U.S. ESTA Travel Pass News

President-elect Donald Trump’s surprise pick for DEA director is Chad Chronister, a current sheriff with no federal law enforcement experience.

The Washington Post reported on the 30th that Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister, Florida, has been nominated to head the DEA, saying, “He’s someone who’s barely gotten national attention.”

Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister has been with the county sheriff’s office for 32 years. In 2017, when the Hillsborough County Sheriff suddenly retired, Chronister was appointed as the successor at his recommendation. He was subsequently re-elected in 2018, 2020, and this year’s sheriff elections.

County sheriffs, who are autonomous police officers in the United States, are elected by residents or appointed by the governor, and are mainly responsible for crime prevention, prison management, and court security within the county.

Chronister’s nominee will move from the sheriff in charge of Hillsborough County’s security to the head of a large federal investigative agency with over 10,000 employees.

The DEA, an agency under the Department of Justice, was established in 1973 when the government declared an all-out war on drugs during the presidency of Richard Nixon. It is responsible for cracking down on and preventing the manufacture, distribution, and smuggling of various drugs, as well as money laundering related to drugs, terrorism, and organized crime, and has a budget of over $3 billion. However, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office in Florida is not small in scale.

According to the New York Times (NYT), the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office’s budget this year is $600 million, and the number of employees is about 3,500. The population of Hillsborough County, which is under its jurisdiction, exceeds 1.4 million (estimated in 2019).

After taking office, nominee Chronister is expected to focus on blocking the distribution of fentanyl, a drug mainly produced in Mexico using Chinese chemicals and cracking down on related organizations.

In announcing his nomination for DEA director on social media, President-border and said that nominee Chronister “will work with the great Attorney General (nominee) Pam Bondi to protect our borders, stop the distribution of fentanyl and other illegal drugs through our southern border, and save lives.”

A blizzard warning has been issued for parts of the Northeast during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, the busiest in the U.S., causing road and air traffic to be in jeopardy.

The National Weather Service (NWS) issued a blizzard warning for the southern shores of Lake Erie and the eastern shores of Lake Ontario on the morning of the 30th, predicting snowfall of 60 to 120 centimeters through Monday, December 2. Some areas of Ohio along the southern shores of Lake Erie could see up to 150 centimeters of snow by Tuesday, December 3, the weather service forecast.

The coastal areas of the Great Lakes, including Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, are prone to heavy snowfall accompanied by severe cold in the winter due to the “lake effect,” where cold air currents pass over the lakes and create snow clouds.

The weather service asked people to avoid driving, saying that this heavy snowfall could make travel very difficult or impossible in some areas, and advised people to prepare extra water and food in case travel is unavoidable in case of an emergency.

Some sections of the highway connecting Pennsylvania and upstate New York remained closed as of the morning of the 30th.Some areas, including Perrysburg, south of Buffalo, New York, reported that they had already received 90 cm of snow on the morning of the 30th.This heavy snowfall came as the largest number of people in the United States traveled long distances to visit family, relatives, and friends on Thanksgiving Day, the busiest day of the year.

The Automobile Association (AAA) forecasted that a total of 79.9 million people will move to other regions during the week from the 26th to December 2nd, ahead of Thanksgiving (the 28th). This is an increase of 1.7 million people compared to the same period last year.

Authorities in the Great Lakes region are in a state of emergency.

New York Governor Cathy Hockel issued a statement on the afternoon of the 29th, saying, “As lake-effect snowfall moves into parts of New York State, we are closely monitoring the situation and mobilizing all available resources to respond.”

A “bomb cyclone,” described as a “murderous storm,” hit the western part of Washington, including Seattle, on the afternoon of the 19th, causing unprecedented power outages.

According to the weather agency, a warm low-pressure system that developed in the Pacific Ocean since the 17th gained strength for several days before colliding with an inland Arctic cold front on the 19th, reaching its peak as a super-strong “bomb cyclone” that hit the western part of the U.S. and British Columbia (BC), Canada.

As a result, wind gusts of 77 miles per hour were observed in the Mount Rainier-Sunrise area of Washington State, 74 miles per hour in Christian Mountain, 63 miles per hour in Camano Island, 59 miles per hour in SeaTac Airport, and 57 miles per hour in Federal Way.

In addition to Washington State, Satin Island, BC, Canada, 106 miles per hour was recorded, Acorn Woman Peak, Oregon, 89 miles per hour, and Van Bremer, California, 82 miles per hour.

Due to strong winds, trees fell in many places in Washington State, covering power lines and houses. It is understood that 30 to 40 trees fell in Seattle alone from the afternoon of that day to the early morning of the 20th. It is known that hundreds of trees fell throughout Puget Sound due to the strong winds.

