WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has approved sending up to 600 military lawyers to the Justice Department to serve as temporary immigration judges, according to a memo reviewed by The Associated Press.
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The military will begin sending groups of 150 attorneys — both military and civilians — to the Justice Department “as soon as practicable” and the military services should have the first round of people identified by next week, according to the memo, dated Aug. 27.
The effort comes as the Trump administration cracks down on immigration across the country, ramping up arrests and deportations. Immigration courts also already are dealing with a massive backlog of roughly 3.5 million cases that has ballooned in recent years.
However, numerous immigration judges have been fired or left voluntarily after taking deferred resignations offered by the administration, according to their union. The International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, said in July that at least 17 immigration judges had been fired “without cause” in courts across the country.
That has left about 600 immigration judges, union figures show, meaning the Pentagon move will double their ranks.
The move is being done at the request of the Justice Department, and the memo noted that the details will initially last no more than 179 days but can be renewable.
When asked about the move, a DOJ spokesperson referred questions about the plan to the Defense Department. Pentagon officials directed questions to the White House.
A White House official said Tuesday that the administration is looking at a variety of options to help resolve the significant backlog of immigration cases, including hiring additional immigration judges. The official said the matter should be “a priority that everyone — including those waiting for adjudication — can rally around.”
Associated Press writers Will Weissert, Rebecca Santana and Eric Tucker contributed to this report.
A Boundary Waters-scented candle, potato salad and high-performance water skis are just a few of the products vying for the title of “Coolest Thing Made in Minnesota.”
The first head-to-head bracket of the second annual competition, which is hosted by the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce and BMO, was announced Tuesday and is now in the hands of the public until a winner is crowned.
The first bracket, which is made up of 64 products, was chosen by a council of industry peers from a list of all the nominations.
“This contest is a chance to shine a spotlight on the innovation, creativity and quality that set Minnesota apart,” said Doug Loon, president and CEO of the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, in a news release.
Edible contestants include Kraft Heinz’s Velveeta cheese block, Dapper Barons’ Espresso Martini, a jalapeno cream ale from Jack Pine Brewery and, of course, SPAM from Hormel Foods.
Other products showcase the versatility of Minnesota’s landscapes like the Gunflint Canoe Paddle from Sanborn Canoe Company, a teardrop-shaped trailer from Vistabule and an all-terrain military vehicle from Polaris.
More than 40% of Minnesota’s Fortune 500 companies are in manufacturing and more than 320,000 Minnesotans work in the industry, according to the chamber.
Finalists for last year’s inaugural competition included an all-terrain wheelchair, floating wetland islands, a leather boot from Red Wing Shoe Co., and the winner, Scotch Magic Tape from 3M.
“From iconic consumer goods to cutting-edge technology, the variety of entries reflects the strength and diversity of our manufacturing sector,” said Loon. “Now it’s up to Minnesotans to vote for what they think is the coolest thing made in our state.”
Each week, the competition will be cut in half until one product is named the “Coolest Thing Made in Minnesota” at the 2025 Manufacturers’ Summit on Oct. 3.
PARIS (AP) — French film star Gérard Depardieu has been ordered to stand trial before a criminal court in Paris over allegations of rape and sexual assault against actor Charlotte Arnould.
“I feel relieved,” Arnould, 29, wrote on Instagram on Tuesday, announcing that she had received the investigating judge’s indictment order. “The order restores a form of judicial truth. I think I’m having trouble realizing how huge this is.”
Arnould has said that the alleged crimes took place at Depardieu’s Paris home on Aug. 7 and Aug. 13, 2018. She was 22 and he was 69 at the time. He has denied wrongdoing.
“The acts of rape and sexual assault have been acknowledged,” Arnould said. “Now, we await the next steps.”
FILE – Actor Charlotte Arnould leaves actor Gerard Depardieu’s trial for the alleged sexual assaults of two women on a film set in 2021, Tuesday, March 25, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard, File)
No date for the trial has been set yet, and there was no official comment from the court.
