Nation and world news in brief for December 13
Meta donates $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund
(NYT) — Meta said on Wednesday that it had donated $1 million to President-elect Donald Trump’s inaugural fund, in the latest move by Mark Zuckerberg, the company’s CEO, to foster a positive rapport with Trump.
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The Silicon Valley company did not provide details of why it made the donation, but the move came just weeks after Zuckerberg met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago. During that meeting last month, the two men exchanged pleasantries and Zuckerberg congratulated Trump on winning the presidency. Zuckerberg also had a meal with Sen. Marco Rubio, Trump’s pick for secretary of state, according to a person who saw the meeting happen.
A Meta spokesperson said at the time that Zuckerberg was “grateful for the invitation to join President Trump for dinner.”
The Meta donation was earlier reported by The Wall Street Journal. Gifts to inaugural committees, which do not have contribution limits, are popular among businesses and individuals eager to curry favor with an incoming administration. Trump’s inaugural committee is offering top-tier benefits to donors who contribute $1 million.
Zuckerberg is one of many tech CEOs who have worked to forge direct relationships with Trump. Even before last month’s election, Zuckerberg, Apple’s Tim Cook and Google’s Sundar Pichai started reaching out to Trump, sometimes flattering him and criticizing his opposition, as they aimed to put themselves in a position that could potentially benefit their businesses.
FAA chief to step down in January when Trump takes office
WASHINGTON (Reuters) — Federal Aviation Administration chief Mike Whitaker, who has overseen the agency’s response to significant safety issues at Boeing since a mid-air emergency in January, will step down when President-elect Donald Trump takes office next month.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, a close adviser to Trump, in September called for Whitaker’s resignation and harshly criticized the FAA’s decision to impose a $633,000 fine on SpaceX after the agency said the company violated launch license requirements.
Trump has said he plans to oust many officials before their terms expire but had not specified plans for the FAA.
Fake attorney swindles thousands from Filipino immigrants, California State Bar says
(TNS) — A woman posing as an attorney stole thousands of dollars from Filipino immigrants for bogus legal advice, the California State Bar reported.
The offices and practice of Salve Esperanza, doing business as Prestige Network Resource Consulting, Inc., have been seized, the organization said in a Dec. 10 news release.
Esperanza has never been licensed to practice law in California, the bar said.
Two clients told investigators she never provided meaningful legal services despite charging each more than $10,000 on immigration matters, the bar said.
She also advised them to work for a specific employer to earn green cards, then failed to file the proper paperwork, the bar said. Esperanza is accused of collaborating with the employer.
Investigators found Esperanza filed numerous fraudulent filings to the immigration service, the bar said.
