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The bill, introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, follows a similar Democrat-led effort proposed this month in the Senate. The Department of Labor has also taken steps to increase enforcement of child labor violations and called on Congress to boost penalties. The Labor Department has seen a nearly 70% increase in child labor violations since 2018, including in hazardous occupations, with 835 companies found to have violated child labor laws in the last fiscal year. Under current federal law, the maximum civil monetary penalty for a child labor violation is $15,138 per child. In February, 33 Democratic lawmakers led by Michigan Congressman Dan Kildee signed a letter to the Labor Secretary urging immediate action to rid Hyundai's supply chain of child labor.

☆ Women's NCAA roundup: No. 1 South Carolina shines in 2nd half
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Mar 19, 2023; Columbia, SC, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks guard Zia Cooke (1) drives around South Florida Bulls guard Carla Brito (55) in the second half of South Carolina Gamecocks 76-45 victory at Colonial Life Arena, advancing them to the Sweet 16. Aliyah Boston added 11 points and 11 rebounds, while Laeticia Amihere came off the bench to net 10 points. Elena Tsineke scored 20 points to pace South Florida (27-7), while Sammie Puisis finished with 11 points and four rebounds. Kourtney Weber scored 14 points for the Bulldogs (22-11), who made just 18 of 61 attempts from the field (29.5 percent). Elizabeth Kitley added 14 points and 14 rebounds for her 21st double-double of the season.

☆ Women's NCAA roundup: No. 8 Ole Miss upsets No. 1 Stanford
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

8 Ole Miss Rebels to their first Sweet 16 since 2007 by preventing No. Stanford (29-6) was led by Cameron Brink, who had 20 points, 13 rebounds and seven blocks, while Haley Jones chipped in 16 points and eight rebounds. Grace Stone had 16 points and Ellie Mitchell finished with nine points, 18 rebounds and three blocks. Elena Tsineke scored 20 points to pace South Florida (27-7), while Sammie Puisis finished with 11 points and four rebounds. The Irish closed the game on a 10-5 run, getting seven points from Citron during that stretch.

☆ Women's NCAA roundup: South Florida tops Marquette in OT
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

South Florida won 67-65. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-USA TODAY SportsMarch 18 - Elena Tsineke's jumper with 31.2 seconds left lifted eighth-seeded South Florida to a 67-65 overtime win over ninth-seeded Marquette in the first round of the NCAA Tournament's Greenville 1 Regional on Friday in Columbia, S.C."What a way to start the NCAA Tournament," South Florida coach Jose Fernandez said. Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu had 22 points and 16 rebounds for the Bulls (27-6), with Tsineke adding 13 points. South Florida rallied from an 11-point deficit with 2:40 left in the third quarter to take a 59-55 lead with 31 seconds to play. Zia Cooke had 11 points and five rebounds, while Laeticia Amihere came off the bench to add 11 points for South Carolina, playing at home in Columbia.

☆ White House may restart detention of migrant families - sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Ted Hesson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Biden administration also is weighing reviving immigration arrests of migrant families within the United States who have been ordered deported, two of the officials said. The New York Times first reported the possible restart of family detention. The Biden administration has discussed using two Texas detention centers that previously housed families, three of the U.S. officials said. The Biden administration said in a February 2022 memo that it was repurposing family detention centers to hold only adults, a major shift away from Trump's push to expand such detention. Neha Desai, who represents migrant children in a decades-long lawsuit that governs conditions for their detention, criticized the possible detention restart.

☆ Girl Scouts’ sold-out cookie is available on eBay. The Scouts are not pleased
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Danielle Wiener-Bronner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —The Raspberry Rally Girl Scouts cookie, a raspberry-flavored version of the beloved Thin Mint, was always supposed to be a limited edition item. The new Girl Scouts cookie sold out in hours. But profits from the resale market don’t go to Girl Scouts, which said it was “disappointed” that the products are now available through other vendors. “Girl Scouts of the USA, your local Girl Scout council, and our licensed cookie bakers cannot guarantee the freshness or integrity of cookies bought through unauthorized sites.” To buy cookies from Girl Scouts directly, customers should use the Cooke Finder on the Scouts’ website, Girl Scouts said. “We strongly support the entrepreneurial spirit of hardworking local Girl Scout troops and encourage cookie-seekers to also support their local Girl Scouts,” eBay said in a statement to CNN.

