By Jeanne Marie Bonner, CNN

(CNN) — Ahead of a proposed rule change that would require social media account information from some foreign travelers to the United States, international travel experts are saying the policy could further deter visitors from coming to the US — a decline that could translate into billions of dollars in lost revenue for the travel sector.

The warning — from the World Travel & Tourism Council — comes after the global industry group surveyed nearly 5,000 international residents who regularly travel abroad and found one-third of respondents would be somewhat or much less likely to visit the US if applicants to the Visa Waiver Program are required to submit information about their social media accounts.

The potential decline in travelers could cost the US an estimated $15.7 billion in lost visitor spending, according to WTTC. Under one scenario, the US could miss out on as many as 4.7 million international arrivals, which would represent a 23% drop in visitors from ESTA countries in 2026.

Gloria Guevara, president of WTTC, told CNN the proposed change could cost the US more than 150,000 jobs and “put the US at a competitive disadvantage.”

The travelers affected have other destination options, she said in an interview on CNN International’s “Quest Means Business,” and they consider the request for social media account information “intrusive.”

“There are so many places to travel, and the ESTA travelers will choose another destination,” she said. “We will see a decline and the decline is translated into jobs.”

Last year was a banner year in travel globally, she noted; countries all around the world saw increases in the number of visitors.

“That was not the case for the US,” she said.

Two-thirds of the 4,563 travelers surveyed – who hail from Australia, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea and the United Kingdom, among other countries – said they were aware of the proposed policy already. And a large share of them said it would make the US feel less welcoming and less attractive for both leisure and business travel, according to the WTTC survey results.

The proposed rule change, which was posted last year on the Federal Register by US Customs and Border Protection, would affect travelers using the Electronic System for Travel Authorization, or ESTA, as part of a Visa Waiver Program for citizens from more than three dozen countries that include England, Australia, Japan, Italy, Ireland, Israel, Chile and Qatar.

ESTA is an online application that grants visitors from the 42 eligible countries the right to visit the US for under 90 days without a visa. Currently visitors who use ESTA are asked to supply information such as passport numbers, birth dates and prior criminal activity.

Industry worries

According to the proposal in the Federal Register, the new policy would be in accordance with one of President Trump’s executive orders aimed at protecting the US from foreign terrorists and reducing public safety threats.

It’s unclear exactly what social media information would be required or how the information collected would impact travelers who want to come to the US. The Federal Register posting says ESTA applicants would need to provide “social media from the last 5 years.”

A question requesting social media information was initially added to the application in 2016, with the section marked as “optional.” The information would be mandatory under the new proposal.

CNN Travel has requested more information from CBP.

But according to the Greater Miami and the Beaches Hotel Association, government officials have told them privately visitors would need to provide account names or handles but would not be required to provide access to accounts or specific

The post The Perils of Carnivalia appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.

By Daniel Wine, CNN

Welcome to 5 Things PM! Before “American Idol” and “The Voice,” there was “Star Search,” where some of the biggest losers became megastars. Can the revival live up to its past?

Here’s what else you might have missed during your busy day.

5 things

1⃣ ‘Like a war zone’

Simple everyday things like driving to work or shopping at the grocery store suddenly bring fear and anxiety. Minneapolis residents shared what it’s like to live in the middle of an immigration crackdown.

2⃣ VA concerns

The Department of Veterans Affairs imposed a near-total ban on abortion with a new rule quietly published on New Year’s Eve. Doctors and veterans fear that will put women’s lives at risk.

3⃣ Taking their time

In September, when the Supreme Court agreed to hear a dispute over President Donald Trump’s billion-dollar tariffs, there seemed to be a sense of urgency. Several months later, everyone is still waiting on a ruling.

4⃣ A shift in strategy

After a splashy move from Sotheby’s, another auction house is upgrading to a museum-worthy space in New York. But with brick-and-mortar galleries closing, the art market is still showing distress signals.

5⃣ Chemistry and connection

Carrin Schottler was visiting the Tower of London in 1994 when a guy in the tour group caught her eye. She almost let the handsome stranger walk out of her life for good. Then a royal bodyguard intervened.

Watch this

The future of cooking? This chef doesn’t eat, sleep or take breaks — because the entire restaurant is run by robots. They know how to make more than 100 dishes. See how they work.

Top headlines

• Officers involved in Alex Pretti’s shooting placed on administrative leave
• FBI searching Fulton County elections office as it investigates alleged voter fraud
• Fed holds interest rates steady as its independence comes under threat

Check this out

Think fast! Drivers of high-speed trains have to make critical decisions with hundreds of passengers on board. Here’s what it’s like at 186 mph.

For CNN subscribers

• Analysis: The Department of Homeland Security’s botched PR response to Alex Pretti’s death Read more

Por Katelyn Polantz, CNN.

El Departamento de Justicia y los tribunales federales están luchando para mantenerse al día con el aumento exponencial de los casos en los tribunales federales de inmigrantes bajo custodia que están impugnando sus detenciones, otro resultado de las agresivas políticas de aplicación de la ley de inmigración del Gobierno de Trump en todo el país.

Los casos en los que una persona puede impugnar la detención en la jurisdicción donde se encuentra físicamente, mediante lo que se llama una petición de habeas corpus, se han disparado en Minneapolis y Texas en las últimas tres semanas, según dicen varios abogados que responden al aumento y muestran los registros judiciales.

