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[1/5] A few of the more than 200 freed political prisoners from Nicaragua disembark from a bus after they arrived in the United States at Dulles International Airport in Virginia near Washington, U.S., February 9, 2023. A Nicaraguan judge denounced the 222 prisoners released as "traitors" in a televised statement, and said they had been "deported." The released prisoners will be allowed to enter the United States on emergency humanitarian grounds, the administration of President Joe Biden said in a note to Congress. She added: "This sovereign decision of the Nicaraguan state has been taken in the supreme interest of our country, to live in harmony." In addition to the 222 individuals who went to the United States, two others were freed but chose not to travel, the State Department said.

☆ Factbox: Who was freed in Nicaragua's surprise political prisoners release?
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Cristiana Chamorro and Pedro Joaquin ChamorroCristiana Chamorro was placed under house arrest in 2021, just as she was leading Ortega in polls to unseat him as president at elections. Her brother Pedro Joaquin Chamorro was also arrested and jailed the same month, according to newspaper La Prensa. Arturo CruzAn academic who was Nicaragua's ambassador to the United States between 2007 and 2009, Cruz was arrested in 2021 after returning to Managua from Washington. Like Mairena, he was arrested in 2021 over accusations of crimes during the 2018 protests. On Thursday, he declined to board the plane to Washington, preferring to stay home instead, one of only two prisoners to do so.

☆ U.S. imposes sanctions on MS-13 gang members in Nicaragua, Honduras
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 8 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Wednesday on two members of the international criminal gang MS-13, accusing them of involvement in drug trafficking and murder in Central America and the United States. The sanctions against the two individuals -- an MS-13 leader in Honduras and an associate with the gang in Nicaragua -- are part of a broader U.S. government effort to disrupt the group's activities and financing, the department said in a statement. "Treasury's sanctions against MS-13 aim to interrupt its use of the financial system to launder illicit proceeds," department official Brian E. Nelson said. The leader in Honduras, Archaga Caria, has distributed cocaine from that country to the United States, and has ordered the murders of rival gang members, the department said. The MS-13 associate, Campbell Licona, used businesses the gang owned or controlled to launder drug proceeds, including through U.S. banks, the department said.

☆ Haitians seen crushing into migration centers seeking passports to U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/4] Haitians gather outside an immigration office looking for turns to apply for a passport days after Haiti police blocked streets and broke into the airport during a protest demanding justice for fellow police officers killed by armed gangs, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti February 2, 2023. REUTERS/Ricardo ArduengoPORT-AU-PRINCE, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Haitians desperate for passports to apply for a U.S. migration program crowded local migration centers, according to videos shared on social media on Friday, crushing through small doorways and scaling the outside of stairways. Videos from Haiti's Lalue migration office and an improvised center at a sports facility in the capital Port-au-Prince show people climbing on railings of stairs and being crushed as they fight their way through crowds, clutching document envelopes. The move comes as the country expands Trump-era restrictions to rapidly expel migrants caught illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border on foot. Reporting by Harold Isaac in Port-au-Prince and Sarah Morland in Mexico City; Editing by Sandra MalerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

WASHINGTON, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Ticketmaster is preparing to sell tickets for Beyonce's first tour in six years in a different way, hoping to avoid a repeat of last year's Taylor Swift debacle. Ticketmaster tweeted on Thursday that the demand to register for a chance to buy tickets for concerts in the nine cities in Group A, whose registration closed on Friday, exceeded the number of tickets by more than 800%. The North American leg of Beyonce's tour opens in Toronto on July 8 and closes in New Orleans on Sept. 27, according to the Ticketmaster website. After loud complaints from Taylor Swift fans, the company blamed more than 3.5 billion requests from fans, bots and scalpers for its overwhelmed website. On Thursday, the Judiciary Committee retweeted a news report about the Beyonce tour announcement and tweeted to @Ticketmaster, "We're watching."

☆ Chaos and intrigue reign in UK court fight over Castro-era Cuban debt
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Michelle Caruso-Cabrera | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The Cuban government and an investment firm are battling in a British court over decades-old debts racked up by the communist-run island nation. Kin Cheung | APIllegally recorded videos, chaotic protests and testimony from an imprisoned Cuban bank official marked the first week of a high-stakes trial in the UK High Court between Cuba and an investment fund. Adding to the intrigue: a court attendee who's a dead ringer for Raul Castro's son and Fidel Castro's nephew, Alejandro. Cuban officials say the man is just a press officer for the Cuban Embassy in the UK. Debt in distressDefaulted sovereign debt, like that of Cuba, trades on the secondary market.

☆ Haitians in the U.S. feel pressure to sponsor friends, family back home
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Brian Ellsworth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

"Many people unfortunately are not in a position to sponsor family members or friends back home, but they are receiving calls nonstop." She said her clients have described being expected to sponsor entire extended families and in some cases face threats. "I would say it's also a program that will place undue stress on families and cause family divisions." "People will say 'I have more than one cousin I would like to sponsor, I'm only able to sponsor one of them,'" Jozef said. She is also opposed to the expulsions of Haitians and other migrants arriving at the southwest border, many who are seeking U.S. asylum.

