
U.S. moves to reshape and speed up asylum processing along the southern border
CBSN
The Biden administration on Wednesday said it intends to reshape and speed up asylum processing along the southern border, publishing a proposed rule that would allow asylum officers, rather than the backlogged immigration courts, to adjudicate requests for U.S. humanitarian protection.
Under the new plan, asylum-seekers placed in expedited deportation proceedings would have their cases heard by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) asylum officers if they establish credible fear of being persecuted in their home country. The USCIS officers would be permitted to grant eligible migrant adults and families asylum, which would allow them to stay in the U.S. permanently. If asylum is denied, migrants could ask an immigration judge to reconsider the case. If that is unsuccessful or no appeal is filed, migrants could be swiftly deported.
Santa Fe, New Mexico — A representative for the estate of actor Gene Hackman is seeking to block the public release of autopsy and investigative reports, especially photographs and police body-camera video related to the recent deaths of Hackman and wife Betsy Arakawa after their partially mummified bodies were discovered at their New Mexico home in February.

In the past year, over 135 million passengers traveled to the U.S. from other countries. To infectious disease experts, that represents 135 million chances for an outbreak to begin. To identify and stop the next potential pandemic, government disease detectives have been discreetly searching for viral pathogens in wastewater from airplanes. Experts are worried that these efforts may not be enough.