Good morning. The Justice Department’s request to drop criminal charges against Boeing tied to two fatal plane crashes was granted on Thursday, despite objections from some victims’ families who wanted the case to go to trial.

A federal judge in Fort Worth, Texas, agreed with prosecutors’ request to dismiss the nearly five-year-old case, which stems from an investigation of Boeing’s role in two plane accidents that killed 346 people.

• Dodging the courtroom: The outcome saves Boeing from the brink of prosecution, which it faced last year after the Justice Department said it had violated an earlier settlement agreement. The aerospace company agreed in July 2024 to plead guilty rather than face trial on the original charge. It was also due to accept an independent compliance monitor.
   
• Reversal: The Trump administration reversed that decision in May after Boeing lobbied for a fresh look at the case. The Justice Department said that Boeing would pay more in fines and compensation to families but that the case should be dismissed and no monitor should be imposed.
   
• Upset families: Paul Cassell, a lawyer for some of the crash families, had urged the judge to order the case to trial by appointing a special prosecutor. Some families of victims who spoke at the September hearing said they think Boeing bought its way out of trouble. They had asked the Justice Department to take the case to trial and let a jury decide whether Boeing was responsible for the deaths of their loved ones.

Coinbase to pay $24.8 million anti-money-laundering compliance fine.

Cryptocurrency marketplace Coinbase must pay about 21.5 million euros, equivalent to $24.8 million, for allegedly breaching Ireland’s anti-money-laundering law, Risk Journal reports.

The Central Bank of Ireland said Thursday that Coinbase’s European arm had failed to properly monitor tens of millions in transactions that should have gone through anti-money-laundering and counterterrorism finance screening.

Nasdaq probed in Europe over potential antitrust violations.

The European Union’s antitrust regulator opened an investigation into Nasdaq and Deutsche Börse, two of the world’s largest exchange operators, over potential collusion in the derivatives market.

The probe centers on a deal struck back in the dot-com era to cooperate in the Nordic region, including on contracts tied to Nokia, then one of the world’s buzziest tech companies. Derivatives are financial contracts whose value is tied to a specific asset such as a stock, a commodity or a currency.

• The Treasury Department announced Thursday an investigation into small-business government contracts worth about $9 billion and whether federal programs have been used fraudulently.
   
• The world’s leading target setter for corporate decarbonization is looking to offer companies more flexibility in how they lower their emissions, offering new pathways to net zero as worries grow over whether businesses remain committed to carbon goals.
   
• Germany’s financial watchdog said it fined JPMorgan Chase 45 million euros ($51.7 million), citing shortcomings in money-laundering prevention, hitting the U.S. banking giant with the largest penalty the regulator has ever imposed.
   
• The United Parcel Service cargo plane that crashed Tuesday was 34 years old and needed a critical repair on its fuel tank in September, according to maintenance records. A spokesman for UPS said the company was working with the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration on their investigation of the incident.
   
• Three researchers from China working at a University of Michigan research lab were charged with conspiracy to smuggle biological materials into the U.S. and for making false statements to U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers, the Justice Department announced.
   
• China’s Ministry of Commerce said it was removing a number of companies from its banned list after negotiations between China and the U.S. in Malaysia late last month.

Trump expresses reservations over strikes in Venezuela to top aides.

President Trump has recently expressed reservations to top aides about launching military action to oust Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, fearing that strikes might not compel the autocrat to step down, according to U.S. officials familiar with the deliberations.

The debate underscores that the administration’s Venezuela strategy remains in flux, despite a buildup of military forces in the region and public threats by Trump to launch attacks.

• Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R., S.D.) told Senate Republicans Thursday that they should expect to vote on a new proposal Friday aiming to end the government shutdown, according to people familiar with the plan, indicating potential progress in resolving the monthlong impasse.
   
• North Korea condemned new U.S. sanctions targeting cybercrime and information technology worker schemes, saying Wednesday Washington has demonstrated its continued “intention to be hostile toward our state” and promising countermeasures.
   
• Russian forces in Ukraine are nearing their first major conquest in more than two years.
   
• Retail sales in the eurozone unexpectedly inched lower in September, contrasting with some of the rosier sentiment among consumers in recent months.

• The Federal Aviation Administration said it was ordering traffic to be reduced by 10% at 40 major airports while air traffic controllers work without pay during the government shutdown.
   
• Goldman Sachs on Thursday promoted 638 employees to the role of managing director, a bigger group than the last class two years ago.
   
• After a dream campaign, Zohran Mamdani faces the nightmare of running New York City.
   
• Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) said Thursday that she wouldn’t run for re-election.
   
• A man who became an internet sensation after throwing a Subway sandwich at a federal agent was acquitted Thursday of assault.

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