Supreme Court Deadlock Thwarts Obama Immigration Plan
A deadlocked U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday thwarted President Barack Obama's plan to defer the deportation of millions of undocumented immigrants.
The 4-4 decision left in place a lower court decision that rejected an Obama bid to set a new immigration policy by executive order after Congress failed to pass comprehensive immigration changes.
He called the ruling "heartbreaking" for the immigrants who will not be able to "come out of the shadows to more fully contribute to this country in a meaningful way." But he said there will be no push to deport law-abiding immigrants living in the U.S., even though the ruling leaves their continued presence in the country in legal limbo.
Obama, as he has in the past, condemned Republicans in the Senate for refusing to consider his appointment of federal appeals court Judge Merrick Garland to fill the ninth seat on the court left vacant by the death earlier this year of Justice Antonin Scalia. The lawmakers say the seat should be filled by the country's next president, after Obama leaves office in January.
Texas and 25 other states sued the Obama administration over his immigration plan, arguing that it was unconstitutional since it conflicted with current federal immigration law. The administration, though, argued that the states had no standing to sue, since immigration law falls under the purview of the federal government.
UK goes to the polls
Voting is taking place in a historic referendum on whether the UK should remain a member of the European Union or leave.
A record 46,499,537 people are entitled to take part, according to provisional figures from the Electoral Commission.
Polling stations will close at 22:00 BST with counting throughout the night.
It is only the third nationwide referendum in UK history and comes after a four-month battle for votes between the Leave and Remain campaigns.
Sunshine and heavy showers are forecast for Northern Ireland and Scotland but it is set to be drier and brighter elsewhere.
After the referendum polls close, sealed ballot boxes will be collected and transported to the count venue for each of the 382 local counting areas.
These represent all 380 local government areas in England, Scotland and Wales, plus one each for Northern Ireland and Gibraltar.
Results from these areas will then be declared throughout the night, along with result totals from 11 nations and regions.
Democratic Party unity was the Target
Democratic Party unity was the target when Hillary Clinton, the party's presumptive nominee for the presidential election, met with fellow Democrats on Capitol Hill. But some rank-and-file Democrats who campaigned against Clinton are still skeptical about voting for her in the November general election, and that could put the party's united front at risk.
A 20-year-old woman from Vermont, home state of Senator Bernie Sanders, says talk of party unity will not affect her choice when it comes time to vote.
Asked whether she will vote for Clinton, as former Sanders supporters are being urged to do, Hiltz was firm: "Absolutely not. I truly believe she is in it [politics] for the money, and I don't care if she gets the nomination."
Hiltz said she feels Clinton has changed her positions on key issues over the years, and does not have the same passionate concern for ordinary Americans' problems that Sanders displayed.
Among Sanders supporters overall, Hiltz is not alone in her beliefs.
Politics survey this month of likely general-election voters said 45 percent of those who have supported Sanders do not intend to vote for Clinton, and nearly half of that group told pollsters they will vote instead for Republican Donald Trump.
Congressman James Clyburn, who was in the group of Democrats who met with Clinton, said, "That is a problem for the party."
Clyburn, who is from South Carolina, said he hopes the Vermont senator will try to change his supporters' minds. "I would love to see Mr. Sanders endorse [Clinton], go all in, and I think he will."
Sanders, who was not at Wednesday's meeting, appeared to be coming to terms with his political situation following months of primary-election battles with Clinton across the country. "It doesn't appear that I'm going to be the nominee," Sander told an interviewer (for the cable television network C-SPAN), "so I'm not going to be determining the scope of the convention."
Members of Congress at the Clinton meeting said she acknowledged the difficulty of winning over supporters of her opponent from the primaries.
House Democrats said their meeting with Clinton took place in a "calm, relaxed" atmosphere. The second-ranking Democrat in the House, Steny Hoyer, said there was "unity, enthusiasm and confidence in our candidate."
Clinton told the Democrats she plans a 50-state election strategy, aiming to win back control of both chambers of Congress from the Republicans, who have wielded majority control since the last presidential vote in 2008.
House Democrats Launch Sit-in to Demand Gun Reform
The call went up from the House floor again and again - "No Bill. No Break."