Arnould’s lawyer, Carine Durrieu-Diebolt, said in a statement that she and Arnould were “relieved and confident,” describing the decision as a “moment of judicial truth” in the case, pending trial.
Prosecutors submitted a request last year for the case to proceed to trial.
The 76-year-old Depardieu, one of the most prominent figures in French cinema for decades, has faced a series of accusations of wrongdoing against women in recent years.
He was convicted earlier this year of sexually assaulting two women on a film set and received an 18-month suspended prison sentence. The case was widely seen as a post-#MeToo test for the country’s film industry. Arnould attended that trial.
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In that case, Depardieu was convicted of groping a 54-year-old woman responsible for decorating the set and a 34-year-old assistant during the filming of “Les Volets Verts” (“The Green Shutters”) in 2021. The court ordered his name to be listed in the national sex offender database.
The actor has been accused publicly or in formal complaints of misconduct by more than 20 women in all, but so far only the sexual assault case has proceeded to court. Other cases were dropped because of a lack of evidence or because the statute of limitations expired.
For more than a half-century, Depardieu stood as a towering figure in French cinema, a titan known for his commanding physical presence, instinct, sensibility and remarkable versatility. A bon vivant who overcame a speech impediment and a turbulent youth, Depardieu rose to prominence in the 1970s and became one of France’s most prolific and acclaimed actors, portraying a vast array of characters, from volatile outsiders to deeply introspective figures. He was nominated for an Oscar in 1991 for his performance as the swordsman and poet Cyrano de Bergerac.
In recent years, his behavior toward women has come under renewed scrutiny, including after a documentary showed him repeatedly making obscene remarks and gestures during a 2018 trip to North Korea.
Families who lost loved ones in two crashes of Boeing 737 Max jetliners may get their last chance to demand the company face criminal prosecution Wednesday. That’s when a federal judge in Texas is set to hear arguments on a U.S. government motion to dismiss a felony charge against Boeing.
U.S. prosecutors charged Boeing with conspiracy to commit fraud in connection with the crashes that killed 346 people off the coast of Indonesia and in Ethiopia. Federal prosecutors alleged Boeing deceived government regulators about a flight-control system that was later implicated in the fatal flights, which took place less than five months apart in 2018 and 2019.
Boeing decided to plead guilty instead of going to trial, but U.S. District Chief Judge Reed O’Connor rejected the aircraft maker’s plea agreement in December. O’Connor, who also will consider whether to let prosecutors dismiss the conspiracy charge, objected to diversity, equity and inclusion policies potentially influencing the selection of an independent monitor to oversee the company’s promised reforms.
Lawyers representing relatives of some of the passengers who died cheered O’Connor’s decision, hoping it would further their goal of seeing former Boeing executives prosecuted during a public trial and more severe financial punishment for the company. Instead, the delay worked to Boeing’s favor.
The judge’s refusal to accept the agreement meant the company was free to challenge the Justice Department’s rationale for charging Boeing as a corporation. It also meant prosecutors would have to secure a new deal for a guilty plea.
FILE – Catherine Berthet, whose daughter Camille Geoffrey died in the March, 2019, crash of an Ethiopian Airlines 737 Max, speaks outside federal court in Fort Worth, Texas, on Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Koenig,File)
FILE – Workers collect debris on March 12, 2019 at the scene where an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 crashed shortly after takeoff, killing all 157 on board, near Bishoftu, or Debre Zeit, south of Addis Ababa, in Ethiopia. (AP Photo/Mulugeta Ayene, File)
FILE – Nadia Milleron, parent of Samya Rose Stumo, one of the victims of the Boeing 737 Max crash in Ethiopia, holds her photograph as she speaks at a news conference on Capitol Hill, June 18, 2024, in Washington. ( AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)
FILE – The Boeing logo is displayed at the company’s factory, Sept. 24, 2024, in Renton, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File)
FILE – Workers recover debris at the scene of an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing Max plane crash on March 11, 2019, outside of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. (AP Photo/Mulugeta Ayene, File)’
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FILE – Catherine Berthet, whose daughter Camille Geoffrey died in the March, 2019, crash of an Ethiopian Airlines 737 Max, speaks outside federal court in Fort Worth, Texas, on Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Koenig,File)
The government and Boeing spent six months renegotiating their plea deal. During that time, President Donald Trump returned to office and ordered an end to the diversity initiatives that gave O’Connor pause.
