(NEW YORK) — A juror in a trial connected to the 1996 disappearance of California college student Kristin Smart was excused Thursday after the judge learned he had discussed the case with his priest.
Smart, 19, a student at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, went missing while walking home from a party.
Two separate juries started deliberating last week in the trials of Paul Flores, 45, and his father, Ruben Flores, 81, who were both arrested and charged last year in connection with her disappearance.
Paul Flores, a former classmate of Smart’s, was charged with murder, while his father was charged with being an accessory to the crime. Prosecutors say he helped hide Smart’s body on his property in Arroyo Grande before moving it in 2020.
Monterey County Superior Court Judge Jennifer O’Keefe excused the male juror from the trial of Ruben Flores Thursday afternoon after he had disclosed to another juror that he discussed his difficulties with making a decision during confession. The other juror then informed the judge in a note through the bailiff.
O’Keefe heard from both jurors on the record Thursday, starting with the since-excused juror, #262.
Juror #262 told the judge he had to “cleanse my body, that’s all,” and that he “did not discuss the facts of the case.”
“This case hasn’t been easy. It’s very hard. There’s lives at stake,” he told the judge, before being sent to the jury room.
O’Keefe then heard from the female juror, who reported that juror #262 told her he had told his priest he could only talk about the case inside confession — which indicated to her that he was discussing the case outside the courtroom.
The judge has reminded the jurors throughout the months-long trial that they cannot discuss the case with anybody, including spiritual advisers.
The judge brought juror #262 back to the courtroom and told him she had received information “that’s clearly opposite of what you’ve told us in court.”
She thanked him but explained that she needed to excuse him.
“Sometimes the appearance of impropriety is just as bad as actual impropriety. I need to protect the record,” O’Keefe said.
An alternate female juror was soon sworn in, and the jury was informed they need to begin their deliberations from the start.
Paul and Ruben Flores are being tried at the same time with separate juries hearing the case together. Once a verdict is reached by one jury, it will be sealed until the other jury reaches its verdict.
Both men have pleaded not guilty to their charges.
A judge earlier this year ordered that the Flores trials be moved out of San Luis Obispo County more than 100 miles away — north to Monterey County — to ensure fair legal proceedings.
(GULFPORT, Miss.) — The shooting of a Black teenager by police in Gulfport, Mississippi, has led to outcry from family members and activists who say the teen was unarmed with his hands up when he was confronted by police. The teen died days later after being taken off life support.
Police say 15-year-old Jaheim McMillan was armed and refused to drop his weapon when officers fired at him following a foot chase.
The hashtag #JusticeForJaheim has been trending on social media, with some posting photos of the teen bleeding out while handcuffed on the ground.
During the Oct. 6 incident, officers responded to a 911 call about five teens waving firearms at passing cars and began chasing one of them, according to Gulfport police chief Adam Cooper, who held a press conference on the officer-involved shooting Wednesday.
Cooper told reporters that one officer observed McMillan was armed and gave orders for him to stop and drop his weapon.
“McMillan did not comply,” Cooper said.
Cooper also claimed McMillan “turned his body and weapon towards the officer,” so the officer fired at him.
Debra Stout, a Long Beach, Mississippi, resident told ABC News she witnessed the encounter and said she saw McMillan with his hands up. She says she was waiting outside her home for a phone call when she heard the gunshots.
“I did hear gunshots, I ducked. I didn’t know where they were coming from,” Stout told ABC News in a zoom interview. “There were guys on the ground, then I noticed the boy who passed away at the front door, but before that I did see him with his hands up.”
Stout says she could not see if McMillan was armed.
“I didn’t know if he was alive or dead,” she said.
She said she believes there was a lack of urgency in the medical response to McMillan, because the ambulance, she said, arrived on scene without a siren on.
“I feel terrible. I probably have to get counseling,” Stout told ABC News. “I dream about it every night.”
Family members disagree with Cooper’s claims that Jaheim was armed.
“If Gulfport Police Department had footage of my little cousin holding a gun, best believe it would already have been released,” one family member, Court Elle Bolton, said in a Facebook post.