House Democrats going into the eleventh hour of a sit-in calling for gun control legislation heard House Speaker Paul Ryan was making his way to the floor and increased the chant they had repeated throughout a day of speeches calling for legislative action in response to the Orlando attack, the worst mass shooting in U.S. history.
Members of the public watching up in the galleries chanted back the lines that have trended on social media since earlier Wednesday, asking for the House of Representatives to vote on gun control legislation before leaving for the Independence Day holiday break.
Ryan could barely be heard calling for a vote as House Democrats chanted and waved a sea of white papers bearing the names of gun violence victims. They booed Ryan and called out, "Mr Speaker give us a vote."
During the 15-minute vote, Rep. Ted Deutch called out to "My Republican friends," but could not finish speaking as he was shouted down. Democrats responded by singing the Civil Rights anthem "We Shall Overcome" while Republicans looked on silently.
The chaotic vote capped an intense and unprecedented day on the House floor.
For a second consecutive week, Democrats in the U.S. Congress commandeered a chamber to demand action on gun violence that has shattered numerous American communities — most recently in Orlando, Florida.
Venezuela president hoping for improved US ties
Venezuela (AFP) – Venezuela is interested in improving its rocky relations with the United States, and hopes President Barack Obama will "rectify" US policy toward the crisis-torn South American country, its president Nicolas Maduro said Wednesday.
The troubled relationship between the two countries, which have not exchanged ambassadors since 2010, reached a new low point last March, when Obama designated Venezuela a threat to national security.
Maduro comments on reconciliation come one day ahead of a debate by the Organization of American States, which will decide whether Venezuela's leftist government is upholding democratic norms enshrined in the organization's Democratic Charter.
Maduro met with US Undersecretary of State Thomas Shannon on Wednesday at the Miraflores presidential palace.
US Transfers Yemeni Guantanamo Bay Detainee to Montenegro
The U.S. military has announced the transfer of a Yemeni man from its detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to Montenegro.
The transfer of Abdel Malik Ahmed Abdel Wahab Al Rahabi leaves 79 people detained at Guantanamo where nearly 800 people have been held at some point since it opened in early 2002.
Pentagon documents describe Al Rahabi as a member of al-Qaida who was once a bodyguard to the group's late leader Osama bin Laden and took part in fighting against U.S. and coalition forces. He was captured in December 2001 by Pakistani forces as he tried to cross the border from Afghanistan and arrived at Guantanamo a month later.
A review board determined in 2014 that Al Rahabi's detention was no longer necessary to protect against a significant threat to the United States, and recommended he be transferred.
The Pentagon thanked Montenegro in a statement Wednesday "for its humanitarian gesture and willingness to support ongoing U.S. efforts to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility."
Robbery at Digicel Grand Turk
Investigators of the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force are investigating a burglary of a business establishment that was reported to the Grand Turk Police station yesterday (Wednesday 22nd June 2016).
Complainant reported to officers that at 6:20pm the day before (Tuesday 21st June 2016) the office of Digicel located on Old Airport Road was properly secured and upon her arrival to work at 8am on Wednesday she noticed the building broken into.
Stolen from the store-room area were a quantity of CAT and DLS cellular phones, also missing from an office on the upper floor are two (2) white deposit bags containing large sums of money and a dark blue Dell Laptop.
Investigations are ongoing in the matter.
Police are asking anyone with information about this incident to call Crime Stoppers on 1-800-8477 or use the Crime Stoppers online reporting page: www.crimestoppers.tc, Chalk Sound Police Station 338-5901 or 941-8082. The information you provide will be treated in the strictest of confidence. We remind people they should not report crime information via our Facebook and Twitter page.
GOVERNOR ENCOURAGES TCI FATHERS TO FOCUS ON EDUCATION, SPORT AND HISTORY
Speaking to the Senior Citizens’ Fathers’ Day luncheon in Providenciales on 18 June, the Governor, Peter Beckingham, encouraged the fathers of Turks and Caicos Islands to remember the value of encouraging education, sport and tradition among their children and grandchildren.
“Education is probably the single most important gift we can present to our children” the Governor said “and the more we can do to stimulate an interest in school and college work the better. I’m in no doubt my parents made sacrifices to stimulate my education, and I was fortunate in the attention they gave to this.
