TD Bank hit with record US$3 billion fine over drug cartel money laundering
TD Bank will pay US$3 billion to settle charges that it failed to properly monitor money laundering by drug cartels, regulators announced Thursday.
Jeff Pena contacted his father as soon as he heard that police were passing out auto tracking devices to try to stem a sharp increase in carjackings, auto thefts and other crimes in the nation's capital.
"It's just getting crazy out there," said Pena, whose father, Raul Pena, drives for the rideshare app Lyft. "Especially now because Christmas is coming and nobody has any money."
That's why the pair recently sat in a line of cars winding around the block near Nationals Park, the city's pro baseball stadium, waiting their turn for a police officer to install the tracker -- literally just an Apple AirTag -- and show them how to use it.
The initiative is part of a multipronged anti-crime offensive launched by the Metropolitan Police Department and Mayor Muriel Bowser's government. Violent crimes, particularly homicide and car theft, have risen sharply, and the deputy mayor for public safety, Lyndsey Appiah, flatly stated before the House Judiciary Committee last month that the city is in the midst of a crime crisis.
The elder Pena, 58, said he generally enjoyed driving and meeting new people but had become much more cautious in recent months and stopped driving late at night.
"I do get nervous sometimes," he said. "It's worse now because it gets dark so early in the winter. Right now I feel very unsafe."
One week later, Faenita Dilworth told a similar story. The mother of three and grandmother of two was sitting in one of about a dozen vehicles waiting in the parking lot of the old RFK Stadium, the former home of Washington's NFL team, for a city-sponsored handout of dashboard cameras.
"They told me to get a camera and make sure somebody installs it for me," she laughed. "If a person knows they're being recorded, they're less likely to do anything silly."
The cameras were free for any District of Columbia resident who drives for a rideshare company like Uber, Lyft or Alto -- or for a food delivery service like DoorDash. The AirTag trackers were available to any resident who lives in one of several designated auto theft hot zones.
As of Nov. 14, homicides are up 34 per cent compared with this time last year. Car theft is up 98 per cent, and carjackings have more than doubled -- up 104 per cent. Recent carjacking victims include a Texas congressman and a diplomat from the United Arab Emirates.
"It is not lost on us that we need to do more to increase public safety," said Salah Czapary, head of the city's Department of Nightlife and Culture. His department, which covers issues relating to restaurants and food delivery, partnered with the Department of For-Hire Vehicles for the dashboard camera distributions. The initiative is funded by a US$500,000 donation from DoorDash -- enough to pay for about 2,500 camera kits.
"We do feel it will help deter crime. That camera footage can help police to close a case and help prosecutors to successfully prosecute that case," Czapary.
Some like Jessica Gray, a high school administrator who was waiting in line for an AirTag, said they were happy for the initiative, although she questioned exactly how the whole process would work.
"When you think about the response time, by the time the police respond and start tracking down the car, will there be anything left of it by the time they find it?" she said.
Police Sgt. Anthony Walsh didn't promise that police would immediately be able to recover a stolen car intact. But he said the tracker information would help police trace the route of the car thieves and possibly pull security camera footage from along that route to aid in an eventual arrest and court case.
"This is all about helping our investigators build a case that holds up in court and hopefully takes car thieves off the streets. That's the idea," he said.
Walsh also found himself fielding multiple questions about whether the AirTag would allow the government to track drivers' movements. He pointed out that the residents themselves would be doing the tracking on their phones and would turn over that information to the police if they wanted to aid the investigation.
TD Bank will pay US$3 billion to settle charges that it failed to properly monitor money laundering by drug cartels, regulators announced Thursday.
Both the Liberals and Conservatives are claiming a win after the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) released an updated report on the economic impacts of the federal carbon tax on Canadian households.
Milton made landfall as a Category 3 storm Wednesday night, causing widespread destruction and immobilizing critical infrastructure. The extent of the damage is not yet known.
Hurricane Milton ripped through Florida Wednesday evening, leaving a trail of destruction, flooding and power outages.
Several models of Fisher-Price infant swings have been recalled in Canada after the company received reports of fatalities link to affected products.
The hosts of ABC's 'The View' clapped back at Donald Trump on Thursday, a day after the Republican nominee for president insulted co-hosts Sunny Hostin and Whoopi Goldberg.
Florida saw a record number of tornado warnings in a single day Wednesday. An expert says this phenomenon is not unheard of.
Police north of Toronto have released video of what they鈥檙e describing as a violent, targeted robbery in Thornhill, where suspects boxed in the victim鈥檚 car and made off with a suitcase filled with cash.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says that while his party backed a Bloc Quebecois motion seeking money to boost seniors' benefits, he thinks there are 'other ways' to address affordability for older Canadians.
Jeff Warner from Aidie Creek Gardens in the northern Ontario community of Englehart has a passion for growing big pumpkins and his effort is paying off in more ways than one.
Saskatchewan鈥檚 Jessica Campbell has made hockey history, becoming the first ever female assistant coach in the National Hockey League (NHL).
Have you ever seen videos of hovercrafts online or on TV and thought, 'Wow, I wish I could ride one of those.' One Alberta man did, and then built his own.
A B.C. couple is getting desperate 鈥 and creative 鈥 in their search for their missing dog.
Videos of a meteor streaking across the skies of southern Ontario have surfaced and small bits of the outer space rock may have made it to land, one astronomy professor says.
A unique form of clouds made an appearance over the skies of Ottawa on Sunday evening.
Bernie Hicks, known as the 鈥楤atman of Amherst,鈥 always wanted to sit in a Batmobile until a kind stranger made it happen.
Bubi鈥檚 Awesome Eats, located on University Ave West took to social media to announce the closure on Friday.
Weeneebayko Area Health Authority and the Government of Ontario have awarded a $1.8 billion fixed-price contract to design, build and finance a new Far North hospital.