Treasury Secretary Steven MnuchinSteven MnuchinMnuchin: Stimulus payments to begin arriving Tuesday night 2020 was the year of pain, misery and GOP indifference House passes bill boosting stimulus checks to ,000 in bipartisan vote MORE said that stimulus payments from the most recent coronavirus relief package could begin landing in Americans’ bank accounts as early as Tuesday night.

Mnuchin said in a tweet that the Treasury Department had delivered a payment file to the Federal Reserve in association with the package and that “payments may begin to arrive in some accounts by direct deposit as early as tonight and will continue into next week.” 

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He added that paper checks will begin to be mailed Wednesday.

The coronavirus relief package, which President TrumpDonald TrumpGeorgia signature audit finds no fraud in presidential election Pompeo calls for release of Chinese journalist jailed over coronavirus coverage Pence refused to sign on to plan to overturn election, lawyers say MORE signed on Sunday, provided for direct payments of up to $600 per adult and per child under 17. Individuals with income of up to $75,000 and married couples with income of up to $150,000 are eligible for the full amount, and the amounts are reduced for people with incomes above those thresholds.

Treasury and the IRS are issuing payments automatically to people who filed a 2019 tax return, non-filers who receive certain federal benefits and people who provided their information to the IRS earlier this year through the agency’s web tool for non-filers. Most people will receive their payments by direct deposit, while others will get their payments in the mail in the form of either a paper check or a debit card. Debit cards will be delivered in white envelope with the Treasury seal, the IRS said.

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Under the relief package, the IRS has until Jan. 15 to issue the automatic payments. Eligible people who do not receive their payment or who did not receive some or all of the payment to which they were entitled under March’s CARES Act can claim a tax credit when they file their 2020 tax returns next year. The CARES Act authorized payments of up to $1,200 per adult and $500 per child.

The announcement that $600 payments are starting to be sent out comes amid a push by Trump and some lawmakers to increase those payments to $2,000. Treasury said Tuesday that if further legislation is enacted to increase the payment amount, payments that have already been issued will be “topped up” as promptly as they can be.

Updated at 7:28 p.m.

Apple moved to purge thousands of games from its app store in China on Thursday as part of a crackdown on games that are not licensed by the Chinese government, Reuters reported.

The move, which came after Apple set a Dec. 31 deadline for companies to obtain licenses in order to remain in the app store, reportedly swept up titles from major companies including Ubisoft.

According to Reuters, research firm Qimai found that just 74 of the top 1,500 paid titles remained on the platform after the purge.

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Apple did not immediately return a request for comment from The Hill.

An analysis of China’s video game industry earlier this year found that just a few dozen foreign titles are granted licenses by Beijing each month; a blog post on a website owned by Chinese video game company Yaji Software described the process of obtaining a license as “practically impossible” without partnership with a Chinese-owned company.

Apple’s Chinese app store previously made headlines in 2017 when the company complied with a request from Beijing to remove The New York Times app.

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Thursday announced plans to delist three Chinese companies with alleged ties to the Chinese military to comply with one of President TrumpDonald TrumpTrump calls Georgia Senate runoffs ‘both illegal and invalid’ in New Year’s tweets Judge dismisses Gohmert’s election suit against Pence Ex-GOP senator suggests forming new party, calls Trump ‘ringmaster’ of Republicans MORE’s executive orders.

The NYSE announced it has begun proceedings to delist China Mobile Ltd., China Telecom Corp Ltd. and China Unicom Hong Kong Ltd., and they will be suspended from trading between Jan. 7 and 11. 

The delistings come as a November executive order that prohibits U.S. investments in Chinese firms regulated by the military is set to go into effect on Jan. 11. 

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Several quantitative hedge fund managers, including Renaissance Technologies LLC, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP and Two Sigma Investments LP, had the largest holdings in the U.S. listings, Bloomberg News reported. 

All three of the soon-to-be-delisted Chinese companies have separate listings in Hong Kong and have no significant presence in the U.S. outside of their listings, according to Bloomberg News, which noted the move was more symbolic amid the tension between the countries.

