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U.S. NEWS Friday 10 February 2023

Supreme Court might have easy outs on elections, immigration

By MARK SHERMAN and they argue their interests
JESSICA GRESKO aren’t represented in the
Associated Press case.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The The court could still rule
Supreme Court soon could before May 11, though
find itself with easy ways that would be faster than
out of two high-profile cas- usual. It’s also possible
es involving immigration the policy’s end date will
and elections, if indeed the be pushed back beyond
justices are looking to avoid that date. But if the public
potentially messy, divisive health emergency ends as
decisions. planned and the justices
Off-ramps in those cases do nothing until then, the
could prove attractive in case could end without a
a term with no shortage of decision.
big cases that could divide When the court agreed to
the court’s six conservatives take the case in Decem-
and three liberals. Affirma- ber, the justices were split.
tive action, voting rights, Five justices wanted to
gay rights and student loan wade in and four justices
forgiveness also are on the the court’s three liberals
agenda for a court that is and conservative Neil Gor-
less than a year removed such said they would not
from overturning nearly 50 An electronic sign flashes “Watch for unexpected pedestrians,” Dec. 20, 2022, on the highway have gotten involved in the
years of constitutional pro- next to the fenced U.S.-Mexican border just east of downtown El Paso, Texas, next to one of the first place.
tections for abortion and three bridges that connect the Texas city with the sprawling metropolis of Juarez, Mexico. The other case the court
seeing a significant dip Associated Press could dodge involves a
in public confidence.The day. Title 42 orders and moot preme Court case that the closely watched elections
Biden administration pro- That’s because the ad- this case,” wrote the ad- justices in December put issue and comes out of
vided one possible way out ministration recently an- ministration’s top Supreme on a fast track, with argu- North Carolina. Last week
for the court this week. nounced that the public Court lawyer, Solicitor Gen- ments set for March 1. the state’s top court or-
A legal fight over turning health emergency that eral Elizabeth Prelogar. At issue isn’t the use of Title dered a new look at the
away immigrants at the justified the quick expulsion The use of Title 42 began 42 itself but the question case.
border because of the of immigrants will expire on during Donald Trump’s of whether a group of Re- Republicans in North Caro-
coronavirus pandemic, May 11. presidency and continued publican states can insert lina have asked the justices
under a provision of fed- “Absent other relevant de- after Joe Biden took office. themselves into a lawsuit for a ruling that could leave
eral law known as Title 42, velopments, the end of the It has been used millions of over the policy. The states state legislatures virtually
is about to become irrel- public health emergency times to quickly turn away support keeping it in place. unchecked in making rules
evant, the administration will (among other conse- migrants at the border. If it ends, they say illegal im- for congressional and presi-
said in a court filing Tues- quences) terminate the Title 42 is at the root of a Su- migration will increase and dential elections. q

U.S., U.K. impose cybersecurity sanctions on Russian group

By FATIMA HUSSEIN fected millions of comput- ic,” Treasury says these are U.S. financial system. Sanc- sanctions on Iran have ac-
Associated Press ers worldwide, including the first sanctions of their tions were imposed last July celerated in recent months,
WASHINGTON (AP) — The ransomware attacks that kind for the U.K., and re- and September on a group as President Joe Biden’s
U.S. Treasury Department targeted hospitals in the sult from a partnership be- of firms tied to the sale and administration tries to bring
on Thursday announced a United States at the height tween the U.S. Department shipment of Iranian petro- Tehran back to negotia-
joint U.S.-U.K. effort to sanc- of the COVID-19 pandemic of the Treasury’s Office leum and petrochemical tions for a return to the 2015
tion Russian cybercriminals in 2020, U.K. officials said. of Foreign Assets Control products to East Asia. U.S. Iran nuclear deal.q
as the one-year anniver- In a statement, Treasury and several U.K. agencies
sary of Russia’s invasion of said the sanctioned men aimed at disrupting Russian
Ukraine nears and Treasury included developers, mon- cybercrime.
tightens its efforts to finan- ey-launderers and a senior In a separate Treasury ac-
cially punish violators of ex- figure, Vitaly Kovalev, who tion, nine entities across
isting sanctions. it said was indicted in fed- Iran, Malaysia and Singa-
The U.S. coordinated with eral court in New Jersey in pore were sanctioned on
the United Kingdom to im- connection with 2009 and Thursday for their role in
pose sanctions on seven 2010 bank hacks that pre- shipping sanctioned Irani-
people that it said are part dated his involvement with an oil to buyers in Asia con-
of the Russia-based cyber- the Trickbot Group. tinuing a trend of punishing
crime gang Trickbot. All The U.S. statement said cur- firms that ship Iranian oil.
members are listed as living rent members of the Trick- Six Iran-based petrochemi-
in Russia or Russian-occu- bot Group are associated cal manufacturers and
pied Ukraine. with Russian intelligence subsidiaries, and three firms
Trickbot is named for a services but did not al- in Malaysia and Singapore
strain of trojan viruses origi- lege the sanctioned men involved in facilitating the The Treasury Department is seen near sunset in Washington, Jan.
nally used to steal financial worked with those services. sale and shipment of oil, 18, 2023.
data. The viruses have in- Calling the actions “histor- were hit with blocks to the Associated Press