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1 Republican Senator Blocks Ban On Bump Stocks
Senate Democrats tried to pass a ban on bump stocks yesterday as promised, and the outcome was what everyone expected. Sen. Martin Heinrich of Washington, D.C. asked for “unanimous consent” to pass his “BUMP Act” to prohibit the devices, which he says he sees no reason for. Asking for unanimous consent meant that just one senator could object and block the bill, and Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts of New Mexico stepped up to the lectern to officially register his dissent, killing the bill. The move to reinstate the ban, which was put into place by the Trump administration after the Las Vegas music festival shooting in 2017, was called a “gun-grabbing overreach” by Ricketts during his objection. He said the legislation was written in vague language and could give the Biden administration the ability to go after “common firearm accessories, not just bump stocks.” The Supreme Court issued a 6-3 ruling last week that existing law couldn’t be used to ban bump stocks, although the possibility of new legislation doing so is still an option.
2 President Biden Announces Executive Actions Giving Path To Citizenship To Non-Citizen Spouses Of US Citizens
President Joe Biden announced yesterday new executive actions that will offer legal status and a streamlined path to US citizenship for unauthorized immigrants who are married to American citizens. The “Parole in Place” program will still require undocumented spouses to file paperwork and pass a criminal background check, and doesn’t apply to any future migrants. The Department of Homeland Security says the spouses who will benefit from the move have been in the US for 23 years on average. Officials with the administration say an estimated 500,000 unauthorized immigrants with US citizen spouses will qualify for the program, but must have been married no later than June 17th, the day before the program was announced. While announcing the new program, President Biden said “The Statue of Liberty is not some relic of American history. It stands, still stands, for who we are.”
3 The Apple Pay Later Service Is Coming To An End
Apple is getting out of the “buy now, pay later” business. The company announced yesterday that it’s discontinuing its Apple Pay Later program just a year after its launch in the US. The program was only available where Apple Pay was accepted, while competitors were already present on millions of vendor websites. Apple has announced it will start allowing banks to offer buy now, pay later programs through Apple Pay and Apple Wallet. Competitor Affirm will be integrated into Apple Wallet, and Apple customers will be able to open an Affirm account directly. No new Apple Pay Later loans will be approved, but anyone who currently has one will still be able to manage them through Apple Pay.