U.S. officials said the Labor Department had seen a nearly 70% increase in child labor violations since 2018, including in hazardous occupations. In the last fiscal year, 835 companies were found to have violated child labor laws. It has created an interagency task force on child labor, and plans to target industries where violations are most likely to occur for investigations. The Hearthside investigation is the latest in an uptick of similar probes. Reuters last year published a series of stories on child labor including revelations about the use of child labor among suppliers to Hyundai, including a direct subsidiary of the Korean auto giant, in the U.S. state of Alabama.

U.S. officials said the Labor Department had seen a nearly 70% increase in child labor violations since 2018, including in hazardous occupations. In the last fiscal year, 835 companies were found to have violated child labor laws. It has created an interagency task force on child labor, and plans to target industries where violations are most likely to occur for investigations. The Hearthside investigation is the latest in a rise in similar probes. Reuters last year published a series of stories on child labor including revelations about the use of child labor among suppliers to Hyundai, including a direct subsidiary of the Korean auto giant, in the U.S. state of Alabama.

One of the plants where children worked, SMART Alabama LLC in rural Luverne, Alabama, is a direct Hyundai subsidiary. STATE AND FEDERAL INVESTIGATIONSFollowing Reuters' first story on child labor at SMART last July, as many as 10 Hyundai suppliers in Alabama have been under investigation by state or federal authorities for child labor violations, Reuters reported in December. In the shareholder letter, Chang reiterated that Hyundai was "discouraging" suppliers from relying on such staffing agencies in the future. He wrote that staffing firms who hired children to work at Hyundai supplier plants had provided false employee documentation. Earlier this month, thirty-three members of Congress urged DOL to seek strong and swift penalties against those responsible for child labor in the Hyundai supply chain.

"If that (further revelations from Kohrs) occurs, then the question will be, do they have to start the grand jury process from scratch? The special grand jury heard testimony behind closed doors including from Trump allies such as Republican U.S. Fani Willis, the Fulton County district attorney steering the investigation, must decide whether to bring the panel's charging recommendations to a regular grand jury. "There still has to be an independent assessment by the district attorney and a subsequent grand jury who hands up the indictment," Weinstein said. "Any grand jury in Fulton County is going to have a huge diversity of viewpoints, politics and backgrounds," Cooke said.

☆ Fact Check-Video does not show meteor in Mission, Texas
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A video showing a luminous object shooting across the sky was filmed in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is unrelated to reports of a meteor crashing in Texas on Feb. 15, contrary to claims on social media. in a 10 mile radius.”Reuters identified the location of the recording in Daytona Beach. Two experts ruled out the object seen is a meteor. More information about the meteor near Mission, Texas, published by CBS Media, The Dallas Morning News and CNN can be seen (bit.ly/3Ibjgpf) (bit.ly/41i4t5d) (bit.ly/3lBdzcC).

☆ Biden to roll out new asylum restrictions at U.S.-Mexico border -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Ted Hesson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Migrants queue near the border fence, after crossing the Rio Bravo river, to request asylum in El Paso, Texas, U.S., as seen from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico January 5, 2023. REUTERS/Jose Luis GonzalezWASHINGTON, Feb 21 (Reuters) - The Biden administration could bar tens of thousands of migrants arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border from claiming asylum if they passed through another country en route to the United States without seeking protection, according to a proposed regulation rolling out on Tuesday, five sources told Reuters. The proposed restrictions, which seek to deter people from crossing the border without authorization, will be subject to a 30-day public comment period and then reviewed before final publication, two of the sources said. While Biden initially pledged to restore asylum access that was curtailed under Republican former President Donald Trump, he has increasingly embraced Trump-style restrictions. Biden's plan to ban certain asylum seekers mirrors similar efforts under Trump that were blocked by federal courts.

