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307 entries in 'Legal Business' |
2025/03/30
US immigration officials look to expand social media data collection
2025/03/21
Under threat from Trump, Columbia University agrees to policy changes
2025/03/17
Military veterans are becoming the face of Trump’s government cuts
2025/03/10
Japan’s trade minister fails to win US assurances on tariff exemptions
2025/03/02
180 fired CDC employees received emails asking them to come back to work
2025/02/23
Troubled electric vehicle maker Nikola files for bankruptcy protection
2025/01/28
A federal judge temporarily blocks Trump’s executive order
2025/01/24
Trump suspends US foreign assistance for 90 days pending reviews
2025/01/21
Pakistani court sentences 4 people to death for blasphemy
2024/12/28
Trump asks the Supreme Court to delay the start of the TikTok ban
2024/12/09
US inflation ticked up last month as some price pressures remain persistent
2024/12/04
Harvey Weinstein hospitalized after ‘alarming blood test,’ attorney says
2024/11/28
Romanian court orders a recount of presidential election first round
2024/11/20
ICC issues arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Hamas officials
2024/11/14
Tight US House races in California as GOP maintains control over the chamber
2024/11/08
High court won’t review Kari Lake’s appeal over 2022 governor’s race defeat
2024/10/07
US court to review civil rights lawsuit alleging environmental racism
2024/10/02
Mississippi asks court to set execution for man on death row since 1976
2024/09/30
New rules regarding election certification in Georgia to get test in court
2024/09/06
Google faces new antitrust trial after ruling declaring search engine a monopoly
2024/09/02
Trial begins over Texas ‘Trump Train’ highway confrontation
2024/08/25
Venezuela’s Supreme Court certifies Maduro’s claims that he won presidential election
2024/07/28
Biden unveils a proposal to establish term limits for the Supreme Court
2024/07/26
Iowa law banning most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy to take effect Monday
2024/07/17
Albania’s supreme court leaves ethnic Greek ex-mayor in prison
2024/05/24
Marilyn Mosby to be sentenced for mortgage fraud and perjury convictions
2024/05/19
Hunter Biden arrives at court for a final hearing before his June 3 gun trial
2024/05/12
Justice Clarence Thomas calls Washington a 'hideous place'
2024/05/09
Gardena Employment Law Defense Legal Services
2024/05/05
Trump faces prospect of additional sanctions for violating gag order
2024/05/01
Retrial of Harvey Weinstein unlikely to occur soon, if ever, experts say
2024/04/12
What to know about abortion in Arizona under the near-total 1864 ban
2024/03/12
Trump wants N.Y. hush money trial to wait for Supreme Court immunity ruling
2024/03/11
Sen. Bob Menendez enters not guilty plea to latest criminal indictment
2024/03/07
Hong Kong court affirms landmark sedition conviction for pro-democracy activist
2024/02/14
North Carolina voter ID trial rescheduled again for spring in federal court
2024/02/07
Nevada Supreme Court sides with AP in Wynn defamation suit
2024/02/02
Court says GOP lawmakers who staged walkout can’t run for re-election
2024/01/15
What to know: South Africa's genocide case against Israel at ICJ
2024/01/07
NRA chief Wayne LaPierre announces resignation ahead of trial
2023/12/24
Wisconsin Supreme Court orders new legislative maps in redistricting case
2023/12/19
Google to pay $700 million to US states, consumers in app store settlement
2023/12/02
Court affirms actor Jussie Smollett’s convictions and jail sentence
2023/11/28
New Mexico Supreme Court upholds Democratic-drawn congressional map
2023/11/20
Trump celebrates win in Colorado election case during return visit to Iowa
2023/11/09
Ivanka Trump Gave Her Testimony in Trump Organization Fraud Trial
2023/10/24
Sydney court postpones extradition hearing of former US military pilot
2023/10/06
Trump lawyers seek dismissal of DC federal election subversion case
2023/09/25
Judge rules Trump committed fraud while building real estate empire
2023/09/17
A Supreme Court redistricting ruling gave hope to Black voters
2023/09/15
Hunter Biden is indicted on federal firearm-purchasing charges after plea deal fails
2023/09/06
Lawyers claim cable TV and phone companies also responsible in Maui fires
2023/08/23
After Roe v. Wade, the fight over abortion access moves to New Mexico
2023/06/25
Court sides with Jack Daniel’s in dispute with makers of dog toy
2023/06/11
Texas court dismisses GOP donor’s defamation lawsuit
2023/06/02
Federal appeals court overturns 1991 death sentence in Fresno double murder
2023/05/23
