USA ESTA Travel Pass News

The Associated Press reported that former Senator Joe Lieberman, who was the Democratic vice-presidential candidate during the 2000 U.S. presidential election, passed away on the 27th due to complications from a fall. He died at the age of 82.

The deceased, who served as a state senator and federal senator in Connecticut, was a member of the Democratic Party and ran as presidential candidate Al Gore’s running mate in the 2000 presidential election. At the time, the Republican presidential and vice-presidential candidates were George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, and after a controversy over a recount, Bush-Cheney won. The deceased, who was politically centrist, ran as a candidate for the Democratic Party’s presidential primary in 2004, but withdrew.

Diplomatically hawkish, he strongly supported the then-Bush administration’s Iraq War, which led to his defeat in the 2006 Senate primary by an anti-war political newcomer. He ran as an independent candidate despite opposition from the party leadership and was elected. During the 2008 presidential election, the deceased supported Republican presidential candidate John McCain instead of Democratic candidate Barack Obama.

The Associated Press reported that he was almost selected as McCain’s vice-presidential candidate at the time. At the Republican National Convention that year, he criticized Obama’s poor performance as a senator and said, “Oratory cannot replace a record.” He retired from the Senate at the end of his term in January 2013.

In his farewell speech to the Senate at the time, the deceased said, “Bipartisan leadership is required to unravel the tangled politics of Washington.” Until recently, he served as co-chair of the centrist political group ‘No Labels’ and worked to elect a third centrist candidate to run in the November presidential election.

A fraudster impersonates a federal investigator and approaches a woman in her 60s. Claiming that your identity has been stolen, he induces you to purchase gold bars and then suggests that you entrust them to a government agent for safekeeping. It’s an absurd proposition, but he buys the gold bars himself and delivers them to scammers who pretend to be agents of the Federal Treasury or the FBI.

The moment you believe in them, the gold bars disappear before your eyes. This is a scam using gold bars that is popular nationwide. Recently, at least 12 elderly people were affected in Montgomery County, Maryland, and the damage amounted to millions of dollars. In fact, victims often do not even know that they have been scammed, and they keep it a secret from their family or acquaintances, so the damage is revealed later.

Accordingly, the police, who launched a trap investigation, arranged to meet with the fraudster posing as a victim on the 18th and arrested the suspect at the scene. The arrested suspect (Wenhui Sun) had already received gold bars worth $780,000 on two occasions and was arrested by the police while contacting the victim to receive the third gold bars that day. Her victim was a 64-year-old Leisure World resident who believed the scammers were federal agents until her family told her she was being scammed.

The suspect is being held without bond and her gold has not yet been returned. Montgomery County Prosecutor John McCarthy announced, “This is one of at least 12 fraud cases that have occurred in Montgomery County, and the total damage is expected to exceed $8 million.” Federal authorities warned of a similar fraud in January, and the damage is estimated to be more than $55 million nationwide.

A resolution is being promoted in the Federal Congress calling for the U.S. government to act together with partner countries to resolve human rights issues such as forced labor, detention, human trafficking, and forced repatriation of North Korean defectors in China.

Congresswoman Michelle Park (Republican, California) said on the 15th, “China and North Korea are making aggressive efforts to find, detain, and forcibly repatriate North Korean defectors to North Korea, including offering bounties for information on North Korean defectors in China.”

A resolution was submitted. Referring to a past UN Commission of Inquiry report on human rights in North Korea, he pointed out, “North Korea imposes punishment, including the death penalty, for crimes such as attempting to defect from North Korea, slandering the party, listening to foreign broadcasts, possessing reactionary literature, and holding religious beliefs.” He continued, “80% of those who escape North Korea and apply for asylum are women and girls. They are vulnerable to human trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation, forced labor, and forced marriage. “You can do it,” he emphasized.