☆ U.S. to end COVID-19 emergency declarations on May 11
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Jan 30 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden's administration on Monday said it will end COVID-19 emergency declarations on May 11, nearly three years after the United States imposed sweeping pandemic measures to curb the spread of the illness. The COVID-19 national emergency and public health emergency (PHE) were put in place in 2020 by then-President Donald Trump. Biden has repeatedly extended the measures, which allow millions of Americans to receive free tests, vaccines and treatments. The government has been paying for COVID-19 vaccines, some tests and certain treatments under the PHE declaration. COVID-19 cases are declining in the United States, though more than 500 people continue to die each day from the disease, government data showed.

Video recordings from police body-worn cameras and a camera mounted on a utility pole showed Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, repeatedly calling "Mom!" as officers kicked, punched and struck him with a baton in his mother's neighborhood after a Jan. 7 traffic stop. The release of the clips on Friday sparked protests in Memphis and elsewhere and prompted numerous cities to prepare for additional demonstrations on Saturday. Nichols' family and officials, including President Joe Biden, have expressed outrage and sorrow but have urged protesters to remain peaceful. The initial traffic stop was for reckless driving, though the police chief has said the cause for the stop has not been substantiated.

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☆ 77 Democrats send a letter to Biden criticizing his border and immigration policies
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Julia-Ainsley-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Julia Ainsley | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

A group of 77 Democratic lawmakers sent a letter to President Joe Biden on Wednesday criticizing his administration’s policies restricting asylum access for migrants crossing the southern border. At a press conference Thursday, Menendez said, “We recognize that the United States is experiencing a difficult migration challenge at the southern border. The Biden administration has said that its proposal is different because Miller did not allow for migrants to apply from their home countries to come to the U.S. legally. Biden has faced intense criticism over his border policies from both parties, with Republicans saying they are unwilling to negotiate on immigration legislation or more funding for border initiatives until the administration does more to secure the border. Customs and Border Protection encountered undocumented migrants more than 250,000 times in December, a record monthly high to end a record high year of border encounters.

[1/3] A 3D printed Google logo is placed on the Apple Macbook in this illustration taken April 12, 2020. Apple Inc (AAPL.O), which is steadily growing its nascent advertising business and promoting it as privacy-focused, could be a winner if Google ads become less effective, said Brian Mandelbaum, chief executive of marketing firm Attain. With more options besides Google, publishers will have more transparency over how much they can sell ad space for, and could end up paying less in fees, Mandelbaum said. If Google loses access to data signals, advertisers could see their Google ads become less effective, said Nikhil Lai, senior analyst at research firm Forrester. While the lawsuit settled, the fight is credited with opening the way for other internet innovators, like Google itself.

☆ U.S. arrests of Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan and Venezuelan migrants plummet under new restrictions
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON, Jan 25 (Reuters) - The number of migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela caught crossing the U.S.-Mexico border dropped 97% from December to January following new restrictions by U.S. President Joe Biden that expel them back to Mexico. U.S. authorities encountered an average of just 115 migrants from those countries over a weeklong period ending on Jan. 24, down from an average 3,367 on Dec. 11, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said on Wednesday. The department attributed the decrease to the restrictions and new legal pathways opened for migrants with U.S. sponsors who enter by air. Reporting by Ted Hesson in Washington D.C.Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The lawsuit tackles a business at Google that is responsible for 80 percent of its revenue. The Justice Department asked the court to compel Google to break up its ad technology business. Eight states joined the department in Tuesday's lawsuit, including Google's home state of California. The lawsuit says "Google has thwarted meaningful competition and deterred innovation in the digital advertising industry." In addition to its well-known search, which is free, Google makes revenue through its interlocking ad tech businesses, which connect advertisers with newspapers, websites and other firms looking to host them.

REUTERS/Benoit TessierWASHINGTON, Jan 24 (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) Google on Tuesday over allegations that the company abused its dominance of the digital advertising business. "Google has used anticompetitive, exclusionary, and unlawful means to eliminate or severely diminish any threat to its dominance over digital advertising technologies," the government said in its antitrust complaint. The Justice Department asked the court to compel Google to divest its Google Ad manager suite, including its ad exchange AdX. The lawsuit is the second federal antitrust complaint filed against Google, alleging violations of antitrust law in how the company acquires or maintains its dominance. The Justice Department lawsuit filed against Google in 2020 focuses on its monopoly in search and is scheduled to go to trial in September.

☆ Illegal border crossings in December surged to highest of Biden's presidency
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON — A surge in Cuban and Nicaraguan arrivals at the U.S. border with Mexico in December led to the highest number of illegal border crossings recorded during any month of Joe Biden’s presidency, authorities said Friday. The extraordinary influx came shortly before Biden introduced measures on Jan. 5 to deter Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans. U.S. authorities stopped migrants 251,487 times along the Mexican border in December, up 7% from 234,896 times in November and up 40% from 179,253 times in December 2021, Customs and Border Protection said. Cubans were stopped nearly 43,000 times in December, up 23% from November and more than quintuple the same period a year earlier. Nicaraguans were stopped more than 35,000 times, up 3% from November and more than double from December 2021.

