe Web Corporation, a Florida corporation, pleaded guilty today to 16 counts of transporting child pornography, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance of the Northern District of Alabama.