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☆ US Court Blocks Florida Law Barring Chinese Citizens From Owning Property
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-02 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Daniel Wiessner(Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court has blocked Florida from enforcing a ban on Chinese citizens owning homes or land in the state against two Chinese nationals who were in the process of buying property when the law was adopted. Circuit Court of Appeals said on Thursday the individuals were likely to prevail on claims that Florida's ban violates a federal law governing real estate purchases by foreign nationals. A Florida federal judge in August had declined to block the law, prompting an appeal by the plaintiffs. Lawmakers in several Republican-led states including Texas, Louisiana, and Alabama are considering similar restrictions on Chinese citizens owning property. It also bars most citizens of Cuba, Venezuela, Syria, Iran, Russia and North Korea from owning property near military installations and infrastructure such as power plants and airports.

Persons: Daniel Wiessner, Ashley Moody, Bethany Li, Li, Ron DeSantis, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Circuit, Appeals, Republican, Constitution, Asian American Legal Defense, Education Fund, Chinese Communist Party Locations: Florida, Atlanta, Texas , Louisiana, Alabama, China, Cuba, Venezuela, Syria, Iran, Russia, North Korea, Albany , New York

☆ Lawyer and Son Ensnared Hundreds of Immigrants in Fraud Scheme, U.S. Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-22 | by ( Claire Fahy | More About Claire Fahy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A Bronx lawyer and his son were arrested on Monday and charged with orchestrating a seven-year immigration scheme that defrauded hundreds of immigrants and caused some of them to be deported, federal prosecutors said. The lawyer, Kofi Amankwaa, 69, and his son, Kofi Amankwaa Jr., 37, advised clients seeking green cards to sign petitions under the Violence Against Women Act, which enables undocumented immigrants who are victims of abuse to gain lawful permanent residence in the United States, prosecutors said. The petitions falsely claimed that the clients were being abused by their children, who were American citizens. The applications for legal residency were often found to be fraudulent and denied, and some of the Amankwaas’ clients were deported. Their services cost as much as $6,000, plus administrative fees, the complaint said.

Persons: Kofi Amankwaa, Kofi Amankwaa Jr, Damian Williams Organizations: U.S, Southern, of Locations: United States, of New York, U.S

Leon Wildes, a prominent immigration lawyer best known for his landmark, yearslong fight in the 1970s to prevent John Lennon from being deported and enable the former Beatle to receive permanent residency in the U.S., has died at age 90. Thanks to Wildes' ingenuity and the shocking twists of politics in the 1970s, Lennon's deportation was delayed and ultimately revoked. His honors included the Edith Lowenstein Memorial Award for excellence in advancing the practice of immigration law and the Elmer Fried Excellence in Teaching Award. He attended Yeshiva College as an undergraduate and became interested in immigration law after working with the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society in the late 1950s. Wildes published articles in the Cardozo Law Review among other journals and wrote a book on the Lennon case, “John Lennon Vs. the USA,” that came out in 2016.

Persons: Leon Wildes, yearslong, John Lennon, Wildes, Englewood , New Jersey Mayor Michael Wildes —, Dad, Michael Wildes, Weinberg, “, ” Leon Wildes, Alan Kahn, Lennon, Yoko Ono, ”, Kahn, Jack Lemmon, Yoko Moto, Ono, Kyoko Chan Cox, John, Yoko, Richard Nixon, Lennon's, Nixon, Sen, Strom Thurmond, Thurmond, John Mitchell, Richard Kleindienst, J, Edgar Hoover, Fred Astaire, Dick Cavett, Saul Bellow, Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan, “ Leon, ” Lennon, Nixon's, Mitchell, Sean, Norman Mailer, Gloria Swanson, Barack Obama, Mick Jagger, ” Jagger, ” Wildes, Benjamin N, Edith Lowenstein, Elmer Fried, Alice Goldberg Wildes, “ John Lennon Vs, John Lennon ”, Pennyblackmusic.co.uk Organizations: Lenox Hill Hospital, Englewood , New Jersey Mayor, Wildes, New York University School of Law, American Immigration Lawyers Association, Apple Records, Beatles, South Carolina Republican, Naturalization Service, Los, Nixon, Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva College, Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, Cardozo Law, Beatles Fans Locations: U.S, Manhattan, Englewood , New Jersey, Olyphant, England, New York City, Vietnam, Tokyo, British, London, Los Angeles, New York, Norman, Pennsylvania, Chicago

