Southwest Airlines likely to pay 1 cent to end DEI-related lawsuit
By Jonathan Stempel
(Reuters) - A U.S. judge signaled he will order Southwest Airlines to pay 1 cent to end a lawsuit by a conservative group alleging that a now-defunct program awarding free flights to Hispanic college students was discriminatory.
U.S. District Judge Sidney Fitzwater on Wednesday rejected a request by Edward Blum's American Alliance for Equal Rights to address the merits of its case, after Southwest "unconditionally surrendered" by scrapping its ¡Lánzate! program.
Blum has tried for decades to remove racial considerations from parts of American life, including a successful push to essentially end affirmative action in college admissions.
U.S. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, has made removing diversity, equity and inclusion policies from society a hallmark of his second White House term.
Southwest's ¡Lánzate! program had since 2004 provided assistance to 1,500 Hispanic undergraduate and graduate students who lived at least 200 miles (322 km) from campus.
Fitzwater said it would waste time and money to keep litigating whether the program violated a Civil War-era law barring racial bias in contracting, because the plaintiff achieved "total victory" after Southwest effectively gave up.
"Granting an obstinate plaintiff total victory upon the defendant's unconditional surrender is a reasonable response to the problems and needs confronting the court's fair administration of justice," the Dallas-based judge wrote.
Fitzwater gave both sides until May 28 to object.
Southwest, based in Dallas, had no immediate comment on Thursday. Lawyers for the plaintiff did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
While the plaintiff had sought 1 cent in damages, its lawyers said the case's merits should be addressed because it concerned "issues of substantial public importance" regarding intentional ethnic discrimination by a major company.
"Southwest cannot avoid liability by paying the Alliance via a judgment that's not really a judgment, any more than it could avoid liability by paying the Alliance via no judgment," the lawyers wrote.
The case is American Alliance for Equal Rights v Southwest Airlines Co, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas, No. 24-01209.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


CNN
42 minutes ago
- CNN
Democratic governors slam Trump's military deployment in California as ‘flagrant abuse of power'
Democratic governors on Thursday slammed President Donald Trump's deployment of the National Guard and Marines to California amid protests over the administration's immigration enforcement policies. 'As we speak, an American city has been militarized over the objections of their governor,' New York Gov. Kathy Hochul began her testimony at a hearing on Capitol Hill. 'At the outset I just want to say that this is a flagrant abuse of power and nothing short of an assault on our American values.' The hearing is playing out against the backdrop of protests in Los Angeles and cities across the country against the Trump administration's immigration enforcement actions. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has clashed with Trump over his decision to deploy National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles despite opposition from the state and city's Democratic leaders. Thursday's proceedings on Capitol Hill gave a high-profile platform to some of the Democratic Party's potential 2028 contenders to craft their response to the Trump administration's controversial immigration tactics, as the party seeks to calibrate its messaging on issues of crime and public safety. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker called it wrong 'to deploy the National Guard and active duty Marines into an American city, over the objection of local law enforcement' and 'to tear children away from their homes and their mothers and fathers.' The Illinois governor condemned any violence, but he also delivered a warning to the Trump administration over potential plans to broaden the scope of the immigration crackdown, including the deployment of the National Guard in other states. 'We will not participate in abuses of power. We will not violate court orders. We will not ignore the Constitution. We will not defy the Supreme Court. We will not take away people's rights to peacefully protest,' Pritzker said. Hochul, Pritzker and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz are testifying at a hearing focused on 'sanctuary state' policies. 'Sanctuary' jurisdictions is a broad term referring to jurisdictions with policies that limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement actions, but the term is nebulously defined. Walz, who noted his state does not have so-called sanctuary legislation guiding enforcement policies, blasted the Trump administration's 'cruel and misguided policies.' 'We have a broken immigration system in this country. I think everyone in this room agrees with that. But nothing Minnesota has done to serve its own people stands in the way of the federal government managing border security and policies,' Walz said. And each governor laid the blame at Congress' feet for failing to adequately tackle comprehensive immigration reform. House Oversight Chair James Comer, meanwhile, criticized the Democratic governors' approach to immigration enforcement, saying in his opening remarks that 'Democrat-run sanctuary cities and states are siding with illegal aliens.' 'For today's Democrat Party, it seems unlimited illegal immigration isn't a failure of policy – it is the policy. And that agenda is being pushed at every level of government,' he continued. The Democratic governors explained the way their states cooperate with ICE on criminal enforcement, but Republicans have pushed for state and local officials to cooperate in all immigration enforcement matters. Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik clashed sharply with Hochul during the hearing, providing a potential preview of next year's gubernatorial race in the Empire State with the congresswoman eyed as a top possible GOP contender. New York Republican Rep. Mike Lawler, whose name is also in the mix as a potential GOP gubernatorial candidate, also briefly appeared at the hearing even though he does not sit on the committee. Stefanik also does not sit on the panel. The clash came as Stefanik questioned Hochul over New York's sanctuary policies for undocumented immigrants, pressing her repeatedly to recall details of what the congresswoman claimed were violent crimes committed by migrants in New York City during the governor's administration. 'Do you know who Sebastian Zapeta-Calil is?' Stefanik asked Hochul at one point. 'I'm sure you'll tell me,' Hochul said, when Stefanik cut in again. 'These are high-profile cases, New Yorkers know about them and you don't – so let's talk about Sebastian Zapeta-Calil. Do you know who that is?' she asked, referencing a high-profile case of subway violence from late last year in which an undocumented migrant was accused of setting fire to a woman who was asleep while riding a New York City train. 'I don't have the specific details at my disposal, no,' Hochul answered. After describing the case, Stefanik said, 'This is in Kathy Hochul's New York.' 'These crimes are horrific, I condemn them, and I would say – in all of these cases we would work with ICE to remove them,' Hochul said. CNN reported in January that Zapeta-Calil, 33, an undocumented migrant from Guatemala, pleaded not guilty to murder charges in the death of Debrina Kawam, 57. Zapeta-Calil repeatedly told detectives he had no memory of the attack. Then, investigators played surveillance video that allegedly caught him igniting the flames. 'Oh, damn, that's me,' Zapeta-Calil said during questioning with police that was transcribed and translated, according to court documents. 'I am very sorry. I didn't mean to. But I really don't know. I don't know what happened, but I'm very sorry for that woman,' Zapeta-Calil told police. Florida Democratic Rep. Maxwell Frost asked each of the governors how they would handle potential arrests by the federal government, as he decried Trump having endorsed the idea of arresting California Gov. Gavin Newsom. 'If Tom Homan comes to Albany to arrest me, I'll say go for it. You can't intimidate a governor,' Hochul said, referring to the White House border czar. 'We're here on the frontlines every day, fighting to defend our rights, our values, and the public safety of our residents. And so, anything threatening our responsibility is an assault on our democracy, nothing short of that.' 'If Tom Homan were to come to try to arrest us, me, rather, I could say first of all that he can try,' Pritzker said. 'I can also tell you that I will stand in the way of Tom Homan going after people who don't deserve to be frightened in their communities, who don't deserve to be threatened, terrorized – I would rather that he came and arrested me than do that to the people of my state.' 'I didn't realize how much animosity there is here – we have a responsibility to the American public to work together. And I think threatening arrests on elected officials, congressman, it doesn't help any of us,' said Walz. 'And Gov. Pritzker is right – our citizens are scared and angry and it's not necessary. We can fix this with a bipartisan border bill, help us out.'


Boston Globe
an hour ago
- Boston Globe
Democratic Senator Alex Padilla is forcefully removed from DHS Secretary Kristi Noem's news conference and handcuffed
'I'm Sen. Alex Padilla. I have questions for the secretary,' he shouted in a halting voice. The stunning scene of a U.S. senator being aggressively removed from a Cabinet secretary's news conference prompted immediate outrage from his Democratic colleagues in the chamber. It comes as the Trump administration has aggressively targeted protesters in California who are demonstrating against immigration raids, including by sending in National Guard troops and Marines. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security said Padilla 'chose disrespectful political theater and interrupted a live press conference.' They claimed erroneously that Padilla did not identify himself and said Secret Service believed him to be an attacker. Advertisement 'Padilla was told repeatedly to back away and did not comply with officers' repeated commands,' the statement said, adding that 'officers acted appropriately.' Padilla's office said in a statement that he was in the building for a military briefing and stepped into Noem's event. 'He tried to ask the secretary a question, and was forcibly removed by federal agents, forced to the ground and handcuffed. He is not currently detained, and we are working to get additional information,' his office said. Advertisement California Senator Alex Padilla was pushed out of the room as Noem held a news conference regarding the recent protests in Los Angeles on Thursday. Etienne Laurent/Associated Press Noem told Fox LA afterward that she had a 'great' conversation with Padilla after the scuffle, but called his approach 'something that I don't think was appropriate at all.' The fracas in Los Angeles came just days after Democratic U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver was indicted on federal charges alleging she assaulted and interfered with immigration officers outside a detention center in New Jersey while Newark's mayor was being arrested after he tried to join a congressional oversight visit at the facility. Democrats have framed the charges as intimidation efforts by the Trump administration. Padilla, the son of immigrants from Mexico, has been a harsh critic of President Donald Trump and his mass deportations agenda. In a post on the social platform X, he said of recent federal immigration raids in Los Angeles, 'Trump isn't targeting criminals in his mass deportation agenda, he is terrorizing communities, breaking apart families and putting American citizens in harm's way.' At the Capitol, senators were sharing the video among one another as they gathered on the Senate floor for a series of votes. Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., said she texted Padilla immediately 'to let him know we support him.' She said she also showed it to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. 'I think he was as shocked as we all were,' Blunt Rochester said. 'So, hopefully we will come together as one voice.' Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat, called the video 'utterly revolting' and said there should be consequences. Associated Press writers Mary Clare Jalonick and Seung Min Kim in Washington and Jaimie Ding contributed to this report. Advertisement


Bloomberg
an hour ago
- Bloomberg
Bessent, Senator Warren in Heated Exchange Over Deficit
CC-Transcript 00:00Will this bill increase or decrease the deficit? Are varying scoring on that. So will the secretary of the Treasury. So I'm asking you, what is your view? Will this bill increase or decrease the deficit? It is my view that over the ten year window, it will decrease. You know, do you have anybody who agrees with you on this? Yes. Yes. Let me let me ask my question. Okay. Every credible independent expert agrees that Trump and the Republicans big, beautiful bill would add trillions of dollars to the national debt and would not even come close to paying for itself. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the Penn Wharton budget model, and the Yale Budget Lab all agree on this, and they're looking at ten year windows. Thank you. So do the Conservative Tax Foundation and Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. Conservative groups, even Elon Musk and The Wall Street Journal are criticizing the bill for ballooning the national debt. The only people who are saying publicly that it's not going to add to the national debt, are you Donald Trump? The Republicans in Congress. Do you have an independent group that has put forward numbers that disagrees with all of these conservative groups and disagrees with The Wall Street Journal on this? Well, Senator, interesting to see you aligned with Elon Musk. But if I you're no more shocked than I am the. If we want to take the full congressional congressional budget scoring, they predict and I don't agree with their methodology, they predict a 2.4 trillion deficit, but they show the gap. No, no, no. But may I finish? They include that. But they've also scored 2.8 trillion in tariff income. So even even in Washington, D.C., math in Washington, D.C., math, that is a 400 billion surplus. Okay. So let me make sure I understand. This bill, you admit, will increase the deficit by $2.4 trillion, but you think there will be another bill and another set of agreements that somehow materialize haven't materialized so far, don't have any statutory authority, but that will make up the difference. So the answer to the original question will this bill increase or decrease the deficit? I think you just said it will increase this bill, increases the. I want to use all the all the CBO scoring and you can't take one without the other. I don't agree with the CBO. The law that we are scoring the bill that is in front of us. We don't have a tariff bill in front of us to score. Mr. Secretary, let me go on to the second question. You've said that government spending is, quote, out of control. You have also called government spending, quote, unsustainable. In fact, in the name of fiscal responsibility, you're working with the Republicans on this big, beautiful bill to pass the biggest cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act in American history. So, Mr. Secretary, help me understand here. Why is the national debt so very important that you're trying to kick 16 million people off their health insurance? But increasing the national debt doesn't seem to matter if you're cutting taxes for billionaires and billionaire corporations. Well, first of all, a huge portion of this goes to family owned businesses that are passed through entities that are below that level. Senator. And I am sure you share my goals of Main Street prosperity. You know, I'm glad to do tax cuts for people of modest means. The question I'm asking is why does the deficit not matter to you? We're talking about knocking 16 million people off their health care. But it matters not. It does matter to you if we're knocking people off their health care, but not. Well, first of all, that figure is overstated by 5.1 million. That is amount not attributable to provisions. And do you think it's okay? It is. It is simply health care. First of all, let's set that straight. Work requirements account for 8 million of CBO's claim number. Again, we're creating the economy. So for most Americans, Terry. So you don't want to answer that? No, No, Senator, I am answering. No, you're not. And what I want is for Medicaid to be used there for mothers and children as it was meant not for 1.4 million illegal aliens, not for able bodied people, and not it's not used for people who are not documented. Mr. Chairman, I just want to say here, the part that troubles me the most is that the secretary is deeply worried about the about the deficit and is willing to knock 60 million or, as he says, nearly 11 million people off their health care matter so much. But it doesn't matter so much if you're cutting taxes for billionaires, then it's okay to run up a big deficit. I think that's wrong. For YouLive TV