News Wrap: US Suspends Visas, Senator Investigated, Supreme Court Ruling

Visa Application Suspension

• 🇺🇸 The Trump administration is suspending visa applications for citizens from 75 countries, including green cards, fiance visas, and certain work visas.
• 🚫 Countries like Afghanistan, Colombia, Egypt, Iran, and Russia are affected, with the policy starting January 21.
• ⚠️ The State Department stated the pause aims to prevent foreign nationals from accessing welfare and public benefits, excluding non-immigrant and temporary tourist/business visas.

Senator Under Federal Investigation

• 🎤 Michigan Senator Elissa Slotkin, an Iraq war veteran and former CIA analyst, is under federal investigation for her role in a video advising troops to resist illegal orders.
• ⚖️ Slotkin claims the investigation is a tactic by the president to intimidate critics and weaponize the government against those who disagree.
• 🤝 Three other lawmakers who appeared in the video have also been contacted by Trump officials, following a similar lawsuit by Arizona Senator Mark Kelly.

Supreme Court and Legal Rulings

• 🗳️ The U.S. Supreme Court revived a challenge to an Illinois law allowing mail-in ballots to be counted after Election Day, focusing on candidates' rights to challenge such laws.
• 🚨 In a separate ruling, the Court sided with police in a case allowing warrantless entry into a home during emergencies, stemming from a situation involving a potentially suicidal army veteran.

International and Domestic Incidents

• 🏗️ In Thailand, a construction crane collapse onto a moving train resulted in at least 32 fatalities, with rescue teams searching the wreckage.
• 📶 Verizon experienced a nationwide outage affecting over 180,000 users, with emergency officials noting it impacted some 911 calls.

Economic and Retail News

• 🏠 The U.S. housing market experienced its fourth consecutive year of decline, with existing home sales at a 30-year low, despite rising prices.
• 🛍️ A luxury retailer filed for bankruptcy due to increased competition and debt, though stores will remain open during restructuring.
• 📉 Wall Street stocks were down, with the Dow Jones industrial average, NASDAQ, and S&P 500 all declining.