There’s a new barrier for immigrants who want to be US citizens

A new barrier for the legal adjustment of immigrants arrives under the Trump administration, this time affecting applications for U.S. citizenship.

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, or USCIS, will resume an investigation practice it hasn't applied for decades, based on the opinion of neighbors of foreigners residing in the country.

The measure was published in a USCIS memorandum that came to light on Tuesday, although it is dated Aug. 22, and emphasizes the "discretionary" nature of the policy, which reviews subjective criteria like contributions to the "happiness" of the U.S.

USCIS will take into account not only the opinions of neighbors but also those of coworkers of immigrants when determining their "good moral character" to grant them immigration benefits. In this way, the federal agency intends to reinforce personal investigations of foreigners applying for U.S. citizenship.

—Miami Herald

The challenge facing the Democratic Party is 'weakness,' California Gov. Gavin Newsom says

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday that his social media posts mocking President Donald Trump, his podcast interviews with right-wing influencers and his push to redraw California's congressional districts are all in service of one goal: making the Democratic Party look anything other than weak.

"The essence of the challenge to the party is weakness," Newsom said during an on-stage interview Wednesday at an event hosted by the news outlet Politico.

Newsom said some of his more combative messaging choices, including sitting for interviews with Fox News host Sean Hannity and debating Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, were efforts to break the cycle of Democrats responding to grievances ginned up by right-wing media, rather than setting their own agenda.

The same applies to his bombastic social media posts, posted by the governor's media office, mocking Trump's unhinged missives (complete with capital letters and exclamation points) and his new online store, called the Patriot Shop, that is peddling a tank top that says, "Trump is not hot," among other not-to-subtle digs at the president.

—Los Angeles Times

More nonsmokers are getting lung cancer. A Georgia oncologist explains why

ATLANTA — The demographics of lung cancer change every day. The disease, which directly affects the respiratory system, has long been associated with smokers — but that is rapidly changing.

“Before it was rare, but now it’s more and more,” Dr. Ioana Bonta told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Bonta, an oncologist at Northside Hospital in Atlanta, has watched this change slowly over time and is now ringing the alarm for more people to get themselves tested, saying, “If we cannot prevent it, it is better to find it earlier.”

Today, nonsmokers account for 20% of lung cancer deaths, according to the Lung Cancer Research Foundation, making it the fifth-leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. According to Bonta, people are seeing cases earlier in life — in their 40s, 30s and even 20s — because of multiple risk factors, like secondhand smoke and air pollution.

—The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Europeans activate sanctions mechanism on Iran over nuclear program

UNITED NATIONS — Germany, France and Britain have triggered the so-called snapback mechanism for the reintroduction of U.N. sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program in a letter delivered to the United Nations Security Council on Thursday.

The letter, made available to dpa, could lead to the reactivation of punitive measures on Iran that were lifted in the past decade, which would mark the definitive end of the 2015 international nuclear agreement known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

The agreement, set to expire in October, was intended to prevent the Islamic Republic from building an atomic bomb, regulating the independent verification of Iran's nuclear program and setting limits on the quantity and enrichment of uranium.

Thursday's step shows that the three European states — known collectively as the E3 — have reached the end of their patience with Tehran over its nuclear program. Diplomats have complained that Iran has continued its violations of the 2015 nuclear agreement and has produced almost weapons-grade uranium, using the unilateral U.S. withdrawal in 2018 during the first administration of President Donald Trump as an excuse to suspend its adherence.

—dpa