Connecticut probing Amazon's e-book deals with publishers
(AP Photo/Jessica Hill, File)HARTFORD, Conn. โ Connecticut authorities are investigating whether Amazon's e-book deals with certain publishers are anticompetitive and violate antitrust laws, state Attorney General William Tong said Thursday. He said the state attorney general's office has previous taken action against Apple and e-book publishers to protect competition in the marketplace. Amazon has become the dominant force in print book sales and e-book sales in the U.S. Tong's office issued a subpoena to Amazon in 2019 requesting documents about the company's dealings with five book publishers: HarperCollins Publishers, Hachette Book Group, Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster and Macmillan. The publishers all settled and signed consent decrees prohibiting them from restricting e-book retailersโ ability to set prices.
Federal funding threatened over transgender athlete policy
The U.S. Department of Education is threatening to withhold some federal funding for Connecticut school districts if they follow a state policy that allows transgender girls to compete as girls in high school sports. (AP Photo/Pat Eaton-Robb, File)HARTFORD, Conn. โ The U.S. Department of Education is threatening to withhold some federal funding from Connecticut school districts if they follow a state policy that allows transgender girls to compete as girls in high school sports. But the U.S. Education Department's Office for Civil Rights argues the policy violates the civil rights of girls who are not transgender under Title IX, the federal law that guarantees equal opportunities in education. The ACLU of Connecticut, which is representing the transgender athletes, said the Trump administration is trying to pressure schools into denying transgender athletes an opportunity to compete. โTransgender girls are girls, and the Office of the Attorney General will continue to protect every woman and girl in this state against discrimination.