The Justice Department may drop its criminal prosecution of Boeing for allegedly misleading U.S. regulators about the 737 Max jetliner before two of the planes crashed and killed 346 people, according to a weekend court filing.

The department said in a Saturday status report that two representatives had met with the families of some crash victims to discuss a potential pretrial resolution that would involve dismissing the criminal fraud charge against the aerospace company.

The Justice Department said no decision had been made and that it was giving the family members more time to weigh in. A federal judge in Texas has set the case for trial starting June 23.

Paul Cassell, an attorney for many of the families in the long-running case, said his clients strongly oppose dropping the criminal case.

“We hope that this bizarre plan will be rejected by the leadership of the department,” Cassell said in a statement. “Dismissing the case would dishonor the memories of 346 victims who Boeing killed through its callous lies.”

Many relatives of the passengers who died in the crashes, which took place off the coast of Indonesia and in Ethiopia less than five months apart in 2018 and 2019, have spent years pushing for a public trial, the prosecution of former company officials, and more severe financial punishment for Boeing.

FAA investigating jets’ close call on runway

Federal officials are investigating why two planes got dangerously close on a runway at New York’s LaGuardia Airport earlier this month despite the airport being equipped with an advanced surface radar system that’s designed to help prevent such close calls.

Both the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board said Monday that they are investigating the May 6 incident when a Republic Airways jet had to abort takeoff because a United Airlines plane was still taxiing across the runway.

In audio from the tower that ABC obtained from the website www.LiveATC.net, the air traffic control said to the pilot of the Republic Airways jet: “Sorry, I thought United had cleared well before that.”

At the time that controller was directing the Republic Airways jet to takeoff, a ground controller on a different radio frequency was directing the United plane to a new taxiway after it missed the first one it was supposed to use to exit the runway.

CBS News chief resigns over Trump lawsuit

CBS News CEO Wendy McMahon said Monday that she is resigning after four years, the latest fallout at the network as its parent company considers settling a lawsuit with President Donald Trump over a “60 Minutes” interview with his former political opponent.

McMahon, who has led both the network news division and news for the CBS-owned stations, said in an email message to staff that “it’s become clear that the company and I do not agree on the path forward. It’s time to move on and for this organization to move forward with new leadership.”

McMahon has made clear she opposes settling with Trump — just like “60 Minutes” executive producer Bill Owens, who quit last month.

Trump has sued CBS, alleging it edited an interview with 2024 Democratic opponent Kamala Harris last fall to benefit her. CBS News has denied that.

Vance meets with pope at Vatican

U.S. Vice President JD Vance extended an invitation to Pope Leo XIV to visit the United States during a meeting at the Vatican on Monday ahead of the U.S.-led push for ceasefire negotiations in Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Vance gave the first American pope a letter from U.S. President Donald Trump and the first lady inviting him. The Chicago-born pope took the letter and put it on his desk and was heard saying “at some point,” in the video footage of the meeting provided by Vatican Media.

Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, also gave the Augustinian pope a copy of two of St. Augustine’s most seminal works, “The City of God” and “On Christian Doctrine,” the vice president’s office said. Another gift: A Chicago Bears T-shirt with Leo’s name on it.

Russia bans human rights organization

The Russian authorities on Monday outlawed Amnesty International as an “undesirable organization,” a label that under a 2015 law makes involvement with such organizations a criminal offense.

The decision by the Russian Prosecutor General’s office, announced in an online statement, is the latest in the unrelenting crackdown on Kremlin critics, journalists and activists that intensified to unprecedented levels after Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

The designation means the international human rights group must stop any work in Russia, and it subjects those who cooperate with it or support it to prosecution, including if anyone shares Amnesty International’s reports on social media.

3 fatally struck on Ohio railroad bridge

Two women and a 5-year-old girl died after a train struck the family members while they were on a railroad bridge over a northern Ohio river, authorities said Monday.

Crews equipped with sonar had been scouring the Sandusky River through the night before they found the girl’s body Monday near the bridge, said Fremont Mayor Danny Sanchez.

The family from Fort Wayne, Indiana, had been on a fishing trip along the Sandusky River, and they were on the bridge Sunday night when the train came onto the span, Sanchez said. A 1-year-old girl was rescued and was in critical condition, city officials said Monday.

It’s not clear whether the train hit all four or whether some may have jumped or were thrown into the river to avoid the locomotive, Sanchez said.

The details of what happened were still under investigation, Sanchez said.

Trump allows offshore wind project to resume

The Trump administration is allowing work on a major offshore wind project for New York to resume.

The developer, the Norwegian energy company Equinor, said Monday it was told by the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management that a stop-work order has been lifted for the Empire Wind project, allowing construction to resume.

Work has been paused since Interior Secretary Doug Burgum last month directed the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to halt construction and review the permits. Burgum said at the time that it appeared former President Joe Biden’s administration had “rushed through” the approvals. Equinor spent seven years obtaining permits and has spent more than $2.5 billion so far on a project that is one-third complete.

Equinor President and CEO Anders Opedal thanked President Donald Trump for allowing the project to move forward, saving about 1,500 construction jobs and investments in U.S. energy infrastructure. He also expressed appreciation to New York’s governor, New York City’s mayor, members of Congress and labor groups, as well as Norwegian officials who worked to save the project.

Stolen Jim Morrison grave bust recovered

A bust of Jim Morrison that was stolen from his grave site in Paris in 1988 was rediscovered last week, French police said Monday.

The bust had been taken from Père-Lachaise, the cemetery in the 20th arrondissement in east Paris where many notable figures are buried, including Frédéric Chopin, Gertrude Stein, Richard Wright, Édith Piaf, Sarah Bernhardt and Oscar Wilde.

The Paris prosecutor’s office said the find was made by chance during a search carried out in connection with an unrelated investigation but declined to comment further.

— News service reports