☆ Reuters wins George Polk Award for uncovering child labor in Hyundai supply chain
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Cheney OrrNew York, Feb 20 (Reuters) - A team of Reuters reporters on Monday won a George Polk Award for reports that revealed the widespread use of child labor among suppliers to Hyundai Motor Co in the U.S. state of Alabama. The Polk jury, awarding the prize in its "state reporting" category, said Reuters "sparked increased scrutiny from federal and state agencies and led Hyundai to demand more accountability from its suppliers." Also in February, Hyundai itself said it was in discussions with the Labor Department to resolve concerns about the child labor. After discovering that staffing agencies hired child workers for employment in Alabama poultry plants, they learned that migrant minors were also building parts for Hyundai and Kia (000270.KS). Both companies have said they don't tolerate child labor and are taking measures to ensure underage workers don't find their way back into their supply chains.

☆ Kyle Cooke, star of Bravo's 'Summer House,' shares the playbook his hard tea brand used to compete with legacy brands and generate $38 million in sales
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Dorothy Cucci | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

'Summer House' star Kyle Cooke founded Loverboy, a sparkling hard tea brand, in 2018. He found the right niche and built a strong direct-to-consumer relationship though 'Summer House.' This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Kyle Cooke, 39-year-old Loverboy founder and star of Bravo's 'Summer House.' When we filmed the first season of 'Summer House' in 2017, I was working on a nutrition coaching app. We were able to sell to our fans directly because we'd built a strong relationship with our consumer base through 'Summer House.'

In a letter addressed to Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh, the group of Democratic lawmakers, led by Michigan Congressman Dan Kildee, pressed the department "to take immediate action to rid Hyundai's supply chain of child labor." The news agency reported that state and federal authorities were investigating as many as ten suppliers for potential child labor violations there. In their letter to Walsh, the lawmakers commended the Labor Department for its enforcement actions in the matter so far. After Reuters' first story about child labor at SMART last July, the department and Alabama state authorities launched a probe into the supplier. The lawmakers said they want the Labor Department to take further action because "additional automotive parts suppliers for Hyundai, mainly in Alabama, are also suspected of child labor violations."

"We share Congresswoman Sewell's view that the use of child labor is unacceptable," Hyundai said. Sewell's comments are the first from a high-ranking Alabama official on child labor problems in Hyundai's supply chain. The new actions by Hyundai and its discussions with regulators and lawmakers come after Reuters documented child labor in various Alabama auto plants making parts for Hyundai or Kia. The child labor reports have put a spotlight on Hyundai's growing operations in the United States. Regulatory fines for child labor, by contrast, can be relatively small.

☆ The Arnaults are betting big on K-Pop, and it shows the power of South Korea's luxury spending machine
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Experts tell Insider this is a calculated move to tap into the booming South Korean market. A targeted move to win over the South Korean marketBTS member Jimin (left) and BLACKPINK singer Rosé. "Fashion trends tend to be created and adopted in South Korea, before being diffused to other markets in Asia," Dubois said. She also said South Korea is "increasingly known" for its K-Pop stars, movies, and shows in the US — which helps with promotions stateside too. Once the COVID situation settles, it is possible that Chinese tourists, with their spending power, return to Korea," Kim said.

☆ John Durham Finds Russiagate’s Rosetta Stone
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( Holman W. Jenkins | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Throw in a few real names and places to make your inventions believable and people will believe them. This is the method of many a disgraced journalist such as the New York Times ’s Jayson Blair and the Washington Post’s Janet Cooke . It was the method of the Steele dossier fabulists Igor Danchenko and his boss Christopher Steele . It was also the method of the most consequential fabricator of all, whoever dreamed up the presumably fake email exchange between then-Democratic Party chief Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and activist Leonard Benardo of the Open Society Foundation. This imaginary exchange may have made Donald Trump president.

WASHINGTON, Jan 26 (Reuters) - The United States is poised to start using fast-track asylum screenings at the U.S.-Mexico border, part of U.S. President Joe Biden's recent efforts to address a record number of illegal crossings, five sources told Reuters. A group of Biden administration officials visited the U.S.-Mexico border this week in preparation for the new effort, said two of the sources, both U.S. officials. It was unclear when the fast-track screenings will begin. Under the plan, asylum seekers detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) would have remote interviews with a U.S. asylum officer within days, the sources said. Reuters first reported in December that the fast-track screenings were under consideration.

