U.S. ESTA Travel Pass News

The Washington Post, CNN, and ABC reported on the 14th that the party was thrown into chaos after a Republican senator introduced a bill to ban abortion with less than two months left before the US midterm elections.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham (South Carolina) of South Carolina proposed a federal abortion ban that would ban abortion after the 15th week of pregnancy.

This is an unwelcome situation for the Republican leadership, who faced fierce opposition after the Supreme Court, which was reorganized into a conservative supremacy during the former President Donald Trump’s presidency, ruled to abolish the right to abortion in late June.

Rep. Graham is a close aide to former President Trump but is classified as a person with strong ties with the Democrats due to his relatively mild tendencies.

“I think it’s a good thing to introduce a bill that defines who we are,” he said the previous day, blitzing a bill to ban abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy across all 50 states.

The bill allowed exceptions to the statute only in extremely limited circumstances, such as rape and endangering the life of the mother.

This is the first time that conservatives have attempted to legislate a ban on abortion at the federal level since the Supreme Court’s decision to abolish the right to abortion.

 

In the United States, the U.S. Supreme Court has recognized women’s right to abortion as a constitutional right after the so-called “Ro v.

However, in June, the conservative Supreme Court overturned the ruling and did not recognize the right to abortion as a constitutional authority, but transferred the decision-making authority to each state, sparking a strong backlash that exceeded expectations across the United States.

In the United States, the issue of abortion has been regarded as a controversial topic between liberals and conservatives, but it is analyzed that the terrain confirmed through opinion polls after the actual abolition of the right to abortion gave more weight to the protection of the right to abortion.

Ahead of the midterm elections, the Democratic Party has put the issue of abortion to the fore and is attacking the Democratic Party, saying that to protect the right to abortion by law, the Democratic Party must win a majority.

For this reason, the Republican Party is pursuing a strategy of avoiding mentioning the abortion issue itself as much as possible and turning it to individual state judgments, but Graham’s sudden action has put him in a complicated situation.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, immediately drew a line on the legislation, saying, “Most of my fellow senators see this as a matter that needs to be addressed at the state level.”

On the other hand, the leadership of the Democratic Party, including the White House, directly discussed this issue for two days in a row and launched a major offensive.

White House press secretary Carine Jean-Pierre said during a briefing on President Biden’s flight to Detroit on Wednesday that the bill “will take away women’s rights in all 50 states of the United States.” “President Biden will lead the fight for the right to abortion,” he said.

“On the same day that the consumer price index soared, Congressman Graham introduced the abortion ban,” ABC said, pointing out that it is a welcomed move for President Joe Biden and Democrats, who are sensitive to economic and inflation issues.

It could divert voters’ attention from the economy and inflation to the abortion issue.

It was revealed that the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met Museum) in New York, a world-renowned American museum, has exhibited several stolen ancient Greek, Roman and Egyptian cultural assets.

According to the New York Times (NYT) on the 3rd, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office confiscated 27 stolen cultural assets worth a total of $13 million (about 17.7 billion won) from the Met Museum of Art.

Of these, 21 will be returned to Italy and 6 to Egypt. The two countries have decided to hold a return ceremony next week.

The Manhattan District Prosecutor’s Office explained that this is a move that hastened the process of returning cultural assets, which previously took more than a year.

It is estimated that 21 pieces of Italian relics confiscated from the Met in July are valued at $10 million, and six pieces of Egyptian relics confiscated twice in February and May are valued at $3.2 million each.

These included a terracotta cup, believed to have been made in Greece around 470 B.C., and a statue of a Greek goddess dating from around 400 B.C.

Many of the stolen cultural assets confiscated this time were found to have flowed to the Met Museum through the hands of Gianfranco Vecina, who is suspected of being involved in the smuggling of stolen cultural assets for decades while running a gallery in Switzerland.

8 pieces were found to be cultural properties that the Met Museum acquired directly from Vecina.

Beckina was convicted of smuggling stolen cultural assets in Greece, and the Italian authorities confiscated some 6,300 Greek and Roman artifacts in his possession.

Separately, prosecutors said they had recently issued a seizure warrant for a 6th-century Hindu goddess statue held by the Met Museum.

The Met Museum of Art issued a statement and explained, “The standards for collecting cultural assets have changed significantly in recent decades. Our museum has consistently reviewed related procedures and policies for the past 20 years,” but did not avoid criticism for not properly verifying the sources of the collections. can’t

“The best art museums seriously examine the history and acquisition of their collections,” said Derek Pinchum, a law professor at the University of South Texas, who specializes in cultural property ownership, told The New York Times.