A spokesperson for the Gulfport Police Department declined to comment. Family members of McMillan did not immediately respond to ABC News’ requests for comment.
The Mississippi Attorney General’s office has jurisdiction on cases where officers use deadly force, Cooper said during the press conference. He said the Gulfport Police Department is “cooperating fully” with the AG’s investigation and will conduct an internal investigation.
Family members of McMillan also claimed in a Facebook video they were initially barred from entering a hospital in Mobile, Alabama, where the teenager was airlifted to following the shooting. The hospital — USA Children & Women’s Hospital — did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News.
(NEW YORK) — Kiely Rodni, a California teenager who was missing for two weeks before her body was found in a car submerged in a reservoir, died due to drowning and there is no evidence of foul play, autopsy results released on Thursday determined.
The 16-year-old’s death has been ruled accidental by the Coroners Division of the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office, authorities said.
“This ruling is based on the pathologist’s finding that her death was the result of drowning and that there was no other information to suggest she was the victim of foul play,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
The sheriff’s office is continuing to work with Rodni’s family “by evaluating any additional information related to this investigation,” it added.
Rodni was last seen on Aug. 6 around 12:30 a.m. local time near the Prosser Family Campground in the small town of Truckee, California, some 20 miles north of Lake Tahoe.
She was at a party with upward of 300 people when she vanished along with her vehicle, a silver 2013 Honda CRV. Her cellphone had also been out of service since she went missing.
A massive search effort ensued for two weeks before a body was found in a vehicle pulled from the Prosser Reservoir on Aug. 21, authorities said. The car matched the description of her SUV, and the body was confirmed to be that of Rodni two days later following an autopsy.
In a statement at the time, the teen’s family said they were “eternally grateful” for the love that friends, family, law enforcement, the media and communities all over the world showed them throughout their search for Rodni.
“We have weathered a storm of unfathomable force, and it is purely thanks to the army of warriors, matriarchs, healers and helpers holding us up that we continue to stand today,” her family said. “Mr. Rogers famously told a story of ‘looking for the helpers’ whenever he saw scary things in the news. We have not had to look for the helpers, as you have all come to our rescue in full force. We are forever indebted to you.”
(FAYETTEVILLE, N.C.) — Police in Fayetteville, North Carolina, are investigating an incident involving a 22-year-old Black woman after she said officers assaulted and unlawfully handcuffed her in September.
Ja’Lana Dunlap’s attorneys released video footage of the incident, taken on Dunlap’s phone, this week.
On Sept. 6, Dunlap, a property manager at the time, said she was taking pictures of the property she oversees on behalf of the owner, who had recently gotten a citation from the city about people illegally dumping furniture and trash on the site.
“I was planning to take pictures because we had already hired somebody to clean it up,” Dunlap told ABC News. “So, I was just making sure that they did their job.”
After taking the photos, Dunlap said she had returned to her car when two Fayetteville police officers, who were searching for a suspected fugitive, approached asking why she was on the property. Dunlap said she responded, providing her name and explaining that she was taking photos for her boss.
Dunlap said one officer asked her to provide identification. She said she declined, knowing North Carolina is not a “Stop and Identify” state, meaning Dunlap was not legally obligated to provide her ID if she had not committed or been suspected of committing a crime.
“I know my story checks out,” Dunlap said. “I know if I didn’t do anything wrong, I shouldn’t have to give you my ID.”
But Dunlap said the officer continued to demand she provide her ID, at which point Dunlap began to record the encounter with her phone because she said she feared for her safety.
Soon after, she said another officer reached into the vehicle and grabbed her left arm. Dunlap can be heard repeatedly on the video recording asking the officers to “Please stop.”
The officers ask her to step out of the vehicle and when she doesn’t, they tell her to “stop resisting.” Dunlap tells the officer that she will exit the vehicle if they let go of her arm.
The cell phone video she released does not show the beginning of the encounter and becomes shaky once it appears that police pull her out. Afterwards, they pull her out — which is not shown in the video because officers took her phone — and Dunlap alleges that officers slammed her against the trunk and placed her in handcuffs.