As a result, at one point on the night of the 19th, about 114,000 households supplied by Seattle City Light lost power, and about 130,000 households belonging to Snohomish County PUD, 350,000 households belonging to Puget Sound Energy (PSE), 5,000 households belonging to Tacoma Public Utilities, and 6,000 households in Clam County PUD lost power.

With over 600,000 households in western Washington State without power, residents had to live in fear of the cold and darkness. It was also found that large marts such as the Issaquah Costco and Federal Way H Mart had closed early due to a power outage that afternoon. It is known that two people have lost their lives in Washington State because of this ‘bomb cyclone’.

Just before 7 p.m. on the 19th, a large tree fell on a house in the Bellevue Bridle Trail neighborhood due to the storm. A 65-year-old woman who was showering in the bathroom died at the scene. Her husband barely escaped the disaster after the tree fell. Then, just after 7 p.m. that night, a woman in her 50s died at the scene after being hit by a tree that had fallen due to strong winds at a homeless camp near the Lynwood Alderwood Mall Parkway.

Authorities are currently carrying out emergency restoration work for power outages and other damage, but many households are still suffering from the damage as of the 21st.This is the largest power outage since December 14-15, 2006, when strong winds knocked out power to 1 million homes. The outage, which occurred on Hanukkah Eve in 2006, killed 14 people in Washington state. Eight of them died from carbon monoxide poisoning while burning charcoal indoors during the power outage.

Weather officials are urging residents to stay indoors and be aware of their surroundings when the winds are strong. They are urging people to stay at least 30 feet away from downed power lines, which may be live.

The sushi bar in Seattle that was embroiled in a ‘bug controversy’ due to food critic influencer Keith Lee has finally closed.

FOB Sushi, a famous sushi bar in downtown Seattle, announced on Instagram early on the 18th, “We will temporarily close our Seattle and Bellevue locations until further notice.” In the end, the ‘Keith Lee Effect’ that attracts customers wherever it goes has had the opposite effect this time.

Keith Lee, the most famous influencer on the Internet with 16.5 million followers, recently visited Seattle and reviewed various local restaurants. While he received favorable reviews for a restaurant in Chinatown and an apple cider shop in Pike Place Market, FOB Sushi was embroiled in an unexpected controversy after his review.

The scene where Keith Lee showed sushi from FOB Sushi Bar in his video became the center of controversy. When other TikTok users zoomed in on the video, the sushi pieces appeared to be moving.

In response, FOB Sushi Bar released a statement, explaining, “The movement is simply a natural elasticity or a phenomenon that can occur when pressed with chopsticks, and does not indicate parasites or health issues.”

However, Keith Lee disagreed. He said, “I’ve eaten sushi thousands of times, and I’ve never seen it move like this before,” refuting the restaurant’s explanation. The controversy over the presence of bugs in the sushi spread online, and initially, the number of customers at the sushi bar doubled. However, the “bug controversy” spread to the sanitation issue at the sushi bar, which eventually led to the owner temporarily closing the business.

According to the Washington State Department of Health, FOB Sushi Bar received a “satisfactory” rating in a sanitation inspection in January. However, the King County Health Department is currently reviewing complaints received over the weekend and attempted to conduct an on-site inspection on the 18th, but the sushi bar was closed, so the inspection could not be conducted.

FOB Sushi Bar said in a statement that “the health and safety of our customers is our top priority,” adding that it “will thoroughly investigate this incident and take all necessary steps to prevent a recurrence.” It also offered its gratitude and apologies to the community and added that it “will continue to strive to provide the highest quality service possible.”

King County Public Health said it is “carefully reviewing all complaints received” and will “follow up to ensure FOB Sushi Bar is complying with applicable food safety regulations.”

Police are investigating a shooting near a building behind a McDonald’s in Centerville, Virginia. According to local media outlet DC NewsNow, police responded to the scene around 6 p.m. on the 5900 block of Fort Drive in Centerville after hearing reports of multiple gunshots.

Police received a witness’s report that someone had fired shots from inside a car, and they found several shell casings at the scene. No victims have been found, but the investigation is ongoing.

An official from a Korean company that has moved into the building said in a phone call with our newspaper, “It seems like the gunshots occurred after everyone had left work,” and “Fortunately, none of the company employees heard the gunshots.”

Another Korean woman expressed her anxiety, saying, “The Centerville McDonald’s is close to my house, and I often go there, so I was surprised that there was a gunshot, even though there were no casualties.”

The building closest to the scene where the gunshots were heard is a four-story office building that houses several businesses, including a Korean accounting firm, an ophthalmology clinic, a dental clinic, a real estate management company, and Navy Credit Union.