☆ A driver made over $110,000 from Uber and Lyft in 2022 but took home only $14,000. After 6 years on the job, he's working toward a degree and a new career.
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-10 | by ( Noah Sheidlower | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Michael, a ride-hailing driver in his late 30s, made more than $110,000 in gross earnings driving for Uber and Lyft in 2022. He said he'd noticed ride-hailing driving had become increasingly less profitable after more than 17,000 rides across six years. AdvertisementAmericans with disabilities are increasingly looking to gig work — particularly ride-hailing driving — to pay their bills and to find work schedules that fit their needs. But for drivers such as Michael, gig work is unsustainable, given all the associated costs that go into ride-hailing driving and the lack of benefits. AdvertisementHe switched to Uber full-time shortly after, driving in the nighttime as rides were most profitable and competition was sparse.

Persons: Michael, Uber, who's, he'd, He's, we're, —, wasn't, hasn't Organizations: Service, Business, Uber, New Jersey —, Arizona State University, Diamond Locations: New Jersey, New York City, New Jersey — New York, York, nsheidlower@businessinsider.com

HOMESTEAD, Fla. (AP) — In New York, migrants at a city-run shelter grumble that relatives who settled before them refuse to offer a bed. In South Florida, some immigrants complain that people who came later get work permits that are out of reach for them. Across the country, mayors, governors and others have been forceful advocates for newly arrived migrants seeking shelter and work permits. The administration said in September that it would work to reduce wait times for work permits to 30 days for those using the new pathways. The Washington rally reflected an effort by advocates to push for work permits for all, regardless of when they came.

Persons: Joe Biden, ”, “ Chuy ” Garcia, José Guerrero, ” Guerrero, “, Angel Hernandez, Hernandez, Adriana Trino, “ We're, Diego Torres, Santiago Marquez, hasn't, –, They’ve, ” Lawrence Benito, ___ Tareen, J, Elliot Spagat, Erik Verduzco Organizations: U.S, Rep, Chicago Democrat, . Citizenship, Immigration Services, Biden, Latin American Coalition, American Association, Washington, Illinois Coalition, Immigrant, Refugee Rights, Chicago, Associated Press, Rico Locations: Fla, New York, Chicago, South Florida, Washington, Mexico, Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Homestead , Florida, Miami, Denver, Los Angeles, Houston, U.S, Venezuelan, Panama’s, Darien, Colombia, United States, Midtown Manhattan, Charlotte , North Carolina, In Atlanta, Homestead, Atlanta

☆ A Gen Z private-jet pilot shares what her job is like and why dating can be tough
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-23 | by ( Jordi Lippe-Mcgraw | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The French-born pilot said she went from a novice flyer at 19 to a private-jet pilot making $60,000 in three years. It doesn't have to take years to become a private-jet pilotMarcus is a Gen Z private-jet pilot. Marcus worked for a year teaching flight lessons at a flight school in Tampa before she was offered a job as a private-jet pilot. AdvertisementThe schedule is 20 days on, 10 days offBeing a private-jet pilot is not a typical 9-to-5. Eva Marcus.

Persons: Eva Marcus, Marcus, she's, —, Eva Marcus Marcus, Eva Marcus The, She's, they're Organizations: Gulfstream, Service, Labor Statistics, Marriott Locations: Peru, South Korea, Florida, Tampa, France, Colombia, Lima , Peru, Caribbean, Denver, Tampa , Florida, Ohio

☆ OpenAI staff are putting their visas at risk to get Sam Altman back as CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

700 OpenAI employees have signed a letter threatening to quit if Sam Altman isn't reinstated as CEO. Some of them say they are on work-dependent visas, which they could lose if they are forced to quit. It's a sign of how much loyalty Altman has inspired among staff. AdvertisementOpenAI's employees are calling on the company's board to bring back Sam Altman — and some are even willing to put their visas at risk to get him back as CEO. A number of senior OpenAI employees are already expected to follow Altman and ex-OpenAI president Greg Brockman to Microsoft.

Persons: Sam Altman isn't, It's, Altman, —, Sam Altman —, Sam Altman, Mira Murati, Ilya Sutskever —, Reiichiro Nakano, Boris Power, Emmett Shear, Greg Brockman, Satya Nadella, Kara Swisher, OpenAI Organizations: Service, Microsoft, Business

[1/3] A redacted online resume of a North Korean IT worker is shown in this screenshot of a report obtained by Reuters on November 20, 2023. The documents contain dozens of fraudulent resumes, online profiles, interview notes, and forged identities that North Korean workers used to apply for jobs in software development. Some of the scripts, designed to prepare the workers for interview questions, contain excuses for the need to work remotely. North Korean developers working at U.S. companies had hidden behind pseudonymous email and social media accounts and generated millions of dollars a year on behalf of sanctioned North Korean entities through the scheme, the DOJ said. The researchers, part of Palo Alto's Unit 42 cyber research division, made the discovery when examining a campaign by North Korean hackers that targeted software developers.