Dunlap, who suffers from sickle cell anemia, said she began hyperventilating due to the stress, at one point even vomiting.
“They were actually trying to yank me back up with the handcuffs behind my back to the point where I had to ask, ‘Y’all please stop so I can finish throwing up,'” she said.
The officers eventually removed the fluorescent fanny pack around Dunlap’s waist to grab her ID, she said, and released her after verifying her identity.
She said her left hand was bruised and swollen for a week after the incident and still has visible scratches.
“I really was trying to do everything to still keep my composure, remain calm, but when you’re scared and terrified and you can’t call anybody,” she said. “You go into fight or flight pretty much, you go into survival mode.”
Dunlap, who was never arrested or charged with any crime, later filed a formal complaint to the Fayetteville Police Department.
Fayetteville Police Chief Gina Hawkins said in a statement that she understands why the cellphone video “causes concern and the desire of the public to know more.”
Hawkins said she is making a formal request for an area judge to permit the release of police body camera footage from the incident. An investigation is already underway and will be expedited by the Internal Affairs Unit, the police chief said.
Hawkins also explained that officers approached Dunlap in a vacant lot 0.5 miles from where a potentially violent suspect ran away from police. Once police confirmed she was not the suspect, they let her go.
While Dunlap said she has seen the police department’s official statements on the incident, she said she has yet to receive a personal response or apology.
“You’re addressing my video footage but you’re not addressing me as a person or how I would feel about the situation,” she said.
Attorney Harry Daniels who is representing Dunlap, along with attorney Carnell Johnson, said he plans to file a federal lawsuit on her behalf.
“Quite frankly, I believe that Ms. Dunlap would not be subjected, would not be here today having this discussion if she was a different race,” Daniels said. “I’m not gonna sugarcoat it. I think they intimidated her because she’s a person of color. And we are here to fight on her behalf.”
Dunlap said she has since resigned from her job as a property manager, in part because of her experience.
“I just had to resign just for my mental health,” she said.
Now, she said she is just trying to take every day “one step at a time.”
(RALEIGH, N.C.) — Police are searching for answers after a teenager allegedly killed five people, including a police officer, and injured two others in a mass shooting along a nature trail in Raleigh, North Carolina.
The suspected shooter, a 15-year-old boy, is a relative of one of the victims killed, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the investigation.
Among the victims was Raleigh police officer Gabriel Torres, 29, who was on his way to work when he was shot and killed, according to Raleigh police Chief Estella Patterson.
The four others killed were identified as Nicole Connors, 52; Susan Karnatz, 49; Mary Marshall, 34; and James Roger Thompson, 16.
The unnamed suspect was taken into custody with life-threatening injuries, according to a memo issued by the Department of Homeland Security and obtained by ABC News. It’s not clear if the suspect’s injuries were self-inflicted, the memo said.
The suspect was still hospitalized in critical condition as of Friday morning, according to the police chief.
A motive is still unknown, according to Patterson, who told reporters that a five-day report will be released. She would not say what type of firearm was used in the shooting or how the suspect obtained the weapon.
“My heart is heavy because we don’t have answers as to why this tragedy occurred,” Patterson said during a press conference.
Officers searched the suspect’s home on Friday, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the investigation. Detectives so far have not found any social media footprint for the suspect, the official said, adding that investigators are going through handwritten material.
The shooting took place in the vicinity of the Neuse River Greenway Trail, near Osprey Cove and Bay Harbor drives in Raleigh. The crime scene spans over 2 miles. The suspect first shot two people in the streets of the neighborhood before fleeing toward the nature trail, where he opened fire, killing three more people and wounding two others, according to Patterson.
The police chief told reporters that the arrest of the suspect came after a “long standoff” and was a “team effort” by multiple agencies.
A 59-year-old was among the two shot and injured and remains hospitalized in critical condition, according to Patterson.
Raleigh police officer Casey Joseph Clark, 33, was also injured; he has been treated and released from the hospital.