Tunisian court releases prominent radio director from prison
2023/05/12
Supreme Court rejects challenge to California pork law
2023/05/04
Donald Trump seeks to move NY criminal case to federal court
2023/03/10
German woman risks tougher sentence over Yazidi girl’s death
2023/03/06
EU legal advisor: Homegrown player quotas clash with EU law
2023/02/26
Panel scolds Wisconsin justice for remarks in Trump case
2023/02/19
Pakistani court acquits parents of activist in treason case
2023/02/16
Maryland mulls ending child sexual abuse lawsuit time limits
2023/02/02
South Korean court says stolen statue must return to Japan
2022/12/06
Former Nazi camp secretary voices regret, seeks acquittal
2022/10/17
Court rejects appeal to give American Samoans citizenship
2022/09/27
Appeals ruling leaves Trump fate in defamation suit in flux
2022/08/11
Federal horserace authority rules again blocked in 2 states
2022/07/29
Massachusetts governor signs bill protecting abortion access
2022/07/18
Abortion clinic goes before judge to challenge WVa ban
2022/06/14
Supreme Court rules against Navajo Nation member
2022/04/18
Suit seeks to overturn renewed Philadelphia mask mandate
2021/10/18
Judge agrees to delay in sentencing for Gaetz friend
2021/09/07
Consumer Protection Law Attorney Website
2021/08/06
West African court to rule on Venezuelan’s extradition to US
2021/08/02
Men ordered to pay back $2.4M in health care fraud case
2021/07/31
How to Make Calls to Action Works
2021/06/21
High court sides with ex-athletes in NCAA compensation case
2021/04/27
Court to hear appeal of Dallas officer who killed neighbor
2021/04/19
US deports woman who lied about role in Rwandan genocide
2021/01/18
Groups ask court to restore protections for US gray wolves
2021/01/10
Louisiana Supreme Court has a new chief justice, John Weimer
2020/12/10
High court rejects GOP bid to halt Biden’s Pennsylvania win
2020/11/23
Trump's legal team cried vote fraud, but courts found none
2020/11/15
Chapter 7 bankruptcy - The Bankruptcy Means Test
2020/11/10
GOP tries again to get high court to ax health care law
2020/11/02
Legal armies ready if cloudy election outcome heads to court
2020/09/26
Ginsburg makes history at Capitol amid replacement turmoil
2020/09/19
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg dies at 87
2020/07/14
New Orleans councilman, attorney plead not guilty to fraud
2020/07/03
High court won't hear abortion clinic 'buffer zone' cases
2020/06/13
International Criminal Court condemns US sanctions order
2020/05/30
Supreme Court rejects challenge to limits on church services
2020/05/12
Supreme Court appears likely to reject Trump immunity claim
2020/05/07
Ginsburg, from hospital, joins in on 'Obamacare' arguments
2020/04/12
Texas clinics ask Supreme Court to abortions during pandemic
2020/03/22
Court affirms conviction in hot-grease injuries to wife
2020/03/17
Australian highest court to rule on Cardinal’s appeal later
2020/02/22
Arkansas candidate's political ties targeted in court race
2020/02/20
Florida can’t bar felons who served their time from registering to vote
2020/02/10
Ruling ends court fight over merger of 2 school districts
2020/01/30
Wood County commissioner reprimanded by Supreme Court
2020/01/11
Former IAAF president’s corruption trial opens in Paris
2020/01/08
Greek court postpones retrial in US tourist's beating death
2019/12/29
Court: Washington drivers must use turn signals to turn
2019/12/24
Roberts will tap his inner umpire in impeachment trial
2019/12/18
Protests of Indian law grow despite efforts to contain them
2019/12/14
Kansas Supreme Court getting new member, new chief justice
2019/11/25
Supreme Court says Ginsburg released from hospital
2019/11/16
EU court refers doubts on Polish judiciary to national court
2019/10/20
The Latest: EU Parliament to be flexible on ratifying Brexit
2019/10/18
Supreme Court takes up case over quick deportations
2019/10/13
Arkansas judge: Court to hear 19 adoption scheme cases
2019/09/30
Egypt court asks religious figure to weigh in on sentences
2019/09/26
Transgender woman in Supreme Court case 'happy being me'
2019/09/22
Bulgarian court to eye revoking parole for Australian man
2019/08/30
Brazil court overrules Rio mayor on gay kiss book ban
2019/08/22
K-Global @ SiliconValley - Future is on 5G
2019/08/16
Mexico high court to Health officials: Regulate medical pot
2019/08/12
Gun-control backers concerned about changing federal courts
2019/08/10
Supreme Court rebuffs Alabama officer charged with murder
2019/07/27
Cyprus police frees 5 Israelis, 7 held in hotel rape probe
2019/07/05
Swedish court detains rapper A$AP Rocky on assault charge
2019/06/20
Supreme Court upholds cross on public land in Maryland
