CNN: US considers banning Iranian diplomats from shopping at Costco during UN meeting

… The movements of Iranian diplomats are severely limited in New York, but one proposal being floated would bar them from shopping at big, members-only wholesale stores like Costco and Sam’s Club without first receiving the express permission of the State Department.

Such stores have been a favorite of Iranian diplomats posted to and visiting New York because they are able to buy large quantities of products not available in their economically isolated country for relatively cheap prices and send them home.

It was not immediately clear if or when the proposed shopping ban for Iran would take effect, but the memo said the State Department also was looking at drafting rules that would allow it to impose terms and conditions on memberships in wholesale clubs by all foreign diplomats in the US….

So what’s to stop them from pre-ordering a shitload of stuff from Amazon and having it delivered to their hotel?

Being so mean and petty seems pointless to me. It only reinforces the idea we are enemies. Smother them with kindness and let them go shopping, and you might change their impressions of the United States.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/05/middleeast/us-ban-iranians-shopping-costco-during-un-latam-intl

USA Today: ‘We have to try lifting ourselves’: USAID workers fired months ago are still scrambling for jobs

They were among the first of the federal employees to lose their jobs, and months later, laid off workers for the U.S. Agency for International Development are still struggling to regain their footing.

Roughly 95% said they had lost savings and retirement funds, 60% lost access to health care, and 37% have already lost their housing. Many said they will have trouble paying their bills in the coming months. 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/05/19/usaid-workers-next-job/83332416007