In the resolution, Rep. Park urged the President, the Secretary of State, etc. to:

▲ Protect the government’s protection of North Korean defectors at the bilateral and multilateral level

▲ Fulfill China’s obligations under international treaties such as the Refugee Convention

▲ Raise the issue of China and other countries’ responsibility for the forced deportation of North Korean defectors and human trafficking issues

▲ North Korea’s nuclear program Pursuing an end to North Korean defector labor in China where funds are diverted to programs

▲ Called for measures to be taken, such as implementing a ban on imports of products produced by North Korean defector workers in China into the United States.

President Joe Biden, who virtually made his debut for the November presidential election through his State of the Union address on the 7th, threw a ‘quick ball’ at his presidential rival, former President Donald Trump, and the Supreme Court, which was reorganized to be more conservative during Trump’s term.

In an interview with MSNBC aired on the 10th, President Biden responded to former President Trump’s recent meeting with Hungary’s authoritarian ruler, Prime Minister Viktor Orban, saying, “Although Hungary is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), he (Orban) “The Prime Minister does not believe in democracy,” he pointed out.

President Biden then responded to former President Trump’s statement last month that he would tell Russia to ‘do whatever it wants’ to NATO members that do not keep their pledge to spend 2% of their gross domestic product (GDP) on defense budget, saying, “Russia.” “A massacre is taking place as a result of the invasion of Ukraine,” he said, drawing criticism. President Biden went on to say, “After World War II, we made a promise to ensure that a war like that never happens again,” and mentioned NATO’s collective defense pledge, adding, “Look at what he (Trump) is doing. He is dangerous.” “He criticized.

President Biden also raised an issue with the Supreme Court’s decision the year before last to overturn the Roe v. Wade decision during the State of the Union address where the federal Supreme Court justices were present, saying, “I believe they (the federal Supreme Court justices) made the wrong decision. “I think the Constitution was interpreted incorrectly,” he said, without giving up his convictions.

The ‘Roe v. Wade’ ruling, issued in 1973, recognizes a woman’s right to abortion up to the sixth month of pregnancy. The Federal Supreme Court, which was reorganized with a conservative advantage during Trump’s term, abolished it in 2022, transferring the authority to decide on the existence of abortion rights to the states.

As fraud cases such as calls impersonating police, prosecutors, and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and voice phishing become more advanced and organized, the damage is increasing day by day, and the Fairfax County Police Department in Virginia is urging people to be careful of scams impersonating police or law enforcement agencies.

On the 28th, the Fairfax County Police Department said, “If someone contacts you by phone, email, or in person telling you to move immediately to avoid being arrested, it is a scam. This is a scam by scammers impersonating police officers or government officials using threats, etc. “This is a typical law enforcement scam that steals money by creating a sense of urgency,” he said, urging people to be especially careful. Police authorities continued, “Fraudsters extort money, gift cards, cryptocurrency, etc. by threatening that if you do not do as they ask, someone in the family will be arrested or take legal action.”

They added, “The police will never ask for money or take money.” “They won’t call you and say they won’t take legal action if you give them, so it’s best to hang up right away.” Recent representative scams impersonating police or law enforcement agencies include phone scams that impersonate law enforcement agencies and threaten to be arrested for failing to appear on a jury, demanding money, and scams where someone in the family gets into an accident, such as a car, and does not immediately pay for repairs.

The most common method used is to get caught by the police.

The police also said that to prevent fraud by impersonating law enforcement agencies such as police, ▲verify the caller’s identity such as name, department of work, and badge number ▲do not give out private personal information such as social security number or bank account ▲recently popular phone number Be aware of fraud methods, etc. ▲If you suspect fraud, report it immediately.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced plans to significantly increase fees for various immigration application documents, including applications for permanent residency, starting in April (reported by this newspaper on the 12th), and announced that it will also increase premium processing fees paid when applying for expedited processing starting next week.

The federal Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it will increase the premium processing fee applied by USCIS starting on the 26th. USCIS said that this premium fee increase reflects adjustments based on the inflation rate over the two years from June 2021 to June 2023.

According to the I-140 increase, the premium processing fee will increase by 12% from the current $2,500 to $2,805 for Form I-140, a petition for permanent residency, and Form I-129, a non-immigrant visa application, will also increase from $2,500 to $2,805.