Persons: Richard, Covid, Richard Lee, “, James Pearson, Ted Hesson, Daphne Psaledakis, Chris Sanders, Anna Driver Organizations: North, Reuters, Palo Alto Networks, REUTERS Acquire, Palo Alto, United Nations, United, United Arab Emirates, U.S . Justice Department, DOJ, Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI, North Korean, U.S, of Liberty, Palo Alto's, Constella Intelligence, U.S . Department of Homeland Security, Thomson Locations: North Korean, Korean, North Korea, United States, South Korea, U.S, Chile, New Zealand, Uzbekistan, United Arab, Singapore, Los Angeles, LA, China, Russia, Africa, Southeast Asia, Pyongyang, Palo, Britain, Japan, Spain, Australia, Washington

☆ Opinion | Checks and Balances Are for Losers
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Jamelle Bouie | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

As several of my Times colleagues reported last week, he hopes to institute a program of mass detainment and deportation of undocumented immigrants. Trump also intends to circumvent the 14th Amendment so that he can end birthright citizenship for the children of unauthorized immigrants. They may fail — in fact, they often do — but presidents try to keep their campaign promises and act on their campaign plans. He said he would “build a wall,” and he tried to build a wall. He said he would try to keep Muslims out of the country, and he tried to keep Muslims out of the country.

Persons: Trump, — Trump, “, ” Trump, we’ll, — Locations: U.S, Mexico, United States

SpaceX logo and Elon Musk silhouette are seen in this illustration taken, December 19, 2022. U.S. District Judge Rolando Olvera in Brownsville, Texas said in a written order late Wednesday that administrative judges at the Justice Department who hear cases involving anti-immigrant bias were not properly appointed. Olvera blocked the department's case, which was filed in August, from moving forward pending the outcome of SpaceX's September lawsuit claiming the administrative case violates the U.S. Constitution. The Justice Department and SpaceX did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Thursday. In its lawsuit, the company claims that administrative judges are appointed by the U.S. attorney general but have powers that should be reserved only for officials appointed by the president.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Elon, Rolando Olvera, Olvera, Musk, Daniel Wiessner, Jan Harvey Organizations: SpaceX, Elon, REUTERS, U.S . Department of Justice, U.S, District, Justice Department, . Constitution, The Justice Department, U.S . Senate, Thomson Locations: U.S, Brownsville , Texas, ., Albany , New York

The settlement is the largest ever for the Justice Department involving claims of discrimination based on citizenship, the agency said. It requires Apple to pay $6.75 million in civil penalties and $18.25 million to an unspecified number of affected workers. The Justice Department did not specify which Apple jobs were affected by the recruitment procedures or how Apple may have benefited from them. Along with the payout, Apple agreed to align its recruiting for PERM jobs with its normal practices. The company will be required to conduct more expansive recruitment and train employees on anti-discrimination laws, according to the settlement.

Persons: Mike Segar, Apple, Daniel Wiessner, Alexia Garamfalvi, Deepa Babington Organizations: Apple Inc, Apple, REUTERS, U.S . Department of Justice, Justice Department, Justice, DOJ, The Justice, Thomson Locations: Manhattan , New York, U.S, PERM, Albany , New York

☆ We moved to Texas from Europe. We're paying much more for our house, but the neighbors are friendly and the weather is great.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-05 | by ( Alcynna Lloyd | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

John Brunner and his wife, Manon, moved from Avignon, France, to Kyle, Texas, in 2022. The couple chose the area in part because California and Austin, Texas, were too expensive. The Austin area came up in our search. Kyle, Texas. Center Street, a main drag in Kyle, Texas.

