The Belleville News-Democrat from Belleville, Illinois • A5

WEDNESDAY APRIL 10 2019 5ANewsWWW.BND.COM SACRAMENTO, CALIF. In his latest legal on- slaught against perceived critics of his policies, U.S. Rep. Devin Nunes filed a $150 mil- lion defa- mation suit Monday in a Virginia circuit court against the McClatchy Co. and a Virginia communi- cations consultant de- scribed as a ter- rorist for The lawsuit filed in Albemarle County was obtained by The Sacra- mento Bee on Tuesday, and Nunes confirmed the lawsuit in a Monday night appearance on Sean Han- Fox News show.

Nunes declared that McClatchy reporters need come clean with the American and retract their reports. He said he wants such stories scrubbed from the internet and promised more legal chal- lenges. out there and you lied and you defamed, we are going to come after he told Hannity. The lawsuit, which fol- lows a previous $250 million lawsuit he filed against Twitter and a parody account known as Devin Cow, tar- gets McClatchy for report- ing by The Fresno Bee in a to defame Plain- tiff and destroy his reputa- the limited op- portunity we have had to review this claim, it is wholly without merit and we stand behind the strong reporting of The Fresno a McClatchy spokeswoman said Mon- day night. Nunes, an ardent sup- porter of President Donald Trump, has denounced The Fresno Bee as a wing and a and has largely refused to provide access to its re- porters.

But the lawsuit targets one particular story in The Fresno Bee that ran during his re-election effort last year and reported on a 2016 lawsuit against a winery whose investors include Nunes. The story by reporter Mackenzie Mays detailed claims in the lawsuit about an event that took place aboard a yacht where winery employee Alene Anase alleged she saw guests on the charity cruise using what ap- peared to be cocaine for which sex worker to That suit was later set- tled for an undisclosed amount, but Nunes con- tends the headlines about the suit and its dissemi- nation via Twitter and the internet part of a scheme to defame Nunes never requested a correction to the story. Much of 43-page lawsuit focuses on Twitter, the number of Twitter followers The Bee and Mays have and the fact that the Prostitutes article was republished online and retweeted and posted on the Internet hundreds of thousands of traveled through social media like suit alleges, add- ing that words obviously had their desired effect they linked Nunes to and The earlier suit against Twitter and the operators of the Devin cow and Devin mom Twit- ter accounts had a similar impact online, drawing many new followers the cow account quickly at- tracted more followers than own account and made him a target of late night comedians. The suit against McClatchy, which accuses the Fresno Bee of of the original story, also names Virginia politi- cal communications stra- tegist Elizabeth A. Mair, accusing her of attacking and smearing Nunes.

Mair, the latest suit notes, was sued earlier by Nunes and responded by changing her Twitter user name to Nunes claims in the suit that the attacks on him were made, in part, to with and divert attention from his investigation of corruption and alleged Russian involvement in the 2016 Presidential Nunes files lawsuit against McClatchy BY SAM STANTON Devin Nunes HARTFORD, CONN. Facing a newly revived wrongful death lawsuit in Connecticut over the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, gun- maker Remington says it is going to the U.S. Su- preme Court to argue it be sued because of a much-debated federal law that shields firearms man- ufacturers from liability in most cases. The Connecticut Su- preme Court issued a 4-3 ruling last month saying the Madison, N.C.-based company can be sued under state law for how it marketed the Bushmaster AR-15-style rifle used to kill 20 first-graders and six educators at the New- town school in 2012. The decision reinstated part of a lawsuit by some of the families that had been completely dis- missed by a lower court judge.

The case is being watched by gun control advocates, gun rights supporters and gun manu- facturers across the coun- try, as it has the potential to provide a road map for victims of other mass shootings to circumvent the federal law and sue firearm makers. The fed- eral Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act has been criticized by gun control advocates as being too favorable to gun-mak- ers since it took effect in 2005, and it has been used to bar lawsuits over other mass killings. lawyers have notified the Connec- ticut high court that they intend to ask the highest court to hear the appeal of last decision, accord- ing to a motion filed with the state court Friday. The company has until June to file papers with the U.S. Supreme Court.

Gun-maker plans to appeal case to Supreme Court BY DAVE COLLINS Associated Press Bank of America an- nounced Tuesday that it is raising hourly wages for its lowest-paid U.S. employees starting next month, with the figure rising to $20 in two years. The Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank said its minimum wage will rise from slightly higher than $15 an hour to $17 an hour on May 1. The minimum will continue to rise until hitting $20 an hour in 2021, the bank said. The company said the increase is part of its commitment to be a great place to work and offer competitive benefits.

The company said it employs more than 205,000 peo- ple worldwide. Bank of America to raise floor on its wages Federal agents on Tues- day broke up a billion dollar Medicare scam that peddled unneeded ortho- pedic braces to hundreds of thousands of seniors. Two dozen people were charged, including doctors accused of writing bogus prescriptions. The Justice Department said the scheme relied on overseas call centers to pry Medicare numbers from beneficiaries. Au- thorities also announced charges against owners of call centers, telemedicine firms and medical equip- ment companies that shipped unneeded braces.

The loss to Medicare was estimated at more than $1.2 billion. ASSOCIATED PRESS Feds break up $1.2 billion Medicare scam The heads of some of the largest U.S. banks will appear Wednesday in front of Congress for a hearing expected to pro- duce political fireworks, but few policy changes. Jamie Dimon of JPMor- gan Chase will testify, as well as the CEOs of Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and Mor- gan Stanley. Banks have been trying to polish up their images ahead of the hearing, aware their record profits in 2018 could be a target for Democrats.

Mean- while, the banking indust- lobbyists have been pushing Congress to further unwind the rules put into place after the 2008 financial crisis. ASSOCIATED PRESS CEOs of 7 big banks to testify in Congress.