In the case of Form I-129, the H-2B visa and R-1 visa fee will also be increased by 12% from the current $1,500 to $1,685. In addition, the premium processing fee for Form I-539, which is an application for extension or change of non-immigrant visa status, will increase from the current $1,750 to $1,965, and the premium processing fee for Form I-765, which is paid when an F-1 student visa holder applies for OPT, will also be increased from the current $1,750 to $1,965. It goes up from $1,500 to $1,685.

Prior to this, USCIS announced in the Federal Register a plan to increase immigration fees for the first time in eight years early this month. According to this, although there are differences depending on the form of each immigration office, overall fees will increase from an average of 20% starting April 1.

First, most of the fees related to non-immigrant visa applications and permanent residency applications have increased, and in the case of non-immigrant visa applications (I-129), the H-1B professional work visa will increase by 70% from the current $460 to $780 from April 1, and the fee for O visas will increase by 70%. In this case, it will more than double from the current $460 to $1,055. According to Jeon Jong-jun, an attorney specializing in immigration law, the biggest increase in immigration fees is the fee related to the application for change of status (I-485) for applying for a permanent residency interview in the United States. For example, if you marry a citizen and apply for permanent residency, the current fee is $535 for the green card petition (I-130) and $1,225 for the change of status (I-485), for a total of $1,760. Currently, this fee includes the fee for the applicant’s Employment Verification Application (I-765) and Overseas Travel Permit Application (I-131).

However, starting April 1, I-765 and ㅑ-131 fees must be paid separately. Therefore, under the new increase plan, to apply for a green card for marriage to a citizen, you must pay a total of $3,265, which is nearly double the current amount, including $675 for I-130, $1,440 for I-485, $520 for I-765, and $630 for I-131. Should be.

In addition, the application for visa change and extension (I-539) is $470, the resident (L) visa is $1,385, the fiancé (K) visa is $675, and the employment immigration petition (I-140) is $715. Each is scheduled to rise. Additionally, the citizenship application (N-400) fee will be increased from $725 to $760, and the citizenship certificate issuance application (N-600) will be increased from $1,170 to $1,385. However, if you submit your immigration documents online, you can receive a $50 discount on the fee.

The Immigration Lawyers Association criticized in a recent statement, “Immigration Service fees are already a huge burden on immigration applicants, but the Biden administration is increasing the fees further, adding to the burden on immigrants.”

Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, who is losing significantly to former President Donald Trump in the Republican presidential primary, expressed reservations about whether she will support Trump in the general election if he loses the primary.

In an interview with ABC News’ ‘This Week’ broadcast on the 18th, Candidate Haley avoided giving a definitive answer to the question, ‘Will she keep her party’s pledge to support whoever becomes the presidential candidate?’ “The thing I never think about is who I’m going to support, and the only thing I think about is how we’re going to win,” Haley said, recalling that she was running against former President Trump.

She also emphasized her will to complete the primary, saying, “I am not running away,” and “We will take this (presidential challenge) for a long time, and we will finish it.” Starting with the Iowa caucus on the 15th of last month, she gave victory to former President Trump in all three state primaries held so far, and in a local opinion poll conducted ahead of the primary in his home state of South Carolina on the 24th, she was behind Trump by 30% points.

Although it appears that they are being pushed further than this, it is interpreted that they have expressed their will not to give up easily. In response to the host’s follow-up question, “Does this mean you will not support former President Trump if he becomes a candidate?” Haley responded, “Now you can ask him (Trump) if he will support me if I become a candidate.” When asked a follow-up question, “Do you think Trump will support you if you become a candidate?” Haley laughed and responded, “I highly doubt it.”

In the United States, the ‘Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute Consortium (AISIC)’, involving the public and private sectors, has been launched to develop and deploy safe and reliable artificial intelligence (AI). According to the U.S. Department of Commerce on the 11th, AISIC will evaluate AI capabilities, manage risks, and develop synthetic content watermarking guidelines.