Persons: John Brunner, Manon, Kyle, —, wouldn't, Kyle We, I've, she's, Kyle Kyle Organizations: Service, Google Locations: Avignon, France, Kyle , Texas, California, Austin , Texas, United States, I'm, Chicago, Austin, South, Fredericksburg, Southern, City, Texas, From Illinois, America, Arizona, New Mexico, Woodstock , Illinois

Eventually he found a ride, but he and the driver were terrified while driving from central Gaza on the enclave’s empty streets. Family members of those who could evacuate were sometimes barred from leaving, because they did not have foreign citizenship or the necessary documents, forcing people into difficult decisions. “We just want one thing: Help us to leave Gaza,” Ms. Abu Middain said. Mkhaimar Abu Sada, 58, an associate professor of political science at Al-Azhar University in Gaza, was accompanying his two sons, both in their 20s, at the Rafah crossing on Thursday. He said they had American citizenship, but that he was not allowed to leave because he has only an American green card.

Persons: ” Ala, ” Ala Al Husseini, Al Husseini, Israel, “, ”, Hisham Adwan, Al Qahera, Adala Abu Middain, Maha, Ms, Abu Middain, Matthew Miller, Mkhaimar Abu Sada, Lena Beseiso, Iyad Abuheweila, Vivian Yee, Anna Betts Organizations: American Embassy, State Department, Al, Azhar University Locations: Rafah, Gaza, Egypt, “, ”, ” Ala Al, Austrian, Cairo, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belgium, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, American

Many civil society leaders told CNBC the order does not go far enough to recognize and address real-world harms that stem from AI models — especially those affecting marginalized communities. "One of the thrusts of the executive order is definitely that 'AI can improve governmental administration, make our lives better and we don't want to stand in way of innovation,'" Venzke told CNBC. Mitchell wished she had seen "foresight" approaches highlighted in the executive order, such as disaggregated evaluation approaches, which can analyze a model as data is scaled up. Even experts who praised the executive order's scope believe the work will be incomplete without action from Congress. For example, it seeks to work within existing immigration law to make it easier to retain high-skilled AI workers in the U.S.

Persons: Kamala Harris applauds, Joe Biden, Maya Wiley, Biden, Kamala Harris, Cody Venzke, Venzke, Margaret Mitchell, Mitchell, Joy Buolamwini, Divyansh Kaushik, Kaushik Organizations: White, Conference, Civil, Human, CNBC, American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU, League, Federation of American Locations: Washington ,, Washington , DC, New York, U.S

☆ I moved to the US from Italy and it's been a rollercoaster. Here's what has shocked and disappointed me the most about America.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( Elle Hardy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Oana Adamopoulos moved to Washington, DC, in 2012 and then to Sarasota, Florida, in 2017. She was also shocked by the lack of maternity leave and the cost of healthcare. He was offered a job in policy at the Department of Labor in Washington, DC, and we decided to move to the United States. In Romania, new moms get 18 weeks of maternity leave paid at 85% of income, which is not taxed. We moved to Sarasota, Florida, in 2017We moved to Florida in 2017, shortly after our daughter was born, to try to improve our quality of life.

Persons: Oana Adamopoulos, —, There's, it's, I've Organizations: Service, Department of Labor, DC, Florida Locations: Washington, DC, Sarasota , Florida, Europe, Romania, Italy, Greece, Washington ,, United States, America, Florida

"Unless Zelenskiy gets rid of Tatarov, he won't be seen as serious in purging the country of corruption," she told Reuters. "He knew about law enforcement and warned us to be careful about saying almost anything on the phone," Maiboroda told Reuters. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) said experts would need to study the material to verify it. "The main thing is that a person is honest," Zelenskiy told reporters several days after Tatarov's appointment. Zelenskiy told Ukrainian television network ICTV in October 2021 that the offshore arrangement was to protect his TV production business from political pressure by the Yanukovych government.

Persons: Oleh Maiboroda, Maiboroda, Oleh Tatarov, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Tatarov, Maiboroda's, Ukraine's, Zelenskiy, Kyiv pollsters, Oleksii Reznikov, Reznikov, Daria Kaleniuk, Nicola Mirto, Mirto, Viktor Yanukovych, Yanukovich's, Maxym Mykytas, Mykytas, Maiborada, NABU, Yanukovych, –, General Iryna Venediktova, Artem Sytnyk, Sytnyk, didn't, Oleksiy Symonenko, Symonenko, Andriy Yermak, Yermak, Denys, Dmytro Shtanko, Liudmyla, Sergey Shefir, Shefir, Vyacheslav Shapovalov, Yaroslav Zheleznyak, Zheleznyak, Zelensky, Ihor, Kolomoisky, Semen Kryvonos, Kaleniuk, ”, Stephen Grey, Dan Peleschuk, Janet McBride Organizations: Reuters, Ukrbud, Prosecutors, Ukraine's, European Union, International Monetary Fund, Kyiv, Kyiv Independent, Tatarov, Ministry, Interior Ministry, Virgin Islands, ICTV, National Agency for, Ministry of Defence, Kiel Institute, NATO, Thomson Locations: VIENNA, KYIV, Vienna, Ukraine, Tatarov, Russia, Europe, European, Kyiv, Italian, Ukrainian, Soviet Ukraine, Zelenskiy's, Switzerland, Spain, Soviet, United States, Irpin

