News of the World

[kyonides]

Biden Administration Plans for More Illegal Aliens to Be Released Into Communities When Title 42 Ends

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has released a six-pillar plan (pdf) on how it plans to cope with the challenges posed by the scheduled termination of Title 42 and the major policy shift that this represents.

The department’s plan includes accelerated processing for illegal aliens in custody on the border, more temporary detention tents, staffing surges, bolstering NGO capacity to receive people after they’ve been processed, and increased criminal prosecutions of smugglers.

The agency estimates that 9,000 to 14,000 migrants could try to enter the country illegally each day when the Title 42 policy ends.
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A federal judge in Washington ordered Title 42 to end on Dec. 21 but Republican-led states asked an appeals court to keep it in place.

The Biden administration has also challenged some aspects of the ruling, though it doesn’t oppose letting the rule lapse next week.
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A number of GOP lawmakers have urged President Joe Biden to extend the emergency order, arguing that terminating Title 42 will “result in a complete loss of operational control over the southern border, a profoundly negative impact on border communities, and significant suffering and fatalities among the migrants unlawfully entering the United States.”

The group of lawmakers said in their letter to Biden that legislative action is probably the only solution, but that could take time.

The DHS, too, called for Congressional action to fix what it described as an outdated and dysfunctional immigration system, in which “incentives are misaligned, asylum court backlogs stretch for years, and the border security challenge is exacerbated.”

Texas Places Military on Standby in Preparation for Surge of Illegal Immigrants

Forces to be deployed include elements of the 136th Airlift Wing, Texas Air National Guard, and the 236th Military Police Company.

“These actions are part of a larger strategy to use every available tool to fight back against the record-breaking level of illegal immigration and transnational criminal activity,” the department advised in a statement.

Created under President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1944, Title 42 empowers federal health authorities to prohibit immigrants from entering the United States to prevent the spread of contagious diseases.
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In preparation for that possibility, Col. Matt Groves, 136th Airlift Wing commander, said that 136th Airlift Wing C-130J cargo aircraft, air crews, support, and response airmen had been placed on standby, ready to assist the governor in whatever way he might require.

Chinese Companies Submit to US Audit Watchdog Inspection, Avert Delisting Threat for Now

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), accounting watchdog in the United States, has received full access to inspect and investigate companies operating in China for the first-ever time. The PCAOB is also tasked with overseeing registered public accounting firms worldwide.

The PCAOB had the sole discretion to select which firms to audit, the potential violations it looked into, and also audit engagements without having any input or influence from Chinese authorities. Staff at the accounting watchdog selected two companies for inspection: PricewaterhouseCoopers in Hong Kong and KPMG Huazhen LLP in mainland China. The firms were selected using the same methodology that is usually applied in PCAOB inspections.

Inspectors from the PCAOB were able to view complete audit work papers without any redactions, and the agency was able to retain critical information to finish the work. The PCAOB was also able to interview and take testimony of all individuals linked to the audits which the agency inspected or investigated.
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Some have raised concerns about the information the audits might uncover. While speaking to Reuters, Tim Ghriskey, senior portfolio strategist at Ingalls & Snyder, said that the agreement takes one of the risks “off the table” when it comes to investing in Chinese firms.

However, issues identified due to the more strict accounting oversight “could be very bad for the sector, especially if there is then no effort to correct it or come clean,” he said.

According to the PCAOB release, Williams admitted that the agency staff had identified “numerous potential deficiencies” in their inspection work. The reports are expected to be finalized and published next year.

Why ain't I surprised at all, guys?
There had to be a reason why they had refused to be audited by US authorities for quite some time.

Judge Rules Kari Lake May Inspect Some Maricopa County Ballots

A judge overseeing an Arizona electoral lawsuit ruled on Friday that GOP gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake may appoint an inspector to analyze a small selection of Maricopa County ballots cast in the 2022 midterm election.

The inspection may begin on Dec. 20, unless Lake’s lawsuit is dismissed beforehand, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson said in his ruling.

Lake, who filed a lawsuit on Dec. 9 (pdf) seeking to overturn the election for Arizona’s governor, petitioned the court to inspect a random selection of ballots cast in different Maricopa County voting centers on Nov. 8.

The lawsuit alleged that “hundreds of thousands of illegal ballots infected the election in Maricopa County.”
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The trial date is set for Dec. 20.
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Thompson agreed that an inspector named by Lake may analyze 50 randomly selected “ballot-on-demand” (BOD) printed ballots; 50 “randomly selected early ballots;” and 50 “randomly selected BOD printed ballots that were marked spoiled” on Election Day.

The ballots will be randomly selected from ballots cast at six separate vote centers in Maricopa County, the state’s most populous electorate.

The only request Thompson rejected was to inspect 50 “randomly selected early ballot envelopes for early ballots.” The judge said state election contest statutes prohibit scrutiny of ballot envelopes.