TV News LIES

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a new proposed rule for H-1B visas on Monday that would charge a $103,265 fee for all workers seeking to gain employment in the U.S. who are subject to the annual statutory cap.

Notice of the proposed rule says the fee would be used for the federal government’s costs of administering the lawful immigration system, including activities carried out by the DHS and the departments of Justice, State and Labor.

“The proposed H‑1B fee is intended to recover the costs incurred across the federal government to adjudicate, vet, and support lawful immigration programs that otherwise must be funded by taxpayers,” U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services spokesperson Zach Kahler said in a release. 

The move follows a federal judge’s decision in June to strike down the Trump administration’s previously proposed $100,000 fee for H-1B visa applications.

U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin ruled that it was unlawful to implement a tax on visa applications, as Congress is the only legislative body with the authority to set immigration policy and taxes.

More...

It was a routine online meeting with my academic supervisors during the summer. One of them, who had just returned from visiting her home country, spoke about the joy of being surrounded by family, the comfort of familiar places, and the quiet sense of belonging that comes from returning home. 

Then she used a phrase that has stayed with me ever since: “The privilege of home.”

Until that moment, I had never considered home a privilege. I had always thought of it as something ordinary, something everyone simply had. https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/after-israels-annihilation-gaza-can-i-ever-return-home

But since leaving Gaza almost a year ago, those three words have echoed in my mind, forcing me to ask questions I had never needed to confront before: what is home? When does it become part of our identity?

Can it be destroyed not only physically, but psychologically? And what happens when there is nowhere left to return to?

More...

Common personal care products widely contain unlabeled toxic chemicals, results from a new peer-reviewed study suggest. The testing of more than 110 items ranging from shampoo to baby lotions found evidence of unlabeled toxic chemicals in about 85%.

Many contained multiple ingredients known to be carcinogens or health hazards, and even 26% of products labeled “eco”, “green” or “natural” contained at least one dangerous compound. The products averaged more than three times as many chemicals than were listed on labels.

Jenna Hua, a lead author with Million Marker, a San Francisco-based company that offers at-home testing for exposure to toxic chemicals, said researchers knew they would find some unlabeled chemicals, but were still “shocked” by the findinJenna Hua, a lead author with Million Marker, a San Francisco-based company that offers at-home testing for exposure to toxic chemicals, said researchers knew they would find some unlabeled chemicals, but were still “shocked” by the findings.

It is unclear whether the products are intentionally adulterated, or unintentionally contaminated. Either way, the findings raise further questions about the safety of everyday goods already under scrutiny for their health risks, and the authors say the study highlights the need for stricter oversight, including mandatory testing.

More...

Democrats and other Donald Trump critics reacted incredulously to a New York Times report on Sunday that House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries met with Jared Kushner, the president’s influential son-in-law, to discuss possible areas of collaboration.

The reported meeting comes months ahead of the November midterm elections in which Democrats are favored to retake the US House, a development that would make Jeffries speaker. If they are in the majority, Democrats are expected to use their oversight power to aggressively investigate the Trump administration, including self-enrichment by the president and his family.

There are longstanding conflict-of-interest concerns about the way Kushner has continued to make money from foreign nations as he works on foreign affairs, including conflicts in Ukraine, Iran and Gaza.

Asked about the reported meeting, Jeffries said in a statement: “Throughout this Congress, Republicans have adopted a my-way-or-the-highway approach to governing that has failed the American people. To stop the madness, we have repeatedly made clear that an extremist approach will not work and will be met with forceful opposition.

More...

A sailor onboard the USS Abraham Lincoln on Saturday said his father was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Joshua Aviles has spent roughly nine months deployed at sea due to the Iran war amid reported shortages of clean water, food and supplies.

“I’ve been deployed for over nine months, out at sea in the Middle East aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, fighting for a country that has given me everything,” Aviles wrote in a post on Facebook.

“I just got a call that my dad was taken by ICE. If you know my dad, you know he is a hardworking, humble man who is always willing to help anyone if he can. My dad has his driver’s license, Social Security card, and work permit,” he added. 

Aviles said his father was waiting to get his green card approved at the time he was detained.

More....

Afast-growing wildfire forced over 42,000 people to evacuate near Reno, Nevada, over the weekend, while more than 40,000 others remained under evacuation warnings.

The blaze, dubbed the Hawk Fire, started northwest of Reno on the morning of Aug. 22 and quickly grew to more than 15,000 acres by the afternoon of Aug. 23, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Firefighters expect the fire to spread to the northeast, "impacting multiple major thoroughfares, structures, businesses" and infrastructure in Stead, Nevada, the fire center posted in an update.

Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo declared an emergency for Washoe County, which includes Reno and the northeast portion of Lake Tahoe. "This is an active and rapidly evolving situation, and I urge everyone in the affected areas to remain vigilant and follow the direction of local officials," said Lombardo in a statement shared on social media.

The Hawk fire had burned an undetermined number of structures, according to Shane Akerson, a battalion chief with the Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District during an Aug. 23 briefing. The fire, which started in the Peavine Peak area of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, was human-caused and the source of the ignition remains under active investigation, Akerson said. At least six people had been injured, including three civilians and three first responders.

More...

Israeli forces fired phosphorus shells and carried out air strikes and heavy artillery attacks across several areas of southern Lebanon overnight and early Saturday, Lebanese state media reported.

Heavy Israeli artillery fire targeted the town of Mansouri, the area around Bayt al-Sayyad and the outskirts of Majdal Zoun early on Saturday, Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA) reported.

Israeli forces also carried out extensive attacks overnight in Mansouri, Majdal Zoun and Bayt al-Sayyad, the agency said.

NNA reported extensive destruction to homes in Bayt al-Sayyad, saying no house in the town had been left undamaged.

Similar explosions were reported in Hadatha, Beit Yahoun and Aita al-Jabal, while Israeli forces also directed machine-gun fire towards nearby valleys, according to the agency.

More...

Omaha police recently agreed to stop carrying gloves that can deliver electric shocks to students in the halls of Nebraska’s largest public school district.

The decision affecting most Omaha middle and high schools came after the Associated Press first revealed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)’s plan to give officers the “Gloves” – or “generated low output voltage emitters”. The devices have also been used in recent years by some jails.

The superintendent of Omaha public schools, Matthew Ray, on 18 August requested that police working in the schools, known as school resource officers, stop using the gloves. Omaha police agreed two days later.

However, the suburban Bellevue police department that patrols two Omaha schools and the large Bellevue district said its officers will continue carrying the gloves. Three other large school districts in the metro area that have Omaha school resource officers assigned to their buildings have not taken action to stop police from using the devices.

More...