2019/06/17
High court avoids new case over same-sex wedding case
2019/05/20
Former Nissan chairman Ghosn appears in Tokyo court
2019/05/14
Supreme Court conservatives attack lame-duck arguments
2019/04/30
EPA reaffirms glyphosate safe for users as court cases grow
2019/04/26
Kansas court bolsters abortion rights, blocks ban
2019/04/23
Myanmar court rejects appeal of jailed Reuters reporters
2019/04/15
6 appear in court on charges they sent mosque attack images
2019/04/06
Parkland sheriff removal case heads to Florida Supreme Court
2019/03/28
Group takes oil refinery fight to North Dakota's high court
2019/03/25
High court won’t referee dispute over Michael Jordan images
2019/03/19
DC-area sniper shootings case to have Supreme Court hearing
2019/02/20
Florida school shooting suspect due back in court
2019/02/13
Court case to tackle jails' medication-assisted treatment
2019/01/01
Court extends detention for Nissan ex-chair Ghosn by 10 days
2018/12/22
NC court: Counties not responsible for school underfunding
2018/12/19
Human rights court rules against Greece in Sharia law case
2018/12/04
EU court adviser: Britain could change its mind on Brexit
2018/11/24
Government asks high court to hear transgender military case
2018/10/12
Manhattan DA drops part of Weinstein case
2018/10/11
Supreme Court wrestles with case on detention of immigrants
2018/09/14
Court: British surveillance violates European law
2018/09/07
Court: No review of 100-year sentence for attempted murders
2018/08/28
German court mulls jail for some over Munich air pollution
2018/08/13
Court: EPA violated law on harmful pesticide, orders ban
2018/08/08
Child remains found at New Mexico compound, man due in court
2018/08/01
Officer involved in militia leader's death named in court
2018/07/24
Top court: Social media posts violate no-contact order
2018/07/06
The Latest: Trump promises 'great' pick for Supreme Court
2018/07/06
The Latest: Trump promises 'great' pick for Supreme Court
2018/06/10
Kansas Supreme Court sends DNA request back to lower court
2018/06/06
Congressional Dems take Trump to court over foreign favors
2018/06/03
High Court Rules in Dispute Over Immigrant Teen's Abortion
2018/06/02
Romania: Court tells president to fire anti-graft prosecutor
2018/05/27
The Latest: Colorado governor announces Supreme Court pick
2018/05/25
Court: Montana minimizes impact of mining near Yellowstone
2018/05/07
Court asked to toss more cases tied to drug lab scandal
2018/04/29
Bakery appeals to UK Supreme Court in gay-rights cake case
2018/04/25
Court won't reconsider making public family slain autopsies
2018/04/23
Lake County courts to switch to online filing system in May
2018/04/08
Indian court grants bail to Bollywood superstar Salman Khan
2018/03/22
Courts weighing numerous challenges to political boundaries
2018/03/05
Philippine gov't asks Supreme Court to expel chief justice
2018/02/23
Pennsylvania congressional map battle lands in Supreme Court
2018/02/11
Find Lawyers, Law Firms & Legal Services
2018/01/29
Malaysia's top court annuls unilateral conversions of minors
2018/01/28
Top Pakistani court orders arrest of escaped police officer
2018/01/24
Court rules Puigdemont must return to Spain for re-election
2018/01/18
Court halts execution of Alabama inmate with dementia
2017/12/28
State high court won't hear Mateen Cleaves sex assault case
2017/12/22
Ohio court to hear big online school's funding case Feb. 13
2017/12/21
Ohio court indefinitely suspends law license of ex-judge
2017/12/04
Russian court keeps theater director under house arrest
2017/12/04
Asbestos Court to resolve hundreds of claims
2017/11/16
Free Speech Is Starting to Dominate the US Supreme Court's Agenda
2017/11/16
Court gives go-ahead for minimum alcohol price in Scotland
2017/11/03
Telescope permit decision appealed to Hawaii Supreme Court
2017/10/30
Court: No right to copy court reporter’s recordings
2017/10/26
Court gives government a win in young immigrants' cases
2017/10/14
Court agrees to take on US-Microsoft dispute over emails
2017/10/01
Supreme Court declines Michigan emergency manager law case
2017/09/24
Protests continue at Spanish court over secession arrests
2017/09/11
Chicago's lawsuit over sanctuary city threat goes to court
2017/09/07
Supreme Court's Kagan says Scalia death forced compromises
2017/08/30
Dispute over rights to Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan goes to court
2017/08/20
Court file: Michigan girl who killed toddler heard voices
2017/08/18
Kentucky governor, attorney general clash before high court
2017/08/14
Wyoming raises court fees for courtroom technology updates
2017/08/03
Personal Injury Website Design by Web Promo, Inc.
