State Dept. Offers Potential Refugee Status to More Afghans Who Worked With U.S.
The New York Times
As the Taliban make territorial gains, more Afghans, including those who helped U.S. news outlets, will become eligible for visas.
The State Department is offering potential refugee status to several new categories of Afghans who assisted the United States during the war in Afghanistan, including those who worked for news media and nongovernmental organizations. The department said in an announcement on Monday that the action was meant to protect Afghans “who may be at risk due to their U.S. affiliation,” but who were not eligible for a special immigrant visa program that has begun to resettle thousands of Afghans and their family members. But Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, addressing reporters at the State Department on Monday, acknowledged that gaining entry into the United States would not be easy for the affected Afghans, who must reach a third country before they can even apply for U.S. refugee status, beginning a process that can take more than a year, thanks to backlogs and rigorous security vetting.
In other testimony, law enforcement witnesses placed the suspect, José Ibarra, at the scene of Ms. Riley’s killing, mainly through cellphone and GPS tracking data.
The warning, which extends beyond the city to include 10 other counties in New York state, was announced as wildfires burned and residents continued to await meaningful rainfall.
A new curriculum would focus on Christianity more than other religions. A kindergarten lesson on the Golden Rule, for example, would teach about Jesus and his Sermon on the Mount.
A suspect was arrested Monday morning in connection with the stabbings, which occurred across a broad swath of the borough over several hours and left a third person critically injured.
The 99-year-old house on Boston’s North Shore is battered and uninhabited. And yet, it is beloved by artists and locals — so much that they helped pause its demolition.
Slashing the original $15 toll raises questions about whether a smaller revenue stream could delay projects or lead to higher costs for New York’s public transit agency.
The group’s actions in Columbus on Saturday, part of a recent pattern of white supremacist incidents in the country, were condemned by officials around the state.
As a Senate recount plays out, at least four counties are ignoring an order from the State Supreme Court that undated or misdated mail ballots cannot be counted.
The voluntary evacuation plan was put in place in areas affected by the Jennings Creek wildfire. Officials encouraged residents of 165 homes to move out temporarily.
In a court filing, the judge said the conviction of Melissa Lucio, whose scheduled execution in 2022 was halted, should be overturned. The state’s highest criminal court will now decide.
Ms. Thaler, a former dean at N.Y.U., used her last interview to reminisce about her brother, Ed, and to publicize the alternatives to prolonging pain and suffering.