A police dog was also injured and will recover, a law enforcement official said.
In a statement on Friday, President Joe Biden called for an assault weapons ban.
“We are thinking of yet another community shaken and shattered as they mourn the loss of friends and neighbors,” he said. “Enough. We’ve grieved and prayed with too many families who have had to bear the terrible burden of these mass shootings.”
Biden touted the bipartisan gun safety bill he signed into law in June but said “we must do more.”
“We must pass an assault weapons ban,” Biden continued. “The American people support this commonsense action to get weapons of war off our streets. House Democrats have already passed it. The Senate should do the same. Send it to my desk and I’ll sign it.”
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper called the mass shooting an “infuriating and tragic act of gun violence.”
“We’re sad, we’re angry and we want to know the answers to all the questions,” Cooper said during Friday morning’s press conference. “Those questions will be answered — some today and more over time.”
The Raleigh Police Department tweeted Friday afternoon, “The outpouring of love and support we have received from members of the community, our fellow law enforcement officers and first responders, as well as our local and state officials, has been truly heartening. … The road ahead is a difficult one, but we will take it one step at a time knowing the city of Raleigh walks with us.”
ABC News’ Will Gretsky, Aaron Katersky and Josh Margolin contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — Two major U.S. supermarkets will combine forces after a unanimous all-cash merger agreement was reached between the boards of Kroger and Albertsons.
Kroger, the second largest grocery store chain, purchased the fourth largest, Albertsons, for an estimated total enterprise value of $24.6 billion, the company announced in a news release Friday.
“This combination will expand customer reach and improve proximity to deliver fresh and affordable food to approximately 85 million households with a premier omnichannel experience,” Kroger said.
Combined, the stores employ more than 700,000 people across 5,000 stores.
The companies said they plan to continue with their shared track record to lower prices, enhance customer experience and increase associate wages and benefits.
In a statement, Kroger Chairman and CEO Rodney McMullen said, “Albertsons Cos. brings a complementary footprint and operates in several parts of the country with very few or no Kroger stores. This merger advances our commitment to build a more equitable and sustainable food system by expanding our footprint into new geographies to serve more of America with fresh and affordable food and accelerates our position as a more compelling alternative to larger and non-union competitors.”
He added that “as a combined entity, we will be better positioned to advance Kroger’s successful go-to-market strategy” with respect to their seamless shopping experience, portfolio of brands, and personalized value and savings.
“Consistent with prior transactions, Kroger plans to invest in lowering prices for customers and expects to reinvest approximately half a billion dollars of cost savings from synergies to reduce prices for customers,” the company stated in its news release. “An incremental $1.3 billion will also be invested into Albertsons Cos. stores to enhance the customer experience.”
The newly merged company said it “expects to invest $1 billion to continue raising associate wages and comprehensive benefits after close.”
One of the main pillars highlighted as a way to accelerate Kroger’s go-to-market strategy is to create a broader selection of products with higher quality and better value.
“At a time when people are increasingly shopping for groceries and eating at home, Kroger and Albertsons Cos. will be better positioned to relieve the inflationary pressures facing shoppers with a combined portfolio of approximately 34,000 total private label products across premium, natural and organic, and opening price point brands,” the news release stated.
“Kroger and Albertsons Cos. have strong track records of providing quality products at great value. The combined company’s innovation capabilities, increased manufacturing footprint and expanded national reach will drive improved quality and efficiency allowing its Our Brands portfolio to accelerate growth and profitability while remaining affordable and accessible to customers,” the news release continued.
Additionally, Kroger said it expects this deal will enable the company to “serve America with fresher food, faster” with its “expanded network of stores and distribution centers, as well as a broader supplier base.”
“Utilizing Kroger’s End-to-End Fresh initiative across a broader network will enable the combined company to optimize its supply chain to deliver the freshest products from field to table to more customers more quickly,” the company stated. “By bringing together Kroger’s Fresh for Everyone strategy and Albertsons Cos.’ Customers for Life strategy, the combined company will expand its portfolio of fresh products, extend shelf lives and accelerate the penetration of its Fresh portfolio.”