“But as well as education it would be great if fathers could encourage their offspring to spend more time developing their sporting prowess. Delano Williams has set a wonderful example for every child in Turks and Caicos, not least with his forthcoming participation in the world’s greatest sporting event, and I hope more fathers will as a result inspire their families to spend more time on the sports field. We still have some catching up with other countries”.
Finally, the Governor reminded his audience of the long term value and importance of passing on their family history and traditions to their children. “I regret not asking my late father more about his contribution in the Second World War, when he parachuted into France and served in Bombay, India. Fortunately we were able to piece together more about my father-in law’s service for the Royal Air Force. I hope that every father and grandfather will pass on his memories of earlier times in Turks and Caicos, so that the wonderful history of these islands is preserved for our successors. If we don’t we will lose a major part of our heritage. ”
TCHTA Addresses Rising Negative Trends
An increase in illegal beach vending as well as tourist harassment is becoming very alarming and is raising concerns among the destination's tourism partners especially its leading private sector association TCHTA.
The Association's Board met recently to address these concerns which have seen the once highly ranked tourism destination drop from the number 1 to number 5 island in the world and from the number 1 beach to number 4 beach in the world on the popular TripAdvisor site.
In addition to the increase in illegal beach vending and tourist harassment, long lines in the departure area at the country's major airport and slow processing by Immigration as it relates to work permits were also discussed with the hope of finding quick and effective solutions which will alleviate the issues.
The Board noted, "These rising negative trends are very alarming and we are finding ourselves working overtime to ensure that our tourism product is not tarnished severely. The Association and its members can continue to pump money into promoting the destination but this will all be for naught if visitors don't feel safe and at peace when they visit.
We rely on our visitors to help us promote TCI on sites like TripAdvisor through their positive reviews but not only are we seeing less visitors voting for us in the various categories but we are also seeing an increase in negative reviews."
Residents who are involved in these illegal activities especially on our beaches need to realize what damage they are doing to the tourism product, damage, which may be irreversible in the long run. Why jeopardize our industry for a quick dollar? The industry belongs to all of us and we all need to play a positive part in its growth and survival.
A better partnership must also be forged with our tourism partners, TCIG and the Police Force to resolve the issues at the airport, the illegal beach vending and tourist harassment in particular. "
The Board is also gravely concerned with the new Immigration processing rules which have created an enormous burden on businesses in the industry as they may not be able to reach their staffing levels required to run their operations effectively. The Board will be reaching out to all relevant groups in the near future to address the concerns and members will also sensitize and educate their staff who in turn will educate their friends and family about being a positive part of our tourism industry puzzle.
QUEEN’S BIRTHDAY PARADE MARKS TO MAJOR ANNIVERSARIES
The Turks and Caicos Islands will join sister Commonwealth nations around the world in celebrating Her Majesty the Queen’s Birthday on Saturday, 11 June 2016.
The ceremony will be held on the nation’s capital, Grand Turk, where the annual Queen’s Birthday celebrations will take place on the parade ground at 10am.
“The Governor’s Office would like to invite everyone to come out and enjoy this special event marking the ninetieth birthday of Her Majesty the Queen,” said the Governor, Peter Beckingham. “As this is a particularly special occasion, and also marks the 50th anniversary of the visit by Her Majesty the Queen to the Turks and Caicos Islands it would be great to a strong turnout to mark the event, and also to support the many members of the local community who will be participating.”
The ceremony will include participants from the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force (RTCIPF), staff from HM Prison, Customs and Immigration officials, Fire fighters, the Ex-Serviceman Legion, TCI Red Cross youth, Cadets, Boy Scouts, Girl Guides, Girls Brigade, Rainbows and children from the Island’s schools. The RTCIPF band will accompany all.
Following the parade, Governor Peter Beckingham will present long service awards to key members of the uniformed services in recognition of their 18, 25 or 30 years of service to the Crown.
The ceremony will last for approximately 60 minutes and it will conclude with a royal salute taken by the Governor.
As is traditional in the TCI, the Governor’s Office will provide refreshments to all participating in the parade.