Recently, the Met Museum has been embroiled in suspicion of having several stolen artifacts from the Cambodian Khmer Empire.

About 70 Koreans who were doing business in the Seattle area with E2 visa status and seeking permanent residency through employment immigration were at risk of being deprived of their permanent residency due to false applications.

According to a Korean-American lawyer in Seattle, all of these cases were cases where they applied for permanent residency through a Chinese law firm in Chicago, which was introduced through a local Korean-run K accounting firm. It was discovered by the Immigration Service that they falsely stated the details of their work when they applied for permanent residence. This is because they did not actually work at the workplace indicated in the application form.

It is said that the immigration officer is canceling the employment immigration petition (I-140) after calling the employer and the applicant separately and confirming that they did not work for the place specified in the application. According to a Korean-American lawyer, the applications for permanent residence cards that have already been issued or those currently in progress are being canceled one after another, and the extension of the E-2 visa is sometimes denied due to this fact.

The Korean-American lawyer said he visited the immigration office with a client who received a Notice of Intent to Revoke at the beginning of the year. According to the lawyer, Korean-American Mr. A received permanent residency through such an application in 2017, but suddenly received an interview notice from the immigration office earlier this year. Immigration officers said she “was guilty of immigration fraud because she didn’t want to work in the first place.” In the end, Mr. A received a notice from the Immigration Bureau last month that he would revoke his permanent residence, and appointed a lawyer, and is preparing for the deportation trial.

A Korean lawyer emphasized, “You must never believe the broker’s words that you do not have to work because immigration is a condition that you must work.”

Major U.S. airlines have started buying supersonic passenger planes one after another.

American Airlines announced on the 16th that it had agreed to purchase 20 units of the supersonic aircraft ‘Overture’ under development by US aviation startup ‘Boom Supersonic’.

In addition, American Airlines has secured the option to purchase an additional 40 Overture aircraft, CNBC and others reported.

Although the specific amount conditions were not disclosed, American Airlines paid a partial deposit to Boom Supersonic on a non-refundable condition.

American Airlines is the second major US airline to pre-purchase an Overture supersonic aircraft after United Airlines in June last year. At the time, United Airlines ordered 15 Overtures.

The Overture, capable of speeding up to Mach 1.7, can fly from New York, USA to London, UK in 3 and a half hours, and from Seattle, USA to Tokyo, Japan in 6 hours, the company explained.

“Passengers want a faster and more convenient flight,” Blake Scholl, CEO of Boom Supersonic, told CNBC.

After the development of Overture is completed and put into actual passenger routes, supersonic air travel is expected to resume for the first time in 20 years since the Concorde, which ended its operation in October 2003.

CEO Scholl said that the aircraft could be put into service by 2029. Unlike Concord, which ended at a high price in the past, the price of the Overture flight from New York to London is expected to be around $4,000 to $5,000 (about 5.25 million to 6.57 million won). expected

However, some are showing the view that Boom Supersonic’s ‘schedule’ is overly optimistic, considering the time it takes for existing aircraft manufacturers to get approval from the government and put them into operation.

Washington’s apple harvest this year is expected to be slightly lower than last year due to low spring temperatures.

The Washington State Fruit Tree Association (WSTFA) estimates that this year’s harvest will reach 108.7 million in a 40-pound box. This is an 11.1% drop from last year’s 122.3 million boxes.

WSTFA Chairman John Devani said that the yield of this level was fortunate given the low temperature that lasted for a long time this spring.

Among the apples to be harvested this year, ‘Gala’ was the largest with 20% of the total, followed by ‘Red Delicious’ and ‘Honey Crisp’ with 14% each.

It is estimated that ‘granny’ is 13.4% and Fuji is 12.7%, and ‘cosmic crisp’ grown only in Washington state is 4.6%, which is expected to increase slightly from last year’s 3.2%.

Devani said 30% of Washington’s apple harvest is exported to more than 40 countries around the world, adding that by 2020, apples accounted for 20% of the value of Washington’s total agricultural produce.

When it takes more than a year to review a simple work permit, there are many voices of dissatisfaction with the USCIS’s delayed review. USCIS is evolving, including significantly extending the automatic work permit period for renewal work permit applications. Changes surrounding work permits have been summarized.

-What has changed in relation to the application for renewal of work permit?