2017/07/18
Kansas faces skeptical state Supreme Court on school funding
2017/07/11
Supreme Court deadline nears for suit over wetland loss
2017/07/07
More court challenges expected for Trump's new travel ban
2017/06/21
EU Court: Vaccines Can Be Blamed for Illnesses Without Proof
2017/06/21
High Court ruling may hurt claims of talc link to cancer
2017/06/15
Groups sue seeking court oversight of Chicago police reforms
2017/06/06
Court to hear challenge to speed up California executions
2017/06/03
Trump admin asks Supreme Court to restore travel ban
2017/05/29
Court: Russian hacker can be extradited to US or Russia
2017/05/22
Former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio loses another round in court
2017/05/15
Court likely to question if Trump's travel ban discriminates
2017/05/13
South Dakota and Flandreau Santee Sioux tribe clash in court
2017/05/10
Man arrested near UK Parliament in court on terror charges
2017/05/06
Indiana high court rejects appeal in malnourished teen case
2017/05/05
Trump 'absolutely' considered breaking up 9th Circuit Court
2017/05/01
Indiana high court to take up police unreasonable force case
2017/04/29
4th Arkansas inmate executed in 8 days lurches on gurney
2017/04/26
Judge W. Brent Powell Appointed to Missouri Supreme Court
2017/04/22
White officer headed to court ahead of civil rights trial
2017/04/04
Arkansas asks court to block order on execution drugs
2017/03/30
S Korea's Park questioned at court hearing on arrest request
2017/03/06
Oklahoma tribe sues oil companies in tribal court over quake
2017/02/12
Partisan struggle over NC governor's authority back in court
2017/01/05
Appeals court: Minnesota sex offender program constitutional
2016/12/05
Alabama inmate seeks execution stay from US Supreme Court
2016/10/28
Ted Cruz's Supreme Court remark draws White House criticism
2016/10/24
High court steps into fight on Vanderbilts' Breakers mansion
2016/10/19
As time runs out, dozens of judge nominees waiting on Senate
2016/10/17
Lithuania wants Gorbachev to testify in war crimes trial
2016/10/14
Free-speech rights of panhandlers argued in court
2016/09/28
Suspected people smuggler charged in Australian court
2016/09/12
Appeals court sympathetic to voting rules challenge
2016/08/23
Court considers Kansas rule that voters prove citizenship
2016/07/14
Appeals court orders Utah to fund Planned Parenthood branch
2016/07/13
Kyrgyzstan sends case of jailed journalist back to court
2016/07/12
Candidate filing begins Monday for appeals court seat
2016/06/09
Bollywood filmmaker challenges censoring of drug-abuse film
2016/06/07
High court rejects Google's appeal in class action lawsuit
2016/05/11
Planned Parenthood shooting defendant returning to court
2016/04/15
Obama's power over immigration drives Supreme Court dispute
2016/04/06
New York's top court: Parents can legally eavesdrop on kids
2016/03/24
Karadzic convicted of genocide, sentenced to 40 years
2016/03/15
White S.C. trooper pleads guilty in shooting of unarmed black man
2016/02/25
Court records: Apple's help sought in another iPhone case
2016/02/10
Supreme Court puts Obama's climate change plan on hold
2016/01/12
High court rejects appeal over Homeland Security records
2015/12/18
Japan court says requiring same surname in marriage is legal
2015/12/03
Court papers: Witness ID'd man in playground shooting
2015/11/17
Ruling gives Sandusky back $4,900-a-month Penn State pension
2015/11/07
Mississippi Supreme Court narrowly grants same-sex divorce
2015/11/02
California appeals court rejects right-to-die lawsuit
2015/10/16
Court again considers fate of seized gold coins worth $80M
2015/09/30
El Paso abortion clinic reopens amid Texas court battles
2015/09/23
Court suspends Pennsylvania attorney general's law license
2015/09/22
Court quashes some District of Columbia gun laws
2015/09/04
Clerk in gay marriage case to appear in federal court
2015/08/01
Federal report finds bias in St. Louis County family court
2015/07/28
Zimbabweans linked to illegal lion hunt appear in court
2015/07/22
Crimean Filmmaker Pleads Not Guilty in Terrorism Trial
2015/07/20
Wife says Chinese rights lawyer being denied legal counsel
2015/06/04
Brazil court convicts 2 firefighters in nightclub fire
2015/06/01
High court: Bankrupt homeowners can't void second mortgage
2015/03/31
Court rejects Duncan's death sentence appeal
2015/01/12
High court won't hear challenge to Vermont campaign law
2014/11/08
New York International Criminal Law Attorney
2014/09/04
Texas abortion clinic to reopen after court ruling
2014/07/11
Apple wins EU court case on store design trademark
2014/04/15
SC Supreme Court hears appeal in fatal dog attack
2014/03/05
Court: Broad protection for whistleblowers
2014/02/13
Nevada Officials Won't Defend Gay Marriage Ban
2014/01/27
Lawmakers push back against Washington high court
2014/01/20
Texas Supreme Court limits insurance exclusions
2014/01/06
Supreme Court Puts Utah Same-Sex Marriage on Hold
2013/12/23
Gay couples wed in Utah after judge overturns ban
2013/12/12
Court: Exec guilty over faulty French implants
2013/12/02
Seattle lawyer left $188 million charitable trust
2013/11/19
Spain court rejects handing pedophile to Morocco
2013/11/08
High court wrestles with prayer in government
2013/11/02
The Mavroudis & Guarino Litigation Group
2013/08/26
SC trial lawyer Ron Motley dies at age 68
2013/08/06
Federal court officials fear budget cuts
2013/07/13
Iowa top court: Firing of attractive aide is legal
2013/06/04
US Supreme Court orders 6 death row cases reviewed
2013/05/14
Court dismisses lawsuits in power plant deaths
2013/01/18
Lawyer questions memory of Philadelphia accuser
2013/01/10