By the time the Justice Department’s criminal fraud section briefed the judge in late May, the charge and the plea were off the table. A non-prosecution agreement the two sides struck said the government would dismiss the charge in exchange for Boeing paying or investing another $1.1 billion in fines, compensation for the crash victims’ families, and internal safety and quality measures.
The Justice Department said it offered Boeing those terms in light of “significant changes” Boeing made to its quality control and anti-fraud programs since entering into the July 2024 plea deal.
The department also said it thought that persuading a jury to punish the company with a criminal conviction would be risky, while the revised agreement ensures “meaningful accountability, delivers substantial and immediate public benefits, and brings finality to a difficult and complex case whose outcome would otherwise be uncertain.”
Judge O’Connor has invited some of the families to address the court on Wednesday. One of the people who plans to speak is Catherine Berthet, whose daughter, Camille Geoffrey, died at age 28 when a 737 Max crashed shortly after takeoff from Ethiopia’s Addis Ababa Bole International Airport.
Berthet, who lives in France, is part of a group of about 30 families who want the judge to deny the government’s request and to appoint a special prosecutor to take over the case.
“While it is no surprise that Boeing is trying to buy everyone off, the fact that the DOJ, which had a guilty plea in its hands last year, has now decided not to prosecute Boeing regardless of the judge’s decision is a denial of justice, a total disregard for the victims and, above all, a disregard for the judge,” she said in a statement.
The government says the judge can’t deny its request
Justice Department lawyers maintain the families of 110 crash victims either support a pre-trial resolution or do not oppose the non-prosecution agreement. The department’s lawyers also dispute whether O’Connor has authority to deny the motion without finding prosecutors acted in bad faith instead of the public interest.
While federal judges typically defer to the discretion of prosecutors in such situations, court approval is not automatic.
In the Boeing case, the Justice Department has asked to preserve the option of refiling the conspiracy charge if the company does not hold up its end of the deal over the next two years.
Boeing reached a settlement in 2021 that protected it from criminal prosecution, but the Justice Department determined last year that the company had violated the agreement and revived the charge.
Faulty sensor readings preceded crashes
The case revolves around a new software system Boeing developed for the Max. In the 2018 and 2019 crashes, the software pitched the nose of the plane down repeatedly based on faulty readings from a single sensor, and pilots flying then-new planes for Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines were unable to regain control.
The Transportation Department’s inspector general found that Boeing did not inform key Federal Aviation Administration personnel about changes it made to the MCAS software before regulators set pilot training requirements for the Max and certified the airliner for flight.
Acting on the incomplete information, the FAA approved minimal, computer-based training for Boeing 737 pilots, avoiding the need for flight simulators that would have made it more expensive for airlines to adopt the latest version of the jetliner.
Airlines began flying the Max in 2017. After the Ethiopia crash, the planes were grounded worldwide for 20 months while the company redesigned the software.
In the final weeks of Trump’s first term, the Justice Department charged Boeing with conspiring to defraud the U.S. government but agreed to defer prosecution and drop the charge after three years if the company paid a $2.5 billion settlement and strengthened its ethics and legal compliance programs.
The 2021 settlement agreement was on the verge of expiring when a panel covering an unused emergency exit blew off a 737 Max during an Alaska Airlines flight over Oregon at the beginning of last year. No one was seriously injured, but the potential disaster put Boeing’s safety record under renewed scrutiny.
A former Boeing test pilot remains the only individual charged with a crime in connection with the crashes. In March 2022, a federal jury acquitted him of misleading the FAA about the amount of training pilots would need to fly the Max.
Leff reported from London. Yamat reported from Las Vegas.