The company said it also hopes to continue its shared progress towards environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles.
‘The addition of Albertsons Cos.’ sustainability program and resources will accelerate progress on Kroger’s Zero Hunger, Zero Waste social and environmental impact plan to create a more equitable and sustainable food system,” the release said.
The transaction is expected to close in early 2024, subject to required regulatory clearance and closing conditions, according to the company’s investor relations site.
(BEIJING) — In Beijing this Sunday, China’s most consequential political gathering in a generation will open: the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.
This year Chinese leader Xi Jinping is tipped be given a norm-breaking third five-year-term as General Secretary of the Communist Party, a more powerful position than the title of president which he is associated with abroad. Equally crucial, a whole contingent of China’s most experienced leaders, especially in the areas of the economy and foreign policy, are slated to retire and a new generation will be ushered in. Will any of them be positioned as Xi’s successor or will the top circle around Xi be stacked with his loyalists, leaving him even more unchallenged?
This is first congress since the pandemic and Xi is expected to use his zero-COVID strategy to cement to authority.
Since the last congress, U.S.-China relations have cratered with the two countries remaining at odds over Xi’s “without limits” friendship with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, the treatment of the Uyghur Muslim minority in the western region of Xinjiang, the crackdown in Hong Kong, a tech competition over semiconductors and U.S. support for Taiwan.
What is the Party Congress?
The gathering, held every five years, brings together China’s top Communist Party members behind the closed doors of Beijing’s Great Hall of the People. This is the 20th nationwide congress since the party’s founding in 1921.
The Communist Party technically provides guidance and direction to China’s government, the State Council which is comprised almost completely of party members. The party uses these gatherings to discuss and approve the party’s long-term goals as well appoint the top leadership of the party and, by extension, the country.
This gathering will also drastically reshuffle the party’s leadership.
Out of 96 million Communist Party members, a select 2,296 delegates will converge on the Great Hall of The People to elect 205 of its members to the Central Committee and then the 25-seat Politburo. Due to an established retirement age limit of 68, the South China Morning Post tally found that nearly half of the Central Committee members are expected to be replaced.
These elite party members will also decide who gets to sit in the inner sanctum of party power, the Politburo Standing Committee — the top decision-making body in China. The current leadership has seven members with Xi at the very top.
This was the path Xi took himself. After much of his adult life in local-level politics, Xi was elevated to the national stage at the 16th Party Congress in 2002 and then was elected to the Standing Committee in 2007 during the 17th Party Congress, making him a viable successor. At the 18th Party Congress in 2012, he rose to the top in an opaque jockeying process.
While there was never a term limit for Xi’s position as General Secretary, there was a two-term limit for the presidency until 2018. The two positions are usually served concurrently along with a third position — the head of the military — so it became the norm in the 1980s to serve two terms as head of the party to fit the term limit for the presidency. This was put in place at the time to ensure collective leadership at the top of the party and prevent an extended cult of personality with one-man rule — as seen under Mao Zedong — along with an orderly transition of power. The previous congress in 2017 paved the way for the presidential term limit to be thrown out shortly afterwards.
Xi is 69 this year and the rules and norms are not expected to apply to him this time around.
What to expect this week
The Party Congress will run from Oct. 16 to roughly the 20th with much of the proceedings happening behind closed doors. Most of the media will be kept away in the media center in a separate part of town, ostensibly because of COVID protocols.
Xi will open the Congress on Sunday with a marathon speech recapping the achievements of the party under his leadership and his vision forward. Xi’s speech in 2017 lasted three-and-a-half hours.
State media this week say that the party will use Xi’s signature zero-COVID policy to bolster his rule.
“China has waged an all-out war against the COVID-19 pandemic which protected public health to the maximum extent,” the communique read, commending Xi for “putting people’s lives first.”
With only 5,226 official COVID deaths since the beginning of the pandemic, China’s death rate is far below many countries around the world. Xi often cites the low death rate as proof of China’s superiority over the West despite its impact this year on the economy. China remains the only major country still seeking to control the virus.
