Tuesday, 9 February 2016
Friday, 29 January 2016
Moses Neuman | Oregon occupiers: What officials say happened at traffic stop
A high-speed getaway attempt and a reach for the waistband are said to have prompted police SWAT team members to open fire on a group of leaders of the Oregon armed occupiers.
A law enforcement official described the dramatic showdown that occurred Tuesday night on a desolate stretch of U.S. 395, some distance away from the federal wildlife refuge where the group took over federal buildings nearly a month ago.
FBI and Oregon State Police at a command center in Burns were monitoring the group when they departed the refuge to attend a town hall meeting with local residents in the town of John Day.
Ammon Bundy tells colleagues to go home
For days, they watched as members of the group came and went freely from the refuge. Some went home on weekends. Ammon Bundy, the group's leader, visited family near Boise, Idaho.
"They got quite comfortable coming and going. This was a 'standoff-lite,'" said one official who was monitoring the events as they went down.
Tuesday was the first time that the combination of top leaders was all together traveling away from their base at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, the official said.
The FBI and state police teams knew the route they were going to take. They picked a spot away from populated areas to attempt a traffic stop. One vehicle stopped on command from authorities. The second, allegedly driven by LaVoy Finicum, took off at high speed, attempting to get away.
A law enforcement official described the dramatic showdown that occurred Tuesday night on a desolate stretch of U.S. 395, some distance away from the federal wildlife refuge where the group took over federal buildings nearly a month ago.
FBI and Oregon State Police at a command center in Burns were monitoring the group when they departed the refuge to attend a town hall meeting with local residents in the town of John Day.
Ammon Bundy tells colleagues to go home
For days, they watched as members of the group came and went freely from the refuge. Some went home on weekends. Ammon Bundy, the group's leader, visited family near Boise, Idaho.
"They got quite comfortable coming and going. This was a 'standoff-lite,'" said one official who was monitoring the events as they went down.
Tuesday was the first time that the combination of top leaders was all together traveling away from their base at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, the official said.
The FBI and state police teams knew the route they were going to take. They picked a spot away from populated areas to attempt a traffic stop. One vehicle stopped on command from authorities. The second, allegedly driven by LaVoy Finicum, took off at high speed, attempting to get away.
This Content was originally posted on: Evan Perez
Sunday, 24 January 2016
Sunday, 27 December 2015
U.S. Visa Rules May Burden Relatives Abroad, Advocates Say
A new restriction aimed at keeping terrorists out of the U.S. is proving troublesome. Critics say it will keep families apart, and it's already causing some diplomatic difficulties.
The provision, passed by Congress in a spending bill last week, tightens the so-called visa waiver program, which allows residents of 38 countries to travel to the U.S. without a visa. Many of those are European countries.
But if citizens of those countries have dual citizenship with Iraq, Syria or other nations with significant terrorist activity — including Iran, they no longer qualify. They will now have to go through additional screening, even if they haven't recently visited those countries. Additionally, anyone who has visited any of those places in the past five years is no longer eligible for the visa waiver program.
Lawmakers in favor of the change expressed concern about the thousands of Europeans who have gone to Syria to fight alongside ISIS. They could hypothetically go from Syria to France and then fly to the U.S.
Mina Bagherzadeh, however, says the new rules will make it tougher for her to see her family. Bagherzadeh was hoping she'd see her sister this summer, and maybe even her elderly mother.
Bagherzadeh is a 47-year-old Iranian American who lives in Washington, D.C. Her mother and sister live in Germany, where the family fled after the 1979 revolution in Iran. Each summer, the family members take turns visiting each other, and this summer, Bagherzadeh says, it was their turn to come here. But now, it will be a little more complicated.
"They will now need to go visit a U.S. consulate, file the application, pay the fee, do an interview, and wait and hope that they will be given a visa to come and visit us," she said.
That's because Bagherzadeh's sister and mother are dual nationals — citizens of Germany and Iran — and so no longer qualify for the visa waiver program.
It will cost her sister and mother $160 to apply for the visa they didn't need the last time they visited here. This may seem like a minor irritation — a bit of a travel hassle. But for Bagherzadeh, it's more than that. She says she's taught her two young daughters about the U.S.'s values and how lucky they are to have been born in the U.S. But now she feels that as an Iranian American, she and her family are being singled out.
"I feel a sense of being different than my American peers," she said. "I don't think that's right and that's not what this country is built on and I fear that is what my daughters are going to feel as well."
Joanne Lin of the American Civil Liberties Union notes that dual nationals from Iraq, Sudan and Syria are affected as well.
"This is patent discrimination by nationality and parentage," she says. "It's wrong — it's un-American — [that] in this country people are not judged by their nationality or their citizenship of their parents."
Lin wants Congress to take another look at the law that she says was passed as a "knee-jerk" reaction to the attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, Calif. For one thing, she says, the European Union may want to retaliate with its own changes, making it more difficult for Americans to travel without a visa to EU countries.
"Because the program is based on reciprocity, how are the European governments going to respond to this new law?" she said. "Will the EU response will have any impact on US citizens traveling abroad to Europe?"
And there is another issue with the new requirement.