Court weighs warrantless blood tests in DUI cases
2012/10/27
Fla. to execute mass killer after court lifts stay
2012/10/19
Supreme Court views not 'liberal or conservative'
2012/10/08
Ex-NFL WR Hurd pleads not guilty to new charges
2012/09/29
Federal court upholds Texas open meetings law
2012/09/20
MacDonald goes to court in 'Fatal Vision' case
2012/09/05
W.Va. court hears 'rescue' funding arguments
2012/08/29
Ohio man pleads not guilty to Pitt threat charges
2012/08/22
Appeals court affirms oil company polar bear rules
2012/08/08
Appeals court affirms that cheering is not a sport
2012/08/03
Court spurns religious claim to name change
2012/07/20
Goldman agrees to settle mortgage debt class action
2012/05/07
Fed court reverses order for VA system overhaul
2012/01/31
Bernstein Liebhard LLP Announces Class Action
2011/07/11
Law Firm To Collect $35M In Forfeited Bonds
2011/05/05
Nevada Supreme Court hosting Law Day Live program
2011/04/27
Conn. high court hears death penalty appeal
2011/03/10
Lawyer-legislator says ethics opinion clears Prattville lawmaker
2011/02/02
Too big to stop? Obama's overhaul lumbers on
2010/01/05
UW Madison's patenting arm wins lawsuit
2009/11/23
Lawsuit: Botched Diagnosis Led to 30-Year-Old New York Teacher's Brain Hemorrhage Death
2009/09/21
Microsoft Lawsuit Shows Malicious Advertising a Growing Issue
2008/10/24
GOP argument: Don't give President Obama a blank check
2008/03/19
Mayor Addresses Philadelphia Bar Association
2008/03/09
Upcoming NY Events in the Legal Community
2008/02/29
Upcoming Events in the NY Legal Community
2008/02/28
National Institute on White Collar Crime March 5-7
2008/02/27
Advanced Negotiation & Dispute Resolution Seminar
2008/02/26
Brooklyn Bar Assoc. Hosts New Appellate Justices
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US immigration officials look to expand social media data collection
Legal Business |
2025/03/30 16:37
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U.S. immigration officials are asking the public and federal agencies to comment on a proposal to collect social media handles from people applying for benefits such as green cards or citizenship, to comply with an executive order from President Donald Trump.
The March 5 notice raised alarms from immigration and free speech advocates because it appears to expand the government’s reach in social media surveillance to people already vetted and in the U.S. legally, such as asylum seekers, green card and citizenship applicants -- and not just those applying to enter the country. That said, social media monitoring by immigration officials has been a practice for over a decade, since at least the second Obama administration and ramping up under Trump’s first term.
The Department of Homeland Security issued a 60-day notice asking for public commentary on its plan to comply with Trump’s executive order titled “Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats.” The plan calls for “uniform vetting standards” and screening people for grounds of inadmissibility to the U.S., as well as identify verification and “national security screening.” It seeks to collect social media handles and the names of platforms, although not passwords.
The policy seeks to require people to share their social media handles when applying for U.S. citizenship, green card, asylum and other immigration benefits. The proposal is open to feedback from the public until May 5.
“The basic requirements that are in place right now is that people who are applying for immigrant and non-immigrant visas have to provide their social media handles,” said Rachel Levinson-Waldman, managing director of the Brennan Center’s Liberty and National Security Program at New York University. “Where I could see this impacting is someone who came into the country before visa-related social media handle collection started, so they wouldn’t have provided it before and now they’re being required to. Or maybe they did before, but their social media use has changed.”
“This fairly widely expanded policy to collect them for everyone applying for any kind of immigration benefit, including people who have already been vetted quite extensively,” she added.
What this points to — along with other signals the administration is sending such as detaining people and revoking student visas for participating in campus protests that the government deems antisemitic and sympathetic to the militant Palestinian group Hamas — Levinson-Waldman added, is the increased use of social media to “make these very high-stakes determinations about people.”
In a statement, a spokesperson for the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service said the agency seeks to “strengthen fraud detection, prevent identity theft, and support the enforcement of rigorous screening and vetting measures to the fullest extent possible.”
“These efforts ensure that those seeking immigration benefits to live and work in the United States do not threaten public safety, undermine national security, or promote harmful anti-American ideologies,” the statement continued. USCIS estimates that the proposed policy change will affect about 3.6 million people.
How are social media accounts used now?
The U.S. government began ramping up the use of social media for immigration vetting in 2014 under then-President Barack Obama, according to the Brennan Center for Justice. In late 2015, the Department of Homeland Security began both “manual and automatic screening of the social media accounts of a limited number of individuals applying to travel to the United States, through various non-public pilot programs,” the nonpartisan law and policy institute explains on its website.