According to Maiboroda, Mykytas used Tatarov for difficult tasks, including bribe payments on behalf of Ukrbud Development. "He knew about law enforcement and warned us to be careful about saying almost anything on the phone," Maiboroda told Reuters. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) said experts would need to study the material to verify it. "The main thing is that a person is honest," Zelenskiy told reporters several days after Tatarov's appointment. Zelenskiy told Ukrainian television network ICTV in October 2021 that the offshore arrangement was to protect his TV production business from political pressure by the Yanukovych government.

☆ Commerce secretary says US has ‘open lines of communication’ with China
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-03 | by ( Eva Rothenberg | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The economic relationship between the US and China is mutually beneficial and opening lines of communication is key to maintaining it, US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told CNN’s Dana Bash on Sunday. She is the fourth cabinet member to visit China this year and the first commerce secretary to visit China in five years. China hit back earlier this summer with its own export controls on gallium and germanium, raw materials essential for producing chips. But during her China visit, Raimondo was clear the US does not want to completely decouple from China when it comes to these semiconductors and chips. “We have plenty of tools in our toolbox … export controls, outbound investment screening, tariffs, countervailing duties.

Persons: Gina Raimondo, CNN’s Dana Bash, Raimondo, ”, Biden, ” Raimondo, “, –, Laura He, Michelle Toh Organizations: CNN, US, Union, Department of, US Commerce Department Locations: China, “ State

☆ August Jobs Report U.S. Job Growth Expected to Cool
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( Lydia Depillis | Joe Rennison | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Forecasters believe that trend continued in August, estimating that the Labor Department’s monthly report on Friday will show the addition of 170,000 jobs. That would be a decrease from the 218,000-job average over the previous three months, and closer to the number needed to employ the approximately 140,000 people who enter the labor force each month. But analysts say the Federal Reserve’s push to cool rapid inflation by ratcheting up borrowing costs — and the impact on hiring — has a ways to go. Immigrants work at higher rates than the American-born population, in which labor force participation is declining as people age into retirement. Already, Americans are feeling the difference: In the Conference Board’s reading of consumer sentiment for August, the share of workers saying jobs were “hard to get” increased sharply, while the share saying jobs were “plentiful” fell.

Persons: —, ’ ”, Stephen Juneau, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, “ There’s, we’ve Organizations: Labor, Bank of America Locations: American, ”

Export control laws restrict companies from sharing sensitive information and technology with certain individuals from other countries. Rebecca Bernhard, a Minneapolis-based labor lawyer who represents companies, said employers subject to export control laws often ignore the ban on citizenship-based bias in the federal Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), exposing them to legal action. Out of more than 10,000 hires, SpaceX only hired one asylee during that period, according to the lawsuit. The DOJ did not directly cite its guidance in the SpaceX lawsuit, but used nearly identical language to describe the company's alleged violations. "Export control laws and regulations do not prohibit or restrict employers from hiring asylees and refugees; those laws treat asylees and refugees just like U.S. citizens," the department said.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Elon Musk, Rebecca Bernhard, Bernhard, aslyees, Musk, asylees, Daniel Wiessner, Amy Stevens, Deepa Babington Organizations: SpaceX, Elon, REUTERS, Space Exploration Technologies, U.S . Department of Justice, DOJ, General Motors Co, Immigration, INA, Justice Department, Companies, Thomson Locations: Minneapolis, U.S, United States, Albany , New York

SpaceX logo and Elon Musk silhouette are seen in this illustration taken, December 19, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Aug 24 (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department on Thursday sued Elon Musk-owned rocket and satellite company SpaceX for allegedly discriminating against asylum seekers and refugees in hiring. The Justice Department also pointed to online posts from the company's billionaire owner Musk as example of "discriminatory public statements." SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit. Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington, additional reporting by David Shepardson; editing by Paul Grant and Susan HeaveyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Elon, Musk, Kanishka Singh, David Shepardson, Paul Grant, Susan Heavey Organizations: SpaceX, Elon, REUTERS, Rights, U.S . Justice, Thursday, Elon Musk, Justice Department, The Justice, Thomson Locations: Washington