The government of Iran is objecting, saying the provision will limit travel and interfere with the resumption of economic ties between Iran and the West — ties that are allowed if Iran complies with the recently signed nuclear agreement. Secretary of State John Kerry sent a letter to his Iranian counterpart, saying in essence not to worry, that the provision can be waived.
The provision, passed by Congress in a spending bill last week, tightens the so-called visa waiver program, which allows residents of 38 countries to travel to the U.S. without a visa. Many of those are European countries.
But if citizens of those countries have dual citizenship with Iraq, Syria or other nations with significant terrorist activity — including Iran, they no longer qualify. They will now have to go through additional screening, even if they haven't recently visited those countries. Additionally, anyone who has visited any of those places in the past five years is no longer eligible for the visa waiver program.
Lawmakers in favor of the change expressed concern about the thousands of Europeans who have gone to Syria to fight alongside ISIS. They could hypothetically go from Syria to France and then fly to the U.S.
Mina Bagherzadeh, however, says the new rules will make it tougher for her to see her family. Bagherzadeh was hoping she'd see her sister this summer, and maybe even her elderly mother.
Bagherzadeh is a 47-year-old Iranian American who lives in Washington, D.C. Her mother and sister live in Germany, where the family fled after the 1979 revolution in Iran. Each summer, the family members take turns visiting each other, and this summer, Bagherzadeh says, it was their turn to come here. But now, it will be a little more complicated.
"They will now need to go visit a U.S. consulate, file the application, pay the fee, do an interview, and wait and hope that they will be given a visa to come and visit us," she said.
That's because Bagherzadeh's sister and mother are dual nationals — citizens of Germany and Iran — and so no longer qualify for the visa waiver program.
It will cost her sister and mother $160 to apply for the visa they didn't need the last time they visited here. This may seem like a minor irritation — a bit of a travel hassle. But for Bagherzadeh, it's more than that. She says she's taught her two young daughters about the U.S.'s values and how lucky they are to have been born in the U.S. But now she feels that as an Iranian American, she and her family are being singled out.
"I feel a sense of being different than my American peers," she said. "I don't think that's right and that's not what this country is built on and I fear that is what my daughters are going to feel as well."
Joanne Lin of the American Civil Liberties Union notes that dual nationals from Iraq, Sudan and Syria are affected as well.
"This is patent discrimination by nationality and parentage," she says. "It's wrong — it's un-American — [that] in this country people are not judged by their nationality or their citizenship of their parents."
Lin wants Congress to take another look at the law that she says was passed as a "knee-jerk" reaction to the attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, Calif. For one thing, she says, the European Union may want to retaliate with its own changes, making it more difficult for Americans to travel without a visa to EU countries.
"Because the program is based on reciprocity, how are the European governments going to respond to this new law?" she said. "Will the EU response will have any impact on US citizens traveling abroad to Europe?"
And there is another issue with the new requirement.
The government of Iran is objecting, saying the provision will limit travel and interfere with the resumption of economic ties between Iran and the West — ties that are allowed if Iran complies with the recently signed nuclear agreement. Secretary of State John Kerry sent a letter to his Iranian counterpart, saying in essence not to worry, that the provision can be waived.
This Content was originally posted on: Brian Naylor
Monday, 21 December 2015
Fox News to host last GOP debate before Iowa caucuses
Fox News Channel announced Monday that the network will host its second Republican presidential primary debate next month in Iowa.
The two-hour debate will be held Jan. 28 at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines, the last meeting of the candidates before the lead-off Feb. 1 caucuses.
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The event will air at 9 p.m. ET on Fox News Channel, with coverage on Fox News Radio, Fox News Mobile and FoxNews.com.
The criteria for candidates to qualify has not yet been announced.
The moderators who hosted Fox News’ kick-off debate on Aug. 6 – Bret Baier, Megyn Kelly and Chris Wallace -- will return for the Iowa event.
Fox News attracted a record 24 million viewers at the first debate, making it the highest-rated non-sports cable broadcast ever.
The announcement comes as the Republican primary field slowly thins, with South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham announcing Monday he is suspending his campaign.
But higher-polling candidates have shown no indication of backing out before Iowa, and it remains a historically broad field – still led by front-runner Donald Trump.
Fox Business Network also hosted one debate in November, and plans to host a second on Jan. 14 in South Carolina.
The two-hour debate will be held Jan. 28 at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines, the last meeting of the candidates before the lead-off Feb. 1 caucuses.
ADVERTISEMENT
The event will air at 9 p.m. ET on Fox News Channel, with coverage on Fox News Radio, Fox News Mobile and FoxNews.com.
The criteria for candidates to qualify has not yet been announced.
The moderators who hosted Fox News’ kick-off debate on Aug. 6 – Bret Baier, Megyn Kelly and Chris Wallace -- will return for the Iowa event.
Fox News attracted a record 24 million viewers at the first debate, making it the highest-rated non-sports cable broadcast ever.
The announcement comes as the Republican primary field slowly thins, with South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham announcing Monday he is suspending his campaign.
But higher-polling candidates have shown no indication of backing out before Iowa, and it remains a historically broad field – still led by front-runner Donald Trump.
Fox Business Network also hosted one debate in November, and plans to host a second on Jan. 14 in South Carolina.
This Content was originally posted on: FoxNews
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