Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti sent a letter to the CEOs of American Express, Visa, and Mastercard inquiring about the companies’ plans to comply with a state law set to take effect in the Volunteer State on Monday, July 1 concerning financial transaction data associated with firearm and ammunition purchases.
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Commentary: Consumers Can’t Afford the Credit Card Competition Act
The Credit Card Competition Act is great for big-box retailers like Target, but it’s extremely harmful for consumers.
American families are struggling through a cost of living crisis. Many are not saving for the future, they are struggling to stay above the water. Currently, over 60 percent of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, up two percentage points from last year. Some families are struggling to afford basic necessities like gas and groceries.
Read the full storyTennessee Attorney General Leading Opposition to Major Credit Card Providers’ Lists of Gun Purchasers
After last week’s news that American Express, Mastercard and Visa, plan to keep lists of those who purchase weapons using their credit card services, Tennessee’s Attorney General is leading a coalition of 24 of his peers from various states in opposition of that plan.
“Giant financial companies must not use their combined market power to circumvent our
representative democracy,” said Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti. “As Attorney
General, I protect the people of Tennessee from corporate collusion that threatens to undermine their constitutional rights. Working together with my colleagues from other states, we will marshal the full scope of our lawful authority to stop this abuse.”
Judge Says Visa Knew It Was Allegedly Enabling Site to Host Child Porn
U.S. District Judge Cormac J. Carney allowed Visa to remain a defendant in a lawsuit charging the company with conspiracy in circulating child sexual abuse materials July 29, according to court materials.
Rape and child abuse survivors and victims of porn revenge are suing MindGeek, the company that runs PornHub, for allegedly circulating child sex abuse materials, according to the lawsuit. Carney suggested that Visa holds some responsibility for knowingly profiting off of child pornography.
Read the full storyCommentary: Don’t Watch the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics
In December, the United States, United Kingdom and Australia all announced diplomatic boycotts against the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, and since then, several other nations around the world have joined the boycott.
A diplomatic boycott means that government officials from those nations will not attend the Olympic Games. This sent an important message to the citizens of those countries that attending the games even as spectators is immoral and at odds with the spirit of their own nation.
The Chinese Communist Party knew this, and in a preemptive attempt to avoid the embarrassment of empty bleachers, it made a decision on Jan. 17 not to sell spectator tickets to people from outside China’s mainland, and invite in controlled groups instead.
Read the full storyState Department to Waive Fees for Immigrants Denied Visas During Travel Ban to Reapply
The State Department will waive fees for immigrants seeking visas to come to the U.S. if they were previously denied one because of the Trump administration’s travel ban, according to a Wednesday announcement.
“An IV applicant who is the beneficiary of a valid immigration petition may submit another visa application after being refused and in most circumstances they are required to pay again the relevant application fees,” according to a Federal Register rule published Wednesday. “The Department exempts from such fees only those IV applicants who are applying again after being refused” a visa under the travel ban.
The ban prevented immigration from Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen. President Joe Biden issued an executive order repealing the ban on his first day in office in January 2021.
Read the full story‘They Lied to Us’: Hundreds of American Citizens and Others with Green Cards Were Left in Afghanistan
Hundreds of American citizens and people with green cards were left in Afghanistan after U.S. forces withdrew from the country, the Associated Press reported Thursday.
U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents who were left in Afghanistan were reportedly told after the last American flight took off from the Kabul international airport to expect information about routes out of the country, Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland said, according to the AP.
“We will communicate directly to them personalized instructions on what they should do, when they should do it, and how the United States government feels we are best positioned to help them do that,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said, the AP reported.
Read the full storyState Department Suspends Visa Services Across the World
The State Department is suspending visa services in most countries across the world, the Trump administration’s latest response to mitigating the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
In a statement released late Wednesday, the State Department announced it’s cancelling all routine immigrant and nonimmigrant appoints at embassies and consulates in numerous countries. The suspensions became effective immediately, and no specific date was provided on when services would begin again.
Read the full storyTwo More Countries are Hit with Visa Sanctions for Refusing to Take Back Deportees
by Will Racke The Trump administration has hit certain government officials from Burma and Laos with visa sanctions as punishment for both countries’ refusal to take back their citizens the U.S. is trying to deport, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced Tuesday. Going forward, the U.S. embassy in Rangoon, Burma, will halt the issuance of tourist and business non-immigrant visas to senior officials in the ministries of Labor, Immigration, Population and Home Affairs. In Laos, the U.S. mission will no longer grant tourist and business nonimmigrant visas to senior officials from the Laotian Ministry of Public Security. The restrictions also apply to the officials’ immediate families, DHS said. The sanctions come after a review by DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, who determined that Burma and Laos have “denied or unreasonably delayed” accepting citizens ordered removed from the U.S. They will remain in place until Nielsen notifies Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that cooperation on deportees has improved, according to DHS. “The decision to sanction a recalcitrant country is not taken lightly,” the department said in a statement. “DHS makes significant efforts, in collaboration with the State Department, to encourage countries to accept the prompt, lawful return of their nationals who are subject…
Read the full storyCommentary: The Real Immigration Battle Is Going to Be Over Chain Migration
by Printus LeBlanc Following the New York City terrorist attack last week, many people were shocked to find out the attacker was an invited guest to the U.S., via the visa lottery program. The visa lottery program is the shiny object in the media right now, but the real danger is the chain migration that eventually brings an immigrant’s entire family to the U.S. Current U.S. immigration policy is based on family reunification. This includes immediate relatives of U.S. citizens, a separate category from the families of legal permanent residents. Immediate relatives include spouses, children under 21, and parents. But family reunification of immigrant arrivals in addition to U.S. citizens has also been a basis for admitting immigrants, but the priority went to the highly-educated and skilled. The promotion of family reunification originated with the 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The INA established a hierarchy of family-based preferences, like parents, adult children, and adult siblings. However, priority still went to highly-educated or skilled immigrants. The Immigration Act of 1965 (Hart-Celler Act) was the next piece of legislation to influence chain migration. The bill went beyond simply promoting family reunification and made it the priority of U.S. immigration policy.…
Read the full storyDonald Trump Slams Chuck Schumer, Immigration System in Wake of NYC Terror Attack
President Trump slammed an immigration program Wednesday that he claims admitted the suspect responsible for the attack in New York City. “The terrorist came into our country through what is called the ‘Diversity Visa Lottery Program,’ a Chuck Schumer beauty. I want merit based,” Mr. Trump tweeted, referring to the New York Democratic senator. Mr. Trump…
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