“The consortium is the largest collection of test and evaluation teams established to date and will focus on building a foundation for new measurement science for AI safety,” the Commerce Department said. AISIC includes more than 200 companies including governments, academia, and AI developers.

AI-related companies such as OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, and Amazon, hardware companies such as Qualcomm, and financial companies are also participating.

“President Joe Biden has directed us to use every tool at our disposal to achieve the goal of setting AI safety standards and protecting the innovation ecosystem, and AISIC was established to help achieve this goal,” said Commerce Secretary Gina Lermondo.

Recently, in the United States, the number of Generation Z young people who go to bed at 9 p.m. instead of drinking or playing until late at night is increasing. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), a daily newspaper on the 1st, recently reported that young people aged 18 to 35 are choosing to go to bed early rather than staying up late for health reasons, and that the entertainment industry is also experiencing changes due to this influence.

Young people, realizing the connection between health and sleep time, are increasingly going to bed earlier and refusing late dinners. According to a survey by Rent Cafe, an American real estate information provider, the average daily sleep time of young people in their 20s in the United States in 2022 was 9 hours and 28 minutes. This is an 8% increase from the average sleep time of people in their 20s in 2010, which was 8 hours and 47 minutes.

During the same period, the average daily sleep time of people in their 30s and 40s increased less than that of people in their 20s. Bedtime is also being brought forward. According to a survey of 2 million customers by American bed manufacturer Sleep Number, customers aged 18 to 34 went to bed at 10:06 pm on average last month. This is 12 minutes earlier than 10:18 p.m. in January last year.

“Nothing good happens to me after 9 p.m.,” said Emma Craft, 19, a student at the University of California, Berkeley. She said she tries to fall asleep before 9:30 p.m. every night. Madeline Sugg, 25, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, says she has adapted to going to bed at 9 p.m. She says she used to drink until the wee hours of the morning on weekends, but now she watches jazz shows or drinks at 5 or 6 p.m. on weekdays. He said that by going to bed early, he was able to save hundreds of dollars on late-night snacks and drinks. This trend change is also occurring in the restaurant and entertainment industries.

On Yelp, a restaurant rating site, the proportion of restaurant reservations made between 4 and 6 p.m. is currently 31%, up from 19% in 2017. On the other hand, the proportion of reservations between 6 PM and midnight decreased. In New York City, they experimented with holding dance parties early in the day for people who wanted to eat during the day.

‘Joyface’, a bar in New York’s East Village, held ‘matinee’ (performances held during the day on weekdays) four times last year, starting at 5 p.m. At the matinee held on December 31 last year, participants counted down to the New Year at 8 PM instead of midnight, and the event was so successful that there were only 200 people waiting. John Winkleman, a sleep disorder specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital, says he’s glad to see people taking sleep seriously these days, but he also points out that some people take it too seriously. “I think people have become a little hypersensitive about sleep,” he said, noting that there is no inherent benefit to going to bed early unless you must wake up before 3 a.m.

However, he emphasized that there are advantages to maintaining a consistent bedtime and sleeping 7 to 9 hours a day.

There was a series of car thefts in the Sun Valley area this morning, with car owners fighting off thieves with baseball bats and handguns. Early this morning in Sun Valley, a man was caught on surveillance camera confronting a thief who was stealing thousands of dollars’ worth of equipment from his van with a baseball bat.

At 12:30 this morning, a thief broke the window of a utility van parked on the street and stole $5,000 worth of equipment from the van on Saticoy Street, Beck Avenue. According to surveillance camera footage, the van owner ran out of the house with a baseball bat and confronted the thief. He chased after the thief who was running away and smashed the rear window of the thief’s vehicle with the bat.

A car theft was also reported early today (29th) at Van Avenue and Elk Wood Street in Sun Valley, and the victim armed himself with a pistol and confronted the thieves. When the car alarm went off, the victim’s car owner ran out of the house with his gun, but the thief had already fled after smashing his car window.

Recently, car thefts have been rampant in this area.