“Ha habido un cambio. Todo ha sucedido tan rápido”, dijo Jacqueline Watson, abogada en Austin, Texas, y miembro de la junta de la Asociación Estadounidense de Abogados de Inmigración.

El aumento de casos de habeas en los tribunales federales ha dejado al descubierto cómo el sistema de justicia y el Gobierno de Trump están luchando por responder a la escalada de arrestos de inmigración de la Casa Blanca y el Departamento de Seguridad Nacional. La situación se ha vuelto especialmente grave este mes con la campaña Operación Metro Surge en Minnesota, donde el Gobierno de Trump ha enviado a más de 3.000 agentes de frontera e inmigración del Departamento de Seguridad Nacional al área metropolitana de Minneapolis y Saint Paul, y mientras los inmigrantes arrestados en Minnesota y otros lugares están siendo trasladados a centros de detención federales cerca de la frontera entre Estados Unidos y México.

“He visto personas (en los tribunales representando al Departamento de Justicia, DOJ, por sus siglas en inglés) de quienes nunca había oído hablar. Los casos simplemente se envían a los abogados que puedan manejar la carga de trabajo dentro del distrito”, dijo Watson sobre los fiscales que ahora deben responder a desafíos de detención de inmigrantes en el Distrito Oeste de Texas. “El volumen ralentiza aún más los ya escasos recursos de los tribunales”.

Al menos un fiscal federal en un distrito en la frontera entre Estados Unidos y México ha planteado la posibilidad de que el Departamento de Justicia, que debe responder caso por caso en tribunales federales, tal vez necesite discutir cambios en el enfoque en el Departamento de Seguridad Nacional, que detiene a los inmigrantes, según conversaciones internas del DOJ descritas a CNN.

Desde el 1 de enero, más de 400 detenidos han presentado peticiones de habeas en el tribunal federal de Minnesota, buscando a menudo audiencias de fianza o su liberación, según el registro público del tribunal. Hubo poco más de 125 peticiones de habeas en el estado durante todo el año pasado.

Los tribunales federales cerca de la frontera han visto aumentos similares. En diciembre, fiscales federales de Texas, Louisiana y Mississippi le dijeron a un tribunal de apelaciones que sus fiscales estaban teniendo dificultades para responder a los desafíos de detención de inmigrantes.

“Para responder a esta oleada de peticiones de habeas, la Fiscalía de Estados Unidos se ha visto obligada a desviar sus ya limitados recursos de otras prioridades urgentes e importantes”, escribió Justin Simmons, fiscal federal nombrado por Trump para el Distrito Oeste de Texas, al Quinto Circuito, describiendo cómo ha asignado a abogados civiles y penales de su oficina a tareas de tiempo completo en casos de habeas.

Los funcionarios de Seguridad Nacional son mucho más propensos a realizar arrestos y mantener detenida a una persona sin antecedentes penales bajo el Gobierno de Trump. Y un cambio de política del DHS el verano pasado ahora permite que muchos menos detenidos sean elegibles para audiencias de fianza en los tribunales de inmigración, que existen dentro del Departamento de Justicia y fuera del sist

CNN

By Bryan Mena, CNN

Washington (CNN) — The Federal Reserve on Wednesday kept interest rates unchanged as the central bank fights to maintain its ability to set interest rates without political interference.

Officials kept their benchmark lending rate at a range of 3.5-3.75%, following three consecutive rate cuts late last year. It’s a pause that may persist for some time, Chair Jerome Powell hinted in his post-meeting news conference.

The Fed chief was less forthcoming about his clash with the White House, which he addressed earlier this month head-on in his stunning video calling out President Donald Trump.

The decision to stand pat wasn’t unanimous, with Fed governors Stephen Miran and Christopher Waller – both appointed by Trump – casting dissenting votes in favor of a quarter-point cut. Waller is one of the four contenders for Fed chair after Powell’s term ends in May. In the past, Waller’s dissents backing lower rates have been seen favorably by the Trump administration.

Powell on the ‘solid’ economic outlook

President Donald Trump said this week he intends to announce his Fed chair nominee “pretty soon.” The long-awaited decision will cap off a monthslong search process that at one point considered about a dozen candidates for the most influential role in global finance.

Trump’s Fed chair pick is perhaps the most pressing question for Wall Street, since Powell has just two meetings left and markets aren’t pricing in a rate cut until the summer.

But Powell gave a sense of where the committee broadly stands on the outlook for monetary policy, suggesting there’s no need for imminent rate cuts.

“I think, and many of my colleagues think, it is hard to look at the incoming data and say that policy is significantly restrictive at this time,” Powell told reporters. In other words, it doesn’t make sense to be lowering rates right now because the economy seems to be holding up.

The Fed’s latest policy statement essentially argued for the latest pause by describing economic growth as “solid,” which is an improvement from when it was called “moderate” in December’s statement. Officials also wrote that the unemployment rate has shown “some signs of stabilization.”

Last year, the Fed lowered rates because there were signs of a weakening labor market, and central bankers want to prevent a possible deterioration.

Powell’s advice for the next Fed chair

Wall Street expects two cuts in 2026 — and a big reason for that is because the Fed’s next leader will be attuned to lowering rates.

“There isn’t a clear case to cut this year, but we know that the next Fed chair is going to come in leaning dovish, so there’s a decent chance they could get enough folks on the committee to be on board with a couple of cuts,” Aditya Bhave, senior US economist at Bank of America, told CNN. “But it will be hard for that person to build a consensus.”

The new leader of the central bank will preside over a divided, 12-person rate-setting committee that doesn’t just blindl