In May 2017, the U.S. Department of State issued an emergency notice to increase the screening of visa applicants. Brennan, along with other civil and human rights groups, opposed the move, arguing that it is “excessively burdensome and vague, is apt to chill speech, is discriminatory against Muslims, and has no security benefit.”
Two years later, the State Department began collecting social media handles from “nearly all foreigners” applying for visas to travel to the U.S. — about 15 million people a year.
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Under threat from Trump, Columbia University agrees to policy changes
Legal Business |
2025/03/21 19:38
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Under threat from the Trump administration, Columbia University agreed to implement a host of policy changes Friday, including overhauling its rules for protests and conducting an immediate review of its Middle Eastern studies department.
The changes, detailed in a letter sent by the university’s interim president, Katrina Armstrong, came one week after the Trump administration ordered the Ivy League school to enact those and other reforms or lose all federal funding, an ultimatum widely criticized in academia as an attack on academic freedom.
In her letter, Armstrong said the university would immediately appoint a senior vice provost to conduct a thorough review of the portfolio of its regional studies programs, “starting immediately with the Middle East.”
Columbia will also revamp its long-standing disciplinary process and bar protests inside academic buildings. Students will not be permitted to wear face masks on campus “for the purposes of concealing one’s identity.” An exception would be made for people wearing them for health reasons.
In an effort to expand “intellectual diversity” within the university, Columbia will also appoint new faculty members to its Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies department. It will also adopt a new definition of antisemitism and expand programming in its Tel Aviv Center, a research hub based in Israel.
The policy changes were largely in line with demands made on the university by the Trump administration, which pulled $400 million in research grants and other federal funding, and had threatened to cut more, over the university’s handling of protests against Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.
The White House has labeled the protests antisemitic, a label rejected by those who participated in the student-led demonstrations.
A message seeking comment was left with a spokesperson for the Education Department. As a “precondition” for restoring funding, federal officials demanded that the university to place its Middle Eastern, South Asian and African Studies Department under “academic receivership for a minimum of five years.”
They also told the university to ban masks on campus, adopt a new definition of antisemitism, abolish its current process for disciplining students and deliver a plan to ”reform undergraduate admissions, international recruiting, and graduate admissions practices.”
Historians had described the order as an unprecedented intrusion on university rights long treated by the Supreme Court as an extension of the First Amendment.
On Friday, freedom of speech advocates immediately decried Columbia’s decision to acquiesce.
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Military veterans are becoming the face of Trump’s government cuts
Legal Business |
2025/03/17 19:39
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As congressional lawmakers scramble to respond to President Donald Trump’s slashing of the federal government, one group is already taking a front and center role: military veterans.
From layoffs at the Department of Veterans Affairs to a Pentagon purge of archives that documented diversity in the military, veterans have been acutely affected by Trump’s actions. And with the Republican president determined to continue slashing the federal government, the burden will only grow on veterans, who make up roughly 30% of the federal workforce and often tap government benefits they earned with their military service.
“At a moment of crisis for all of our veterans, the VA’s system of health care and benefits has been disastrously and disgracefully put on the chopping block by the Trump administration,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, the top Democrat on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, at a news conference last week.
Most veterans voted for Trump last year — nearly 6 in 10, according to AP Votecast, a nationwide survey of more than 120,000 voters. Yet congressional Republicans are standing in support of Trump’s goals even as they encounter fierce pushback in their home districts. At a series of town halls this week, veterans angrily confronted Republican members as they defended the cuts made under Trump adviser Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.
“Do your job!” Jay Carey, a military veteran, yelled at Republican Rep. Chuck Edwards at a town hall in North Carolina.
“I’m a retired military officer,” an attendee at another forum in Wyoming told Republican Rep. Harriet Hageman before questioning whether DOGE had actually discovered any “fraud.”
Although Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson advised his members to skip the town halls and claimed that they were being filled with paid protesters, some Republicans were still holding them and trying to respond to the criticism.
“It looks radical, but it’s not. I call it stewardship, in my opinion,” Republican Rep. Gus Bilirakis of Florida said on a tele-town hall. “I think they’re doing right by the American taxpayer. And I support that principle of DOGE.”
Still, some Republicans have expressed unease with the seemingly indiscriminate firings of veterans, especially when they have not been looped in on the administration’s plans. At a town hall on Friday, Texas Republican Rep. Dan Crenshaw told the audience, “We’re learning about this stuff at the speed of light, the way you are. I think there’s been some babies thrown out with the bath water here, but we’re still gathering information on it.”
Crenshaw, a former Navy SEAL, added, “If you’re doing a job that we need you to do, you’re doing it well, yeah, we’ve got to fight for you.”
The Republican chair of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, Rep. Mike Bost, assured listeners on a tele-town hall last week that he and Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins are talking regularly. As the VA implements plans to cut roughly 80,000 jobs, Bost has said he is watching the process closely, but he has expressed support and echoed Collins’ assurances that veterans’ health care and benefits won’t be slashed.