In November, Trump said he signed his executive order because the Chinese government seeks to influence “civilian Chinese companies to support its military and intelligence activities,” which he said presents an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to the U.S. 

Earlier this year the Department of Defense released a list of dozens of Chinese companies that it said had links to the military. The Chinese Foreign Ministry accused the U.S. of “viciously slandering” the military-civilian integration policies and said they would stand by their companies, according to Bloomberg News. 

Exchanges like the NYSE had previously pursued Chinese companies over the past decade as they tried to extend their initial public offering businesses.

Ten activists from Hong Kong who attempted to flee the city by speedboat to Taiwan over the summer received prison sentences Wednesday in a Chinese court, ranging from seven months to three years.

Two of the organizers behind the attempted border crossing received the harshest punishment, The Associated Press reported. Relatives said all defendants pleaded guilty in an attempt to receive lighter sentences.

The trial was held in the Chinese city of Shenzhen.

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Two minors were also arrested when Chinese authorities stopped the boat. A private hearing found they were too young to face prison charges. Still, Chinese authorities handed the minors back over to police in Hong Kong, where they could face additional charges for absconding.

A State Department spokeswoman on Monday urged Beijing to release the 12 activists and allow them to enter Taiwan, arguing that their “so-called ‘crime’ was to flee tyranny,” CNN reported,

“The treatment by [the People’s Republic of China] authorities of these 12 individuals, some of whom are underage, has been appalling,” said the spokeswoman. “Beijing authorities continue their campaign to stamp out the remaining rights and freedoms of the people of Hong Kong, falsely equating their system of rule by party decree with the rule of law.”

Hong Kong authorities have reportedly frozen assets and issued arrest warrants for numerous government dissenters who have fled from the territory.

The AP reported the punishment inflicted on the 10 activists appeared to be a warning toward opponents of Beijing’s new national security law.

“China is a country under rule of law, where laws must be followed and violations must be punished. China’s judicial organs handled the case in strict accordance of law,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said in a press conference.

Argentina’s Senate early Wednesday voted to approve a bill legalizing free abortion services in the country before 14 weeks of the pregnancy, a landmark move that greatly expands access to the service in the country.

The BBC reported that the Senate voted 38-29 early Wednesday morning to approve a bill previously approved by the Chamber of Deputies. It wasn’t clear if the country’s president, Alberto Fernandez, signed the bill immediately but Fernandez reacted to its passage on Twitter, writing: “Safe, legal and free abortion is law.”

“Today we are a better society that expands rights to women and guarantees public health,” he continued.

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Abortion services had previously only been accessible in Argentina in cases of rape and when the mother’s life was endangered by the pregnancy. Access to the service is heavily restricted across much of South and Central America due to the prevalent influence of the Catholic Church, which opposes the practice.

Supporters of the bill including officials with international rights groups celebrated the news in the streets of Buenos Aires, according to the BBC, and on Twitter.

“Although there will certainly be resistance, I think it’s fair to predict that, as it occurred when Argentina legalized same sex marriage in 2010, this new law could have a domino effect in the region,” tweeted José Miguel Vivanco, director of Human Rights Watch’s Americas division, who added in a second tweet: “Legalizing abortion in Argentina is a gigantic victory that protects fundamental rights and will inspire change in Latin America.”

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The official retirement match for Japanese pro wrestling legend Kenta Kobashi was held earlier today in Tokyo at the Budokan Hall. The event was sold out both live in the arena and in all of the closed-circuit showings in Tokyo as well.

Kobashi & Jun Akiyama & Keiji Muto & Kensuke Sasaki defeated KENTA & Go Shoizaki & Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Maybach Taniguchi when Kobashi pinned Kanemaru following a moonsault.

Kobashi conducted an emotional post-match interview and celebration of sorts. Kobashi thanked everyone and said he had the greatest career possible. Kobashi’s family members were introduced.

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