The communique also praised Xi on his Hong Kong crackdown and his strong response opposing “Taiwan Independence” alluding to the massive military drills Xi, as head of the PLA, unleashed around the island after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s August visit there.
China’s economy will be the most critical issue, especially if the party wants China on track to overtake the United States as the world biggest economy by the end of the decade. Observers are watching to see if Xi offers a road-map out of China’s COVID isolation to rejoin much of the world.
Xi will also have to the contend with what to do about the spiraling relationship with the United States.
The most important event will take place at the end, on the morning of Oct. 21 when the new lineup of the Politburo Standing Committee will be unveiled. These will be China’s top leaders working with Xi for the next five years.
Members of the committee will be unveiled to the public one by one as walk onto a red-carpeted dais, in order of seniority, starting with Xi. As of right now only Xi is expected to stay on.
Who will be Premier? Will Xi elevate a potential successor? And other pressing questions
Arguably the most important position will be who walks in after Xi. The second-in-line will usually end up as premier eventually, overseeing the day-to-day government and traditionally steering the economy. The current number two, Li Keqiang, indicated that he will retire as premier this coming March but at 67, he is still technically “young” enough to stay on. A trained economist, Li returned to prominence in recent months as the country’s economy slowed under Xi’s zero-COVID policies.
If Li steps aside, will his place be filled with a Xi loyalist or someone nurtured under previous Chinese leaders who still hold some sway behind the scenes? If the person doesn’t end up being a Xi loyalist it could possibly mean that some in the party still want to reign in Xi’s more conservative economic tendencies.
Also, would there be a potential successor amongst those chosen?
Xi was seen as the next leader-in-waiting when he was elevated to the Standing Committee in 2007 at the age of 54, five years before he reached the top spot. If, by the end of the Congress, there is no clear rising star among the top ranks, it may signal that Xi intends to rule securely into a fourth term.
(LONDON) — Climate protesters threw tomato soup at Vincent van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” painting Friday to protest the extraction and use of fossil fuels.
Members of Just Stop Oil, wearing T-shirts bearing the name of the group, poured two cans of tomato soup over the famous painting located at the National Gallery in London, as seen in a video posted to Twitter by the group.
However, the painting was protected by glass and doesn’t appear to have suffered any damage.
Two women then glue their hands to the wall just under the work of art, the video shows.
“What is worth more: art or life? Is it worth more than food? Worth more than justice?” one of the activists yells, adding, “are you more concerned about the protection of a painting, or the protection of our planet and people?”
She continued, “The cost-of-living crisis is part of the cost of oil crisis. Fuel is unaffordable to millions of cold, hungry families. They can’t even afford to heat a tin of soup.”
A statement from the National Gallery said the incident occurred just after 11:00 a.m. local time.
“The room was cleared of visitors and police were called. Officers are now on the scene,” the statement read. “There is some minor damage to the frame but the painting is unharmed. Two people have been arrested.”
The National Gallery would not respond to ABC News’ request for comment. The Metropolitan Police has been reached out to for comment.
On Twitter, the group has called for roads across London to be blocked every day in October to protest fossil fuels.
Earlier this year, the group has attempted to draw attention to climate change by gluing their hands to other famous works of art.
In July, members of Just Stop Oil glued their hands to a frame holding a copy of Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” at London’s Royal Academy of Art and to the frame of a J.M.W. Turner painting at Manchester Art Gallery
Also in July, a separate group of activists glued their hands to Sandro Botticelli’s “Primavera” in Florence to protest the use of gas and coal.
(NEW YORK) — Venezuelans who enter the U.S. illegally at ports of entry along the southern border will be returned to Mexico under the authority of Title 42, a public health statute invoked at the start of the pandemic by the Trump administration that allows for the rapid expulsion of migrants, senior Biden administration officials said Wednesday.
The policy went into effect on Wednesday and, consistent with other Title 42 expulsion protocols, is expected to severely limit opportunities for migrants to apply for humanitarian relief and remain in the U.S. for an extended period.