☆ StoryCo and 'Halo' showrunner team up to launch 'Disco Ball,' a blockchain-based immersive story that's a model for Hollywood's move into Web3
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Elaine Low | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The blockchain-based creative platform StoryCo is launching a new immersive storytelling concept. People who sign up for a StoryPass (an NFT) can collect digital art and have creative control over "The Disco Ball." StoryCo just raised $6 million in a seed funding round led by VC firms Collab + Currency and Patron. At the end of "Disco Ball," NFT holders "will assume control over the infinitely expanding Disco Ball universe." Half of all net revenue from projects like "Disco Ball" would then be split among the treasury's members after its story writers and creators are compensated.

Launched in 2020, the app has previously been used to allow people crossing legally at land ports of entry to submit their information beforehand and for non-governmental organizations to request humanitarian entry for certain migrants. U.S. President Joe Biden's administration touts the app as a more regulated, potentially quicker alternative to crossing the border. Rodriguez has been camping in Matamoros, a Mexican border city across from Brownsville, since late November with over a dozen family members, some of whom have already crossed into the United States. Claudia Martinez, a 38-year-old Venezuelan waiting in Tijuana, was unable to access CBP One despite several tries. Reporting by Ted Hesson in Washington and Daina Solomon in Mexico City; Additional reporting by Jackie Botts in Oaxaca City, Lizbeth Diaz in Mexico City and Kristina Cooke in San Francisco; Editing by Aurora EllisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Explainer: Why migrants are crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in record numbers
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-08 | by ( Mica Rosenberg | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

What is happening at the U.S.-Mexico border now and why are there record numbers of crossings? U.S. Border Patrol made more than 2.2 million arrests at the U.S.-Mexico in the 2022 fiscal year, which ended last September, the most ever recorded. The number of Venezuelans crossing the border plummeted after Mexico agreed to accept expulsions of Venezuelan migrants last October. The Biden administration has said it wants to surge resources to process more claims quicker but faces budgetary and other constraints. The Biden administration also set a goal of resettling 125,000 refugees in 2022 who apply from abroad after Trump dramatically slashed admissions during his term.

[1/4] Migrants queue near the border fence, after crossing the Rio Bravo river, to request asylum in El Paso, Texas, U.S., as seen from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico January 5, 2023. Initial backlash to Biden's policy shift also signals it could be challenged in court, from both those who favor restricting immigration and advocates for asylum seekers. The restrictions, known as Title 42, allow U.S. authorities to rapidly expel migrants caught at the border back to Mexico without the chance to claim asylum in the United States. The Biden administration tried last year to end the Title 42 border restrictions, but U.S. courts have left them in place and legal challenges are ongoing. The court rulings that left the Title 42 order in place give the Biden administration time to experiment with different strategies.

☆ 2 killed in New Year’s Eve avalanches in Montana and Colorado
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

COOKE CITY, Mont. — Two people were killed in New Year’s Eve avalanches in Montana and Colorado after heavy snow blanketed much of the West. A fatal avalanche near Cooke City, Mont., on Saturday. It broke on weak snow near the bottom of the snowpack. Saturday’s accidents marked the second and third avalanche fatalities this winter, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, which tracks the deaths nationally.

☆ Special Report: Boy Scouts, Catholic dioceses find haven from sex abuse suits in bankruptcy
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Kristina Cooke Mike Spector Benjamin Lesser Dan Levine Disha Raychaudhuri | Kristina Cooke | Mike Spector | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +19 min

The Boy Scouts, for instance, said on a website the group set up for restructuring that it launched a “comprehensive noticing campaign” in the media. He sought compensation in the Boy Scouts bankruptcy in June, long after a deadline of November 16, 2020 for filing claims. The Boy Scouts bankruptcy reorganization plan, approved by a judge in September, halts all lawsuits against the Boy Scouts, local councils, churches and other organizations that chartered scouting activities. His case was halted by the Boy Scouts bankruptcy. Later that year, in August, he filed his lawsuit against defendants including a Boy Scouts local council and DeSandre.

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