
"White guy" case against AT&T can move forward, judge says
CBSN
A former AT&T employee is suing the telecommunications giant, alleging the company's diversity hiring practices discriminated against him because he is a middle-aged White man.
Joseph DiBenedetto, a Georgia resident who worked for two decades as an assistant vice president inside the company's tax research department, filed an age, gender and race discrimination lawsuit against AT&T after being laid off in the fall of 2020. His complaint claimed that his job was eliminated so the company could fill upper management roles with people of color.
AT&T contested the allegation in January. The company told a Georgia judge that the reason DiBenedetto and other White employees were let go was because the company's finance division, which houses the tax department, was struggling financially. AT&T called for DiBenedetto's case to be dismissed, but Judge Mark Cohen of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia ruled this week that the case can move forward.

As federal policies and staffing levels rapidly change in the name of government efficiency and energy independence, historical sites across the United States — sites that help the public understand the cultures that came before them and built their communities of today — are in jeopardy of losing out on important federal protections. "National Park Service employees are deeply committed to preserving our public lands and serving visitors. At times, team members may step into a range of responsibilities outside their usual scope to help ensure continued access, safety, and stewardship across the park system. This flexibility reflects the dedication and collaborative spirit of our workforce.

Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys' visionary and fragile leader whose genius for melody, arrangements and wide-eyed self-expression inspired "Good Vibrations," "California Girls" and other summertime anthems and made him one of the world's most influential recording artists, has died, his family said in a statement posted to his website and social media. He was 82.