☆ US sues SpaceX, alleges hiring discrimination against asylum recipients, refugees
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Kanishka Singh | Thomson Reuters | Kanishka Singh Is A Breaking News Reporter For Reuters In Washington Dc | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Aug 24 (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department sued Elon Musk-owned rocket and satellite company SpaceX on Thursday for allegedly discriminating against asylum recipients and refugees in hiring. The Justice Department also pointed to online posts from the company's billionaire owner Musk as example of "discriminatory public statements." Musk described the Justice Department lawsuit against SpaceX as "weaponization of the DOJ for political purposes." Clarke also said SpaceX recruiters and high-level officials "actively discouraged" asylum recipients and refugees from seeking work opportunities at the company. The United States seeks fair consideration and back pay for asylum recipients and refugees who were deterred or denied employment at SpaceX due to the alleged discrimination, the Justice Department said.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Elon, Musk, Kristen Clarke, Clarke, Kanishka Singh, David Shepardson, Chandni Shah, Paul Grant, Susan Heavey, Frances Kerry, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: SpaceX, Elon, REUTERS, Rights, U.S . Justice Department, Elon Musk, Justice Department, The Justice, Justice, DOJ, United, Thomson Locations: United States, Washington

"SpaceX's discriminatory hiring practices were routine, widespread, and longstanding, and harmed asylees and refugees," Justice Department lawyers wrote in the lawsuit. AdvertisementAdvertisement"Export control laws and regulations do not prohibit or restrict employers from hiring asylees and refugees; those laws treat asylees and refugees just like U.S. citizens," the lawsuit says. The Justice Department's civil rights division, which brought the lawsuit, informed SpaceX in 2020 that it had initiated its investigation. SpaceX initially refused to hand over employment records and fought a Justice Department subpoena in court. "SpaceX recruiters and high-level officials took actions that actively discouraged asylees and refugees from seeking work opportunities at the company," Clarke said.

Persons: Elon Musk, asylees, Musk, Kristen Clarke, Clarke, SpaceX didn't, Tesla Organizations: SpaceX, Elon Musk's, Service, Justice, Defense, State, Justice Department, Twitter Locations: Wall, Silicon

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsAug 17 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge in Florida on Thursday declined to block the state's law barring citizens of China and other "countries of concern" from owning homes or land in the state. Winsor, an appointee of Republican then-President Donald Trump, denied a bid by four Chinese nationals to block the law pending the outcome of their lawsuit filed in May. Florida's law prohibits individuals who are "domiciled" in China and are not U.S. citizens or green card holders from purchasing buildings or land in the state. The ACLU claims the law violates the U.S. Constitution's guarantees of equal protection and due process and the federal Fair Housing Act (FHA), which prohibits housing discrimination based on race and national origin. The Biden administration filed a brief last month agreeing that the Florida law violates the FHA.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, District Judge Allen Winsor, Winsor, Donald Trump, Ashley Gorski, general's, Ron DeSantis, Biden, Daniel Wiessner, Alexia Garamfalvi Organizations: REUTERS, District, Republican, American Civil Liberties Union, U.S, Chinese Communist Party, ACLU, Housing, Thomson Locations: U.S, Florida, China, Tallahassee , Florida, Cuba, Venezuela, Syria, Iran, Russia, North Korea, Albany , New York

☆ Rishi Sunak’s Vacation: Taylor Swift and Disneyland. (The Rest is a Secret.)
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Mark Landler | More About Mark Landler | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Just last year, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s political fortunes almost collapsed over his wealthy wife’s privileged tax status in Britain. Yet last week, when Mr. Sunak and his family spent a 10-day vacation at their multimillion-dollar penthouse apartment in Santa Monica, Calif., there was scarcely a peep about it in the British papers. The difference, analysts said, attests both to evolving views of Mr. Sunak, a onetime hedge fund manager who became prime minister last October, and to Downing Street’s shrewd media management of the Sunak family’s American vacation. The family stayed largely under the radar, emerging only for a carefully staged photo opportunity at an amusement park on the Santa Monica Pier, playing games on what was Mr. Sunak’s first vacation in nearly four years. He and his wife, Akshata Murty, also took their two young daughters, Krishna and Anoushka, to Disneyland, where, he said, he was excited to try a “Star Wars”-themed ride.

Persons: Rishi, Sunak, Downing, Santa Monica Pier, Sunak’s, Akshata Murty, Krishna Organizations: Santa Locations: Britain, United States, California, Santa Monica, Calif

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