White House backs ‘sanctuary cities’
WASHINGTON – The White House is threatening to veto Senate legislation cracking down on “sanctuary cities” that shield residents from federal immigration authorities.
The Senate is holding a procedural vote on the legislation Tuesday. The bill by Louisiana Sen. David Vitter would punish jurisdictions that prohibit the collection of immigration information or don’t cooperate with federal requests, blocking them from receiving certain grants and funds.
Republicans have pushed the bill since the July 1 shooting of Kathryn Steinle in San Francisco. The man charged in the killing was in the country illegally despite a long criminal record and multiple prior deportations. The man, Juan Francisco Lopez Sanchez, had been released by San Francisco authorities despite a request from federal immigration authorities to keep him detained.
Kerry to try to visit Mideast leaders
WASHINGTON – Secretary of State John Kerry is heading to Europe and the Middle East, hoping to diffuse the escalating Israeli-Palestinian violence and make headway on Syria’s moribund peace process.
Kerry departs Wednesday. Spokesman John Kirby didn’t outline the specific countries that America’s top diplomat will visit, but says his meetings will include Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Kirby also didn’t outline any American plan to end the unrest that erupted a month ago, spurred by tensions over Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site. He is stressing that Kerry wants to restore calm and ultimately restart talks on a two-state agreement.
U.S., Russia OKs rules for flights in Syria
WASHINGTON – The U.S. and Russia put into practice on Tuesday new rules designed to minimize the risk of air collisions between Russian and U.S.-led coalition aircraft over Syria.
A Russian defense official in Moscow said the “memorandum of understanding” suggests a potential for U.S.-Russian counterterrorism cooperation, but U.S. officials said it was a narrow arrangement that does not lessen Washington’s concern about the Russian military campaign in Syria.
There is no plan to establish zones of cooperation in the parallel air campaigns or to share intelligence or target information in Syria, Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said.
Sony approves deal over hacking losses
LOS ANGELES – Sony Pictures Entertainment has reached a settlement with current and former employees, agreeing to pay up to $8 million to reimburse them for identity-theft losses, preventative measures and legal fees related to the hack of its computers last year.
The settlement was filed with the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles late Monday and still needs to be approved by a judge.
The agreement calls for up to $10,000 a person, capped at $2.5 million, to reimburse workers for identity theft losses, up to $1,000 each to cover the cost of credit-fraud protection services, capped at $2 million, and up to $3.5 million in legal fees.
Associated Press
