List of All Articles with Tag 'am'

A new immigration law passed by Florida governor Ron DeSantis, described by observers as one of the harshest in the country, has caused a massive decline in the Sunshine State’s labour force since it took effect, according to some business owners. The Republican leader and 2024 presidential campaign’s signature immigration law, which took effect 1 July, makes it a third-degree felony for unauthorised immigrants to knowingly use false ID’s for employment, and business that knowingly employ unauthorised immigrants or who avoid using the E-Verify system can lose their licenses or face up to $1000 in fines. The law also requires hospitals that accept Medicaid to check for immigration status, and invalidates drivers licenses issued to unauthorised immigrants from other states. In Miami’s booming construction industry, some companies are reporpting up to a 25 per cent decline in workers, The Wall Street Joural reports. “We’ve seen some fallout on job sites, particularly as it relates to hourly labor as a result of this new law,” Tom C Murphy, co-president of Coastal Construction, a company with more than 30 active projects across the state, told the paper. There at least 400,000 undocumented immigrants working in the state, according to Samuel Vilchez Santiago, the American Business Immigration Coalition’s Florida director. “We are in dire need of workers,” he told the Associated Press last month. “So there is a lot of fear from across the state ... that this new law will actually be devastating.” Migrant groups protested the new law in June, while the governor’s office told the AP in a statement, “Any business that exploits this crisis by employing illegal aliens instead of Floridians will be held accountable.” Mr DeSantis, despite governing a state known for its vibrant immigrant populations from Latin America, has positioned himself as a hard-line anti-immigrant crusader as he runs for president. In late June, he visited the US-Mexico border, where he blamed security issues on the Biden administration and proposed a return to most of Donald Trump’s most controversial immigration policies. That includes detaining migrant families with children beyond the customary 20 days, finishing the US-Mexico border wall, and ending the long-standing practice of releasing migrants into the US ahead of their court dates on potential immigration charges, which are usually civil violations rather than criminal ones more typically associated with prison. Read More Pete Buttigieg takes down Ron DeSantis over ‘strange’ anti-LGBT campaign video with ‘oiled-up bodybuilders’ 'Parental rights' group Moms for Liberty plans nationwide strategy for school board races in 2024 Florida's new DeSantis-backed laws address immigration, guns and more Giuliani grilled by prosecutors about ‘shouting match’ in fight to overturn election Former sheriff who nabbed 'Green River Killer' to run for Washington governor Senegalese President Macky Sall says he won't seek a third term in 2024 elections after protests

Fernando Tatis Jr.'s egregious All-Star snub may have been an unofficial punishment for his use of PEDs. The MLB All-Star voting results have been released and, per usual, there are snubs aplenty. No fanbase is ever truly happy with the All-Star results, but few fandoms have more reason to ...

Federal prosecutors are nearing a decision on whether to charge Donald Trump and his associates with crimes related to their efforts to overturn the 2020 election, and recently interviewd teh former president’s top attorney for that project as their investigation winds down. Rudy Giuliani spoke to investigators in a voluntary interview in recent weeks, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, and is likely to be among the DoJ’s eventual targets for a criminal indictment if the agency goes forward with a case. According to the Journal, Mr Giuliani spoke among other things about a chaotic December 2020 meeting between the so-called “war room” established at Mr Trump’s now-shuttered DC hotel and the White House legal team, which was revealed throughout the January 6 committee’s investigation to have been firmly opposed from the beginning to the various theories regarding how Mike Pence or others could interfere in the certification of Joe Biden’s victory. The Journal reports that meeting devolved into a “shouting match” as conspiracy monger Sidney Powell and others presented their case — prompting Mr Trump to ask Mr Giuliani, another devotee of those conspiracies, to mediate the discussion. Mr Giuliani’s interview with the DoJ, previously reported by The Independent, was described as a so-called “queen for a day” interview in which a subject of an active investigation can testify to prosecutors about the case and generally receive immunity for whatever criminal acts are described in the session — assuming they are truthful. The former New York City mayor was reported by The Independent last week to be among those that DoJ investigators are considering for potential criminal charges as the agency weighs a decision on whether to file a superceding indictment charging the former president with dozens of crimes related to the 2020 election and the January 6 attack on the Capitol. A source familiar with the situation told The Independent last week that Mr Smith’s office will “most definitely” bring at least a handful of charges against Mr Giuliani for his service on Mr Trump’s legal team in the weeks following the November 2020 election and leading up to the 6 January 2021 attack on the Capitol. In addition to possible criminal charges, Mr Giuliani previously saw his law license suspended in both Washington DC and New York for false statements he made regarding the 2020 election. Other Trump attorneys like John Eastman have faced similar consequences. The ex-president and his legal team also remain under a separate criminal investigation in Fulton County, Georgia, over their efforts to overturn the lawful election results in that state; a grand jury investigation as part of that case recently concluded and a decision on whether charges will be filed is expected over the summer. Andrew Feinberg contributed to this report Read More What's 'Bidenomics'? The president hopes a dubious nation embraces his ideas condensed into the term Pete Buttigieg takes down Ron DeSantis over ‘strange’ anti-LGBT campaign video with ‘oiled-up bodybuilders’ Melania Trump hawks $50 NFTs to ‘celebrate our great nation’ ahead of July 4 Mike Pence and Liz Truss among VIPs who speak at Iranian dissident rally despite pressure from Tehran Trump’s own words about an indicted president come back to haunt him Ex-Trump spokesperson claims she saw him show off documents on Mar-a-Lago dining patio