DHS is currently under a court order to enforce Title 42.
The agency also announced it will bring 24,000 Venezuelan nationals to the U.S. as part of a new policy aimed at encouraging lawful entries through airports into the interior of the U.S.
Citing the large increase in Venezuelan nationals attempting to cross the southern border, the DHS says Venezuelans will need a sponsor in the United States to enter the country legally. That can be done online, a senior administration official told reporters on a conference call Wednesday night.
“This program is meant and is intended to address particular acute issues that we’re facing at the border and to provide an opportunity for vulnerable Venezuelans to seek means of entering the United States in a lawful way in the interior without showing up at the southern border,” a senior administration official said.
Venezuelans who are illegally in the United States currently will not be affected by this announcement, only those who are at the southern border after the announcement was made.
They did not go into specifics as to why they capped the program at 24,000.
The department says the actions were done in conjunction with the Mexican government and senior administration officials who said after the migrants are sent back to Mexico, it is up to the Mexican government what happens to them.
“These actions make clear that there is a lawful and orderly way for Venezuelans to enter the United States, and lawful entry is the only way,” said Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas. “Those who attempt to cross the southern border of the United States illegally will be returned to Mexico and will be ineligible for this process in the future. Those who follow the lawful process will have the opportunity to travel safely to the United States and become eligible to work here.”
Advocates for migrants say the policy is “problematic” and “inhumane.”
“First, it creates an application process for ‘up to 24,000’ Venezuelan migrants to enter the United States by air to an interior port of entry. To be approved, an applicant must, among other things, have a financial supporter on U.S. soil,” Iván Espinoza-Madrigal, the executive director of Lawyers for Civil Rights, said in a statement. “Second, any Venezuelan migrant who attempts to enter the United States between ports of entry will now be: (1) returned to Mexico under the Trump-era Title 42 policy; and (2) made ineligible to apply for legal entry through the newly established process.”
A senior administration official did not say whether the policy will apply to other Central American Northern Triangle countries.
That official said Venezuelans will be able to fly from Mexico to the interior of the United States to be processed at an airport, in an effort to alleviate southern border congestion.
DHS is also launching a targeted human smuggling initiative with the government of Mexico.
Chad Wolf, the former acting secretary of Homeland Security under President Donald Trump, said the policy will do little to solve the “crisis along the border.”
“Yesterday’s announcement from DHS is an attempt to solve a problem that has been wholly self-inflicted by the Biden Admin’s open border policies. Venezuelans, as well as over a hundred other nationalities, have taken advantage of the lax border policies of this administration,” Wolf tweeted. “Now, after more than 21 months of ignoring reality, Biden’s DHS now recognizes the importance of implementing deterrence measures put in place by the Trump Admin. Unfortunately, this action applies to only one nationality and will do little to solve the crisis along the border.”
(NEW YORK) — In an effort to help families fight inflation, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced last month that New Yorkers would receive an average payment of $270 through the state tax credit program.
As part of the 2022-2023 New York state budget, eligible New York taxpayers could receive a check for two different payments under the Empire State Child Credit and the Earned Income Credit.
According to the governor and the state legislature, the payments will offer up to $475 million in tax relief for those eligible.
“With this relief package, we’re making good on our commitment to helping hardworking New Yorkers through the nationwide affordability crisis,” Hochul said at the time of the announcement.
While the payments will come as a relief for many, most of the state’s nearly 20 million residents aren’t eligible.
Around 1.75 million low-income New Yorkers and families are eligible for payments, Hochul said.
“This program will put money back in the pockets of nearly two million New York families struggling to make ends meet in the face of the pandemic, inflation, and other rising costs,” the governor said.
New Yorkers who filed their 2021 state tax returns and received the Empire State Child Credit and/or the Earned Income Tax Credit are eligible.
“My administration remains laser-focused on improving affordability statewide, and I thank the legislature for its partnership in ensuring that New York families get this much-needed financial assistance,” Hochul said in her announcement.
Eligible taxpayers don’t need to apply since the state automatically sends the payments.