Also nearby is a McDonald’s that many Koreans frequent, as well as a movie theater.

A surge in “walking pneumonia” in the Washington area has put the medical community on alert. Local media outlet WTOP reported this on the 14th under the title, “Emergency care centers report unprecedented surge of walking pneumonia in Washington area.”

According to the outlet, MedStar, which operates thirty-three urgent care centers in the D.C. area, reported 1,758 cases of walking pneumonia in October, a whopping 358% increase from 391 cases a year ago.

Walking pneumonia, which has less severe symptoms than general pneumonia, has increased the most, especially among adolescents aged 10 to 17, and has also been found to occur frequently in children aged 0 to 9.

The medical community believes that the reasons for the increase in walking pneumonia are ▲ fewer people wearing masks, ▲ not washing their hands frequently, ▲ fewer people coughing into their forearms, and ▲ people’s immunity has decreased due to the COVID period.

Walking pneumonia is usually accompanied by fever, cough, and sore throat, and the cough lasts for several days or several weeks.

In addition, some patients may develop asthma attacks, severe pneumonia, or brain infections.

Victims of domestic violence and stalking can now request to have their addresses removed from public records in Virginia.

Local media outlet WFXRFOX News recently reported that victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, or child abduction have a Virginia state program that can protect them from their abusers, and that they should apply for it if necessary.

According to the outlet, the program is the Virginia Department of Justice’s “Address Confidentiality Program,” which provides a legal alternative address instead of removing the victim’s actual address from public records so that the abuser and others do not know the victim’s actual address. The Department of Justice will receive mail at the alternative address and safely deliver it to the victim. The alternative address provided to applicants will be the address of a state or local government agency.

“Since the COVID-19 pandemic, domestic violence hotline calls have increased by about 400%,” said an official from Rohnock Valley Family Services. “The Address Confidentiality Program helps victims feel safe and at ease and helps them focus on healing rather than living in fear.”

For more information about the program, please apply by emailing the address below.

Email: domestic.violence@oag.state.va.us.

The New York State Senate Democratic Party appears to have lost its “supermajority status” that could have overpowered the governor’s veto in the general election held on the 5th.

According to the results of the New York State Board of Elections’ general election, as of the 7th, the Democratic Party only secured 40 seats in the New York State Senate. The Democratic Party secured supermajority status in the 2020 and 2022 state Senate elections by winning 43 and 42 seats, respectively, which is more than two-thirds of the total seats.

Supermajority status is granted to a party that secures 42 seats, which is two-thirds of the total seats (63 seats) in the state Senate and can overpower the governor’s veto.

In this year’s general election, the Democratic Party lost one seat in the 17th Senate District (South Brooklyn) election when Democratic incumbent candidate Yiwen Chu lost to Republican candidate Steve Chan.

In addition, the 50th district election for the House of Representatives is also being held in a very close race, and as of the 7th, there is no winner. However, regardless of the results of the 50th district election, the Democratic Party has already lost its position as a large majority party due to its defeat in the 17th district election.

PATH Hoboken Station, which connects Manhattan and New Jersey, will be closed for 25 days for major renovations early next year. According to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PA), the station will be closed for 25 days from 11:59 p.m. on January 30 to 5 a.m. on February 25.

According to the PA, the work will include track repairs and station improvements. Accordingly, PATH will operate a free shuttle bus between Hoboken-Newport-Exchange Place during the station closure, NJ Transit will increase service on the 126 buses from Hoboken Station to Manhattan and Bergen County Light Rail during weekday rush hours.

NY Waterway will also extend the last ferry service at Hoboken Terminal to 10 p.m. on weekdays and midnight on weekends. Meanwhile, PA will hold informational sessions to fully explain alternative transportation options for passengers regarding the construction on July 12th at 5:30 p.m. in the Hoboken Terminal 1 Waiting Room, July 13th at 3:50 p.m. at the PA Office (2 Montgomery St., Jersey City, NJ), and July 10th at 6 p.m. online.

Two people were injured in a shooting near a McDonald’s on Manhattan’s Upper West Side on Halloween night. According to the New York City Police Department (NYPD), the suspect pulled the trigger on a group of six teenagers on a boat near Amsterdam Avenue and West 71st Street at around 6:30 p.m. on the 31st.

A 17-year-old male was shot in the leg and a 19-year-old male was shot in the shoulder, and the suspect fled the scene. The victims fled into the McDonald’s immediately after the shooting, causing a commotion in the area.

Police said both victims were treated at a nearby hospital and their injuries are not severe. Police are waiting for any witnesses to come forward with information.