More than half of broadband customers have experienced problems with their connection over the past year, despite providers inflicting inflation-busting price hikes, a survey suggests. The latest “broadband satisfaction survey” by Which? found that 53% of the nearly 4,000 broadband customers polled had experienced connection issues in the year to January, most commonly frequent connection dropouts, “very” slow speeds and slow uploads and downloads. The issues were “persistent” across all the providers, with narrow margins between the best and worst offenders for poor customer experiences. It's completely unacceptable that customers who have faced these eye-watering increases are also experiencing so many problems with their connection Which? The watchdog noted that the scale of problems added “insult to injury” as many customers saw their bills jump by more than 14% after many providers chose to impose inflation-based price increases earlier this year. Providers often link their annual price rises to January’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) or the Retail Price Index (RPI), which were 10.5% and 13.4% respectively – an amount which would have been unforeseeable for customers signing up to their contract 18 or 24 months previously. The current system forces millions of customers to choose between paying more each month or exorbitant exit fees, which can exceed £200. Industry watchdog Ofcom is currently investigating whether inflation-linked, mid-contract price rises give customers sufficient certainty and clarity when signing up to new contracts. Of the UK’s biggest providers, Sky, Virgin Media, and EE had the lowest proportion of customers who had not experienced any issues, with just 32%, 35% and 37% of their customers not reporting any problems. Of the major providers, BT fared best with 49% of its customers not experiencing a performance issue in the past year. Hyperoptic, Shell Energy Broadband and Utility Warehouse performed better, with half or more of their customers not experiencing any performance issue over the 12 months. However, even with these providers, at least four in 10 customers said they had experienced at least one problem. Frequent connection drop outs were the most common broadband issue, experienced by 19% of those who had suffered a problem. Some 17% suffered slow speeds, while 15% experienced slow uploads and downloads. One in seven (14%) said they had been left without a connection for at least an hour. One in 10 (12%) experienced slow or disrupted streaming when listening to music or watching videos and 8% said they were left without connection for more than a day. Overall, around four in 10 (44%) said they had experienced some kind of customer service issue and 11% said they had either found it difficult to get in touch with their provider or struggled to get their issue resolved. It’s absolutely critical that Ofcom’s review of inflation linked mid-contract hikes results in changes that ensure customers are never trapped in this situation again Rocio Concha, Which? Rocio Concha, Which? director of policy and advocacy, said: “A reliable connection is essential to modern life. Earlier this year, many broadband consumers were hit with mid-contract price hikes of more than 14% – meaning that it’s more important than ever that their provider offers a reliable connection and good customer service. “It’s completely unacceptable that customers who have faced these eye-watering increases are also experiencing so many problems with their connection. Broadband firms need to work harder to resolve these issues and offer a better service. “While some customers are able to switch away to better service and prices, many are trapped in contracts where they either have to accept above inflation price hikes in the spring or pay exorbitant exit fees to leave the contract early. “It’s absolutely critical that Ofcom’s review of inflation linked mid-contract hikes results in changes that ensure customers are never trapped in this situation again.” A Sky spokeswoman said: “We are committed to providing the best service to our customers. “We do not believe this is a representative survey – Ofcom’s quarterly complaints data shows we are consistently one of the least complained about broadband providers and, in Ofcom’s latest report, we received the fewest complaints out of all broadband providers.” A Virgin Media spokesman said: “While these findings are only taken from a small sample of customers, the latest, fuller data from Ofcom shows that our customers benefit from the fastest download speeds, and customer complaints on our broadband services fell by 22% in the first quarter of this year.” EE said: “Ofcom’s latest complaints report shows that we remain one of the least complained about broadband providers, with complaints remaining well below the industry average throughout recent years. “We have proudly led the way with social tariffs since 2008, with around 80% of the total market being supported on BT social tariffs. “Customers who are struggling financially and are eligible for our social tariffs can move penalty-free at any point in their contract, this also includes EE and Plusnet customers. “ Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Will.i.am hails AI technology as ‘new renaissance’ in music Heart transplant woman’s daughter twice saved her life using Alexa Dolly Parton on AI and not wanting to leave her soul ‘here on earth’

John Deere Classic picks and best bets at TPC Deere Run this week as we have an outright, Top 10 and more PGA Tour expert picks for golf.After seeing the most star-studded field in the young history of the Rocket Mortgage Classic, we have the polar opposite on deck this week for the 2023 John De...

Damian Lillard and the Miami Heat are seeking partnership. And, despite Miami's lack of trade assets, the Heat are heavy favorites to land the disgruntled point guard.Damian Lillard, after years of speculation and ardent posturing about his 'loyalty' and 'commitment to the gr...

Rivian Automotive Inc. will expand deliveries of a battery-electric van it makes for Amazon.Com Inc. to Europe. It

Everything you need to know ahead of Inter Miami and Columbus Crew's clash in MLS Matchday 23.

President Joe Biden announced Monday his intention to nominate a former appointee under former President Donald Trump with a controversial past in Latin America to the bipartisan United States Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy.

Thailand is preparing contingency plans to deal with a potential drought that could last years and squeeze global

The ESPY Awards are back. But what do they stand for?

By Nick Carey E-commerce giant Amazon will deploy its first European vans from U.S. electric vehicle (EV) maker