USCIS has made it possible to work up to 540 days after the EAD expires. To benefit from this measure, which went into effect on May 4, you must apply for an extension of EAD in the same category as the one in which you originally applied for EAD while your EAD is still valid. If you applied for an extension of your work permit on time, but 180 days have passed since the expiration of the EAD card and the review has not been completed, it is legal from May 4, 2022, until the day 540 days after the expiration of the validity of the EAD card. can do the job This applies to cases of family employment permanent residence applications, refugees, asylum, deportation exemption, and domestic violence victims. The extension of the validity period of the work permit is applied only to cases received by November 23, 2023, as a temporary measure due to the delay in EAD examination. Cases received thereafter will be dealt with in accordance with the previous work permit renewal regulations.

– What is the background of this action?

Prior to 2019, EAD cards were usually approved within three months of application. However, due to the lack of staff at USCIS and the impact of COVID-19, the review period has been extended, and the current review time is well over a year.

– What were the related regulations before this temporary measure came out?

According to the regulations related to work permits that have been in force since January 2017, if the EAD card is still valid and if you apply for an EAD extension in the same case as when you applied for the first time, your EAD card will be valid until 180 days after the expiration of the EAD while your EAD card application is pending. It was automatically extended. This rule was applied to cases of family employment permanent residence applications, refugees, asylum, deportation exemptions, and domestic violence victims’ cases.

– What is the validity period of the EAD card being issued?

The current EAD card is valid for 2 years. After June 2021, USCIS has issued EADs with a validity of two years for all EADs of permanent residency applicants in the United States. Before that, only the I-485 application case where the immigrant visa door did not open was issued an EAD card with a validity period of two years. However, since the middle of last year, EAD cards with a validity of two years have been issued to all I-485 applicants for work permit cases. Since February, refugee, asylum, deportation suspension applicants, and domestic violence victims’ petitioners have also been issuing EAD cards with a validity of two years.

-Does the spouse of investment or trade status holders (E-1 and E-2) or spouses of expatriate status holders (L-2) also must obtain work permits?

Investor status spouses or expatriate spouses do not need to obtain a separate work permit. From February of this year, the regulations have been changed so that there are no restrictions on employment even if they do not have a separate work permit.

– It is said that the ‘combo card’, which combines a work permit and a travel permit, is no longer issued. is it true

USCIS no longer issues combo cards. This is a measure to shorten the work permit examination period. If a work permit is not issued together with a travel permit, the speed of issuing a work permit will be shortened by three to four months, USCIS explains. Therefore, if you are not an H-1 or L status person and their accompanying family members, if you travel abroad without a travel permit, your application for permanent residence will be rejected.

The health authorities are responding to the shortage of vaccines by administering the monkey pox vaccine to the upper layer of the skin.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced at a press conference on the 9th that it has approved a new procedure for immunization against monkey pox.

First, the FDA made it possible to administer the vaccine differently to people over the age of 18. It is an intradermal injection method that is injected into the upper layer of the skin rather than subcutaneously injected deep into the skin.

Through this, the health authorities expected that five doses of the vaccine could be obtained from one inoculation.

Based on data from a 2015 clinical trial, the FDA explained that the immune response was similar between those who received a fifth of the vaccine by intradermal injection and those who received the subcutaneous injection.

He added that the new vaccination method could “increase the number of available vaccines by up to five times.” However, he added that it is still necessary to receive two doses of the vaccine 4 weeks apart.

The FDA has also approved vaccination for people under the age of 18 who are at high risk of infection.

To this end, the FDA explained that it reviewed the vaccine’s safety data and data on other vaccines given to children against smallpox.

The FDA’s approval of the new vaccination procedure came after announcing emergency use of the vaccine under a public health emergency declaration last week.

Although the number of people infected with monkey pox in the United States is increasing, there is a shortage of vaccines.

A total of 620,000 doses of the vaccine have been distributed across the United States, which is said to require an additional 440,000 doses. With the new inoculation method, 2.2 million inoculations are possible as a booster dose.

Health authorities have ordered an additional 5 million vaccines, which could be equivalent to 2,500 doses.

“We don’t see any major concerns about the safety of the new approach,” said Peter Marks, FDA Vaccine Director. He added that the number of children potentially exposed to the infected has increased in recent years.

There are currently about 9,000 cases of monkeypox in the United States, of which about one-fifth occurred in New York State.

It is known that most of them are men who have had same-sex intercourse.

In Chicago, one of the most populated areas of Ukrainian descent in the United States, unusual protests were held to protest Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and appeal for support for Ukraine.