“They’ve cut a lot, but understand this: Essential jobs are not being cut,” Bost said, but then added that his office was helping alert the VA when people with essential jobs had in fact been terminated.
Two federal judges this month ordered the Trump administration to rehire the probationary employees who were let go in the mass firings. At the VA, some of those employees have now been put on administrative leave, but a sense of dread and confusion is still hanging over much of the federal workforce.
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Japan’s trade minister fails to win US assurances on tariff exemptions
Legal Business |
2025/03/10 10:41
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Japan’s trade minister said this week that he has failed to win assurances from U.S. officials that the key U.S. ally will be exempt from tariffs, some of which take effect on Wednesday.
Yoji Muto was in Washington for last ditch negotiations over the tariffs on a range of Japanese exports including cars, steel and aluminum.
Muto said Monday in Washington that Japan, which contributes to the U.S. economy by heavily investing and creating jobs in the United States, “should not be subject to” 25% tariffs on steel, aluminum and auto exports to America.
His meetings with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett came just two days before the steel and aluminum tariffs are due to take effect. President Donald Trump has also said a possible 25% tariff on imported foreign autos could take effect in early April.
Muto said the U.S. officials acknowledged Japanese contributions and agreed to continue talks, but did not approve his request for Japan’s exemption from the steep import duties.
“We did not receive a response that Japan will be exempt,” Muto told reporters. “We must continue to assert our position.”
As Trump’s tariff threats have triggered tensions and vows of retaliation from Canada, Mexico and China, Japan has been working to firm up ties with other countries.
Last week, the foreign and trade ministers from Japan and Britain gathered in Tokyo for their first “two-plus-two” economic dialogue. They agreed to stand up for “fair, rules-based international trade,” though nobody directly mentioned Trump.
Japan depends heavily on exports and the auto tariffs would hurt, because vehicles are its biggest export and the United States is their top destination.
“Clearly companies in Japan are very concerned,” said Rintaro Nishimura, political analyst and associate at Japan Practice of The Asia Group. “Obviously the auto is the crown jewel for Japan, especially in the context of these tariffs.” He says they are concerned also because the Trump administration is carrying it out in just two months after taking office.
Trump also has criticized Japan’s contributions to the two countries’ mutual defense arrangements, adding to tensions with Tokyo.
Muto said the two sides agreed to keep discussing to find ways to establish a “win-win” relationship that would serve national interests of both countries.
The two sides also discussed energy cooperation, including joint development of liquefied natural gas reserves in Alaska, which Trump and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba agreed on during Ishiba’s visit to the White House in February. |
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180 fired CDC employees received emails asking them to come back to work
Legal Business |
2025/03/02 23:19
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The nation’s top public health agency says about 180 employees who were laid off two weeks ago can come back to work.
Emails went out Tuesday to some Centers for Disease Control and Prevention probationary employees who got termination notices last month, according to current and former CDC employees.
A message seen by the AP was sent with the subject line, “Read this e-mail immediately.” It said that “after further review and consideration,” a Feb. 15 termination notice has been rescinded and the employee was cleared to return to work on Wednesday. “You should return to duty under your previous work schedule,” it said. “We apologize for any disruption that this may have caused.”
About 180 people received reinstatement emails, according to two federal health officials who were briefed on the tally but were not authorized to discuss it and spoke on condition of anonymity.
It’s not clear how many of the reinstated employees returned to work Wednesday. And it’s also unclear whether the employees would be spared from widespread job cuts that are expected soon across government agencies.
The CDC is the latest federal agency trying to coax back workers soon after they were dismissed as part of President Donald Trump’s and billionaire Elon Musk’s cost-cutting purge. Similar reversals have been made among employees responsible for medical device oversight, food safety, bird flu response, nuclear weapons and national parks.
The Atlanta-based CDC is charged with protecting Americans from outbreaks and other public health threats. Before the job cuts, the agency had about 13,000 employees.
Last month, Trump administration officials told the CDC that nearly 1,300 of the agency’s probationary employees would be let go. That tally quickly changed, as the number who actually got termination notices turned out to be 700 to 750.
With 180 more people now being told they can return, the actual number of CDC employees terminated so far would seem to stand somewhere around 550. But federal health officials haven’t confirmed any specifics.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. last month pledged “ radical transparency ” at the department, but HHS officials have not provided detail about CDC staff changes and did not respond to emailed requests on Tuesday and Wednesday. An agency spokesman, Andrew Nixon, previously told the AP only that CDC had more full-time employees after the job cuts than it did before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Those who received reinstatement emails included outbreak responders in two fellowship programs — a two-year training that prepares recent graduates to enter the public health workforce through field experience and a laboratory program that brings in doctorate-holding professionals.
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Troubled electric vehicle maker Nikola files for bankruptcy protection
Legal Business |
2025/02/23 18:28
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Troubled electric vehicle maker Nikola has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection months after saying that it would likely run out of cash early this year.
Nikola was a hot start-up and rising star on Wall Street before becoming enmeshed in scandal and its founder was convicted in 2022 for misleading investors about the Arizona company’s technology.
