Thousands line up for permits
Thousands line up for permits
SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — Nathaly Uribe has all the papers she needs to get a work permit — something the 17-year-old daughter of a construction worker only dreamed of growing up as an illegal immigrant in the United States. The high school senior said she hopes a federal program beginning Wednesday and defers deportation for illegal immigrants will make it easier to get a decent job and help pay for college.
“This is my country. It’s where my roots are,” said Uribe, who moved from Chile when she was a toddler and lives in Glen Burnie, Md. “It feels great to know that the country that I call home is finally accepting me.”
Thousands of young illegal immigrants lined up Wednesday hoping for the right to work legally in America without being deported. The Obama administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals could expand the rights of more than 1 million young illegal immigrants by giving them work permits, though they would not obtain legal residency here or a path to citizenship.
At least 13,000 people stood in line in Chicago, clutching reams of paperwork, for a workshop led by immigrant rights advocates at the city’s Navy Pier. Hundreds of potential applicants waited outside nonprofit offices in Los Angeles for help filing paperwork to open the door to the staples of success in America — a work permit, and then later a Social Security number and driver’s license.
General is probed
over spending
WASHINGTON (AP) — A four-star Army general who was the first head of the new U.S. Africa Command is under investigation and facing possible demotion for allegedly spending hundreds of thousands of dollars improperly on lavish travel, hotels and other items, The Associated Press has learned.
Gen. William “Kip” Ward has been under investigation for about 17 months, and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is expected to make a final decision on the matter before the end of the month, according to several defense officials.
The defense officials said Ward is facing numerous allegations that he spent several hundred thousand dollars allowing unauthorized people, including family members, to fly on government planes, and spent excessive amounts of money on hotel rooms, transportation and other expenses when he traveled as head of Africa Command.
A four-star general is the highest rank in the Army.
While the exact amount of alleged misspending was not disclosed, the estimated total raises comparisons with the $823,000 allegedly spent by dozens of employees of the General Services Administration, who were accused of lavish spending during an October 2010 conference at a Las Vegas resort.
Caregivers’ call for help portrayed
WASHINGTON (AP) — A woman grips her car’s steering wheel and silently lets out a scream as her frail father, on oxygen, coughs beside her and her kids play around in the back seat.
The frustration portrayed in an arresting new public service announcement is recognizable to millions of Americans who struggle to care for aging loved ones while holding down jobs, raising children and taking care of their own health.
“I take care of her, but who takes care of me?” says another one of the public service announcements from the nonprofit Ad Council, which is distributing the ads for TV, radio, print and online use.
It’s part of a major campaign from AARP and the Ad Council beginning today to raise awareness of the impact of family caregiving as the nation rapidly grays — and to point overwhelmed families toward resources that may ease the strain.
Shooter targets Christian group
WASHINGTON (AP) — A man suspected of shooting and wounding a security guard at the headquarters of a Christian lobbying group on Wednesday made a negative reference about the organization’s work before opening fire, a law enforcement official said.
Police said the man entered the front lobby of the Family Research Council in Washington around 10:45 a.m. Wednesday, began arguing with a security guard and then shot him in the arm.
The gunman was subdued by the guard and others and taken into custody but had not been charged as of Wednesday evening.
Another law enforcement official identified the suspect as Floyd Corkins II, and authorities were interviewing Corkins’ neighbors in Herndon, Va., near Washington. Both officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation.
Corkins, 28, had been volunteering recently at a community center for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.