A federal judge today approved a settlement by a gay teenager who claims he was relentlessly bullied by classmates.  The teenager has settled a lawsuit against an upstate New York school district.
The student doesn’t want his full name revealed and is only identified by  Jacob. Jacob sued the Mohawk Central School District in federal court over the summer with help from the New York Civil Liberties Union.  He says that school officials did nothing to stop bullies who picked on him because he acted differently than other boys.  The school …

A federal judge on Wednesday has given approval to a $9.5 million settlement over Facebook’s controversial Beacon advertising feature.  This feature broadcasts what users were purchasing online to their friends. Facebook denied any wrongdoing under the settlement.   At least $6 million is required by the the terms of the settlement to be put in a “Digital Trust Fund” that will issue grants to researchers studying online privacy.
Tim Sparapani, Facebook public policy director; Chris Jay Hoofnagle, head of the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology; and privacy advocate Larry Magid …

Wachovia Bank N.A. will pay $160 million to settle federal charges that it enabled Mexican exchange houses to launder drug money.
Drug dealers moved funds between the United States and Mexico.  The houses facilitated money transfers between the two countries.
The Charlotte-based bank was acquired by Wells Fargo & Co. of San Francisco and stopped dealing with the exchanges.  A Wachovia press release states Wells Fargo knew about a federal investigation before buying Wachovia in late 2008.  Wells Fargo established reserves to pay the settlement.
Money laundering statutes have since been taken into higher …

Subway is giving away $2 worth of gift cards as part of a settlement with the state because their advertised specials were not honored in certain Subway locations.
The sandwich makers are giving away 142,000 $2 gift cards but the catch is that only one card per California household will be issued.
As soon as you sign up on their website, the card takes about 10 to 12 weeks to arrive.
You can enter your mailing address here.