At the trial of founder Trevor Milton, prosecutors say a company video of a prototype truck appearing to be driven down a desert highway was actually a video of a nonfunctioning Nikola that had been rolled down a hill.
But the hype around the company was immense. In 2020, Nikola was valued at around $30 billion, exceeding the market capitalization of Ford Motor Co.
Nikola filed for protection in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware and said Wednesday that it has also filed a motion seeking approval to pursue an auction and sale of the business.
The company has about $47 million in cash on hand. rolled
Nikola Corp. plans to to continue limited service and support operations for vehicles on the road, including fueling operations through the end of March, subject to court approval. The company said that it will need to raise more funding to support those types of activities after that time.
“Like other companies in the electric vehicle industry, we have faced various market and macroeconomic factors that have impacted our ability to operate,” CEO Steve Girsky said in a statement.
The executive said the company has made efforts in recent months to raise funds and reduce liabilities and preserve cash, but that it hasn’t been enough.
“The Board has determined that Chapter 11 represents the best possible path forward under the circumstances,” Girsky said.
In December 2023 founder Trevor Milton was sentenced to four years in prison after being convicted of exaggerating claims about his company’s production of zero-emission 18-wheel trucks, leading to sizeable losses for investors.
Milton was convicted of fraud charges, portrayed by prosecutors as a con man six years after he had founded the company in a basement in Utah.
Prosecutors said Milton falsely claimed to have built its own revolutionary truck that was actually a General Motors product with Nikola’s logo stamped onto it.
Called as a government witness, Nikola’s CEO testified that Milton “was prone to exaggeration” when pitching his venture to investors.
Milton resigned in 2020 amid reports of fraud that sent Nikola’s stock prices into a tailspin. Investors suffered heavy losses as reports questioned Milton’s claims that the company had already produced zero-emission 18-wheel trucks.
The company paid $125 million in 2021 to settle a civil case against it by the SEC. Nikola didn’t admit any wrongdoing.
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A federal judge temporarily blocks Trump’s executive order
Legal Business |
2025/01/28 02:12
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A federal judge on Thursday temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order denying U.S. citizenship to the children of parents living in the country illegally, calling it “blatantly unconstitutional” during the first hearing in a multi-state effort challenging the order.
The 14th Amendment to the Constitution promises citizenship to those born on U.S. soil, a measure ratified in 1868 to ensure citizenship for former slaves after the Civil War. But in an effort to curb unlawful immigration, Trump issued the executive order just after being sworn in for his second term on Monday.
The order would deny citizenship to those born after Feb. 19 whose parents are in the country illegally. It also forbids U.S. agencies from issuing any document or accepting any state document recognizing citizenship for such children.Trump’s order drew immediate legal challenges across the country, with at least five lawsuits being brought by 22 states and a number of immigrants rights groups. A lawsuit brought by Washington, Arizona, Oregon and Illinois was the first to get a hearing.
“I’ve been on the bench for over four decades. I can’t remember another case where the question presented was as clear as this one is,” U.S. District Judge John Coughenour told a Justice Department attorney. “This is a blatantly unconstitutional order.”
Thursday’s decision prevents the Trump administration from taking steps to implement the executive order for 14 days. In the meantime, the parties will submit further arguments about the merits of Trump’s order. Coughenour scheduled a hearing on Feb. 6 to decide whether to block it long term as the case proceeds.
Coughenour, 84, a Ronald Reagan appointee who was nominated to the federal bench in 1981, grilled the DOJ attorney, Brett Shumate, asking whether Shumate personally believed the order was constitutional.
“I have difficulty understanding how a member of the bar could state unequivocally that this is a constitutional order,” he added.
Shumate assured the judge he did — “absolutely.” He said the arguments the Trump administration is making now have never previously been litigated, and that there was no reason to issue a 14-day temporary restraining order when it would expire before the executive order takes effect.
The Department of Justice later said in a statement that it will “vigorously defend” the president’s executive order, which it said “correctly interprets the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.”
“We look forward to presenting a full merits argument to the Court and to the American people, who are desperate to see our Nation’s laws enforced,” the department said.
The U.S. is among about 30 countries where birthright citizenship — the principle of jus soli or “right of the soil” — is applied. Most are in the Americas, and Canada and Mexico are among them.
The 14th Amendment was ratified in 1868, in the aftermath of the Civil War, to ensure citizenship for former slaves and free African Americans. It states: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”
Trump’s order asserts that the children of noncitizens are not “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States, and therefore not entitled to citizenship.
Arguing for the states on Thursday, Washington assistant attorney general Lane Polozola called that “absurd,” noting that neither those who have immigrated illegally nor their children are immune from U.S. law.
“Are they not subject to the decisions of the immigration courts?” Polozola asked. “Must they not follow the law while they are here?”
Polozola also said the restraining order was warranted because, among other reasons, the executive order would immediately start requiring the states to spend millions to revamp health care and benefits systems to reconsider an applicant’s citizenship status.
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