According to the Chicago media on the 8th, on the afternoon of the previous day, hundreds of women in pure white dresses gathered at Michigan Avenue, the busiest downtown area of ​​Chicago, and held a silent protest, attracting the attention of shoppers and tourists.

The protesters, made up of Ukrainian women and supporters, demanded that Russia be designated a state sponsor of terrorism, wearing inappropriate white dresses and chanting slogans with tapes over their mouths, hanging large cardboards with various protest slogans around their necks.

Protesters lined up in front of the tourist attraction ‘Water Tower’ on Michigan Avenue, Chicago’s busiest street, and joined hands to form a ‘human chain’ to express solidarity with their home country, and marched around the Chicago River to Millennium Park, an urban park.

They also performed a performance symbolizing the victims of Ukrainian civilians at Millennium Park.

The Chicago Tribune said the protesters did not speak, but the message was clear.

Lilia Popovich, one of the protesters, said: “I’m here to demand that American citizens and the US government designate Russia as a ‘state of terror’. It’s not war, it’s terrorism.”

He said, “It has been 11 years since I immigrated to the United States from Ukraine. I have family and friends there,” he said.

Protester Tetania Baidin drew attention by hanging a large cardboard around her neck with the words “I want to say more about Russian terrorism, but ‘sensitive content’ on social media (I can’t continue)”.

The Chicago Sun Times explained that it was a criticism of the Russian government’s tightening of control over content related to the invasion of Ukraine.

“Some of the events held in Ukraine are blocked from viewing by the public,” the organizers said. “I was inspired to plan the silent protest.”

“We live our lives believing that the world is safe, but in reality, it is not. If terrorism does not stop in Ukraine, we never know who the next victim will be,” they said.

The demonstrators removed the large tape covering their mouths when they dispersed, sang the American national anthem and then the Ukrainian national anthem in turn before dispersing.

The organizing committee predicted that “another demonstration will continue to condemn Russia and raise awareness.”

According to the U.S. federal census data, there are about 1,110,000 Ukrainians in the U.S., accounting for 0.3% of the total population. About 350,000 U.S. immigrants were born in Ukraine.

The United States has agreed to provide an additional $1 billion (1.3 trillion won) of military aid to Ukraine, which was invaded by Russia on the 8th.

U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Collins Carl said at a press briefing on the same day that additional support would be provided, including long-range artillery shells, anti-tank weapons, medical vehicles, and supplies.

These include the High-Speed ​​Mobile Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), 75,000 155mm shells, 20 120mm mortar shells, 20,000 120mm mortar shells, munitions for the Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS), 1,000 Javelin anti-tank missiles, etc. This is included.

Since the outbreak of the war, the U.S. has been steadily providing logistics support to Ukraine, and this support is the largest on a single scale.

The United States has provided $9 billion in military aid to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the U.S. foreign aid agency, announced on the same day that it would provide an additional $4.5 billion to the Ukrainian government.

These funds will be used to maintain the basic functions of the Ukrainian government, such as supporting the poor, disabled and refugees in Ukraine.

A total of $8.5 billion in US aid for this purpose, including military aid, has so far been about $18 billion to Ukraine, Reuters said.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that JetBlue has set a foothold to become one of the top five U.S. airlines when it agreed to acquire low-cost airline Spirit Airlines for $3.8 billion.

According to the report, JetBlue announced on the 28th of last month that it has agreed to acquire Spirit Airlines for $33.50 per share and will pay an additional $2.50 per share if Spirit shareholders approve the merger. JetBlue said it expects to complete the merger by the first quarter of 2024 and expects to receive regulatory approval by the fourth quarter of next year or the first quarter of 2024.

JetBlue expects that the acquisition of Spirit Airlines will be a steppingstone to challenge the top four companies dominating the US aviation market. JetBlue, which currently operates 280 aircraft, will increase its fleet to 458 when the merger is completed. By adding up to 300 aircraft ordered here, it will be able to become a nationwide low-cost airline.

Earlier, Spirit Airlines said the day before that it had decided not to merge with Frontier Airlines ahead of a shareholder vote on the merger with Frontier Airlines and said it would continue negotiations with JetBlue.

Frontier Airlines agreed to a $2.9 billion merger with Spirit Airlines in February but failed to acquire Spirit Airline after being defeated by JetBlue, who later proposed a $3.7 billion merger plan.

The WSJ noted that JetBlue pushed out a strong competitor and reached an agreement to acquire Spirit Airlines, but it is unlikely to be easy to obtain approval from the authorities. That’s because the Biden administration is pursuing a series of antitrust lawsuits against major corporate mergers because it could weaken competition and raise prices.