The app CBP One had already been in use by the administration for some purposes but was officially expanded to allow asylum seekers to be prescreened. Those who qualify are given appointments for a time and date and port of entry where they can enter the U.S. and begin their asylum request process. Many migrants have phones, but others arrive without them or have limited or no WiFi access. Groups have also raised concerns about how app users' personal information will be used and stored. He recommended migrants avoid taking the risks to cross the border and use the app instead.

☆ Texas spent nearly $9 million busing migrants over the holidays, according to records obtained by Insider
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Texas spent just under $9 million busing migrants across the country over the holidays. In total, Texas has now spent roughly $29 million on the program since April 2022. According to public records obtained by Insider, Abbott's migrant bus program cost the Texas Division of Emergency Management $8.97 million over the November and December holidays. Many of those on these Texas buses are people seeking asylum — a legal right — fleeing poverty and political persecution in countries such as Nicaragua, Cuba, and Venezuela. In November, Domingo Garcia, president of the League of United Latin American Citizens, or LULAC, argued that the millions spent busing migrants would have been better spent elsewhere, according to WFAA.

Jan 19 (Reuters) - David Crosby, one of the most influential rock singers of the 1960s and '70s with the Byrds and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (CSNY) has died at the age of 81, Variety reported on Thursday, citing a statement from Crosby's wife. "I don’t know what to say other than I’m heartbroken to hear about David Crosby. He fell "as low as a human being can go," Crosby told the Times. In the 2019 documentary "David Crosby: Remember My Name," he made clear he hoped they could work together again but conceded the others "really dislike me, strongly." After his release, Crosby told People magazine he had beaten his addictions.

☆ Americans can sponsor refugees directly under program launching this week
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Ted Hesson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Groups of Americans will be able to directly sponsor refugees for resettlement in the United States under a new program launching on Thursday, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters, a step that could bolster admissions and reduce government costs. The sponsor groups will also be required to pass background checks and create a support plan. The program will aim to find U.S. sponsors for 5,000 refugees in fiscal year 2023, which ends on Sept. 30, another of the sources said. The administration also used parole to admit Afghans and Ukrainians and piloted sponsor programs to support them in the United States. Refugee Resettlement Program, which takes referrals from the United Nations and U.S. embassies.

☆ Americans can sponsor refugees directly under program launching this week -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Ted Hesson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

☆ Americans see Biden's handling of classified docs as inappropriate — but not criminal, poll shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Kevin Breuninger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The survey also found Biden's job approval among Americans sliding further into the red. But a plurality of Americans, 46% to 37%, do not think Biden should face criminal charges over the mishandling of those documents, Quinnipiac found. "Roughly two-thirds of Americans are aware of and troubled by the misplaced classified documents found in President Biden's home and private office. The questions about the classified documents had a margin of error of plus-or-minus 2.6 percentage points. For questions not related to Biden's handling of classified documents, Quinnipiac surveyed 1,659 adults between Wednesday and Sunday.

The Justice Department's lawsuit, filed by the Trump administration, alleged that Google violated antitrust law in how it maintained dominance in search and search advertising. For example, it pointed to billions of dollars that Google paid annually to Apple (AAPL.O), LG Electronics Inc (066570.KS) and others to ensure that Google search was the default on their devices. The company also argued that there was no evidence that agreements that Google made related to Google Assistant or Internet-of-Things devices hurt competition. Google faces additional allegations of antitrust violations from dozens of states. It also argues that Google broke antitrust law to hamper rivals, such as travel-oriented websites.

☆ Detained Nicaraguan Catholic bishop, Ortega critic to face trial
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MANAGUA, Jan 10 (Reuters) - A prominent Catholic bishop in Nicaragua who has sharply criticized authoritarian President Daniel Ortega will go to trial while under house arrest, a judge ruled on Tuesday, in the latest clamp down on dissent in the country. Human rights organizations accuse Ortega's government of persecuting the Catholic Church. Another prominent cleric, Bishop Silvio Baez, is in exile in the United States along with a number of other priests who have fled. The president has accused Catholic leaders of trying to overthrow him in a "coup" following anti-Ortega street protests that began in 2018. But as tensions have intensified, Ortega officials have expelled Catholic nuns and missionaries and shuttered more than a dozen Catholic radio and television stations.

☆ Guns, drugs and migrants: Biden heads to Mexico to face diplomatic challenges with North American allies
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Peter Nicholas | Peter Nicholas Is A Senior National Political Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

MEXICO CITY — When North American leaders gathered in 2021 — at the first summit for the group in five years — the mood was upbeat. Before he arrived in Mexico City on Sunday night, Biden stopped in El Paso, Texas, amid criticism from congressional Republicans that the southwest border has gotten more porous on his watch. Citing health concerns, López Obrador has called for banning imports of genetically modified corn. Ahead of the summit, the leaders sought to ease some of the strains and perhaps create a more convivial atmosphere. Rather than fly into the more conveniently located Mexico City hub airport, Air Force One landed Sunday at a new airport